Tire pressure guage

BlueFox

Is there any tire pressure guage that is idiot proof in use? I am so tired of losing 5lbs of air pressure trying to get a reading with a guage. Being naturally clumsy, no matter what guage I try I cannot get an accurate reading without losing air. It is a back and forth operation. Add air, try to get a reading, lose air, to low, add more air, to high, read again, lose more air, hope it is now at the right level.

Systems

BlueFox wrote: »

Is there any tire pressure guage that is idiot proof in use? I am so tired of losing 5lbs of air pressure trying to get a reading with a guage. Being naturally clumsy, no matter what guage I try I cannot get an accurate reading without losing air. It is a back and forth operation. Add air, try to get a reading, lose air, to low, add more air, to high, read again, lose more air, hope it is now at the right level.

Well they make gauges that are incorporated into the filler assembly, that would be what you need

http://www.getagauge.com/inflator.cfm

The bottom one is really idiot proof, you don't even have to hold it on the filler neck.....otherwise know as a clip-on chuck

brettw22

Are you talking about the little "PSSS" that tyou get before you make the solid connection? Or are you getting a 'PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" before you get it snug? The first wouldn't cause a significant amount of air to be lost.......

All you have to do is push it straight onto the stem......it's not that difficult.......lol

BlueFox

Lorthos wrote: »

Well they make gauges that are incorporated into the filler assembly, that would be what you need

http://www.getagauge.com/inflator.cfm

The bottom one is really idiot proof, you don't even have to hold it on the filler neck.....otherwise know as a clip-on chuck

Great. That's what I need since I have my own compressor. Thanks.

bobman1235

80 bucks for a tire gauge? This must be quite an annoyance for you.

How often do you have to fill your tires that it's worth this much time and thought?

megasat16

BlueFox wrote: »

Is there any tire pressure guage that is idiot proof in use? I am so tired of losing 5lbs of air pressure trying to get a reading with a guage. Being naturally clumsy, no matter what guage I try I cannot get an accurate reading without losing air. It is a back and forth operation. Add air, try to get a reading, lose air, to low, add more air, to high, read again, lose more air, hope it is now at the right level.

I bought an air compressor with a built in tire pressure gauge. I also have two or three different pressure gauges bought from auto-shops and I compared the readings. They all read about the same tire pressure so I think they are reasonable accurate or may be all of them are wrong and junk from China.

Anyway, I don't think you should be losing air. For accuracy, you need to read the tire pressure before driving in the morning when ambient temperature is not too cold or too hot. After driving, let the car tire cool down and read the pressure. You don't need to adjust the air pressure for hot and cold. You just need to set tire pressure before driving in the morning according to your vehicle manual.

Jstas

I never really trust the gauge on the filler nozzle setup. Especially in a shop. It's good for getting close to the pressure you need but they get banged around so much that the gauge likely isn't accurate anymore.

From the factory, they are accurately calibrated but take care of it so it doesn't get out of whack.

But like brett said, you don't lose THAT much air unless you are holding the giage down incorrectly too long. If it's something like an arthritis thing then get something like this:

http://www.autogeek.net/acstditigu.html



It has a large, easy to grip handle. We got my grandfather one years ago when he had arthritis in his hands and he said it was way easier to use and read for him.

BlueFox

bobman1235 wrote: »

80 bucks for a tire gauge? This must be quite an annoyance for you.

How often do you have to fill your tires that it's worth this much time and thought?

Actually, I was looking at the top one for $50. I keep my tires a bit overinflated at 35PSI for less rolling resitance, and better gas mileage. I try to check every couple of weeks. The problem is the car has Zoom Zoom, so if a front tire is off by a little, the car pulls. Balance the pressure equally and it goes striaght with no hands. And it really does annoy me trying to get the guage on without losing air.

bsoko2

Jhttp://www.autogeek.net/acstditigu.html, Just ordered one!

Bill

megasat16

Well, I hate to break a bad news about these accutire gauge. I bought one from Costco (may be Sam's Club) a few years back and it broke withing a couple of years. I only used it for about 10 times or less too. I remember the button went crazy for mine. Since then, I only used the el cheapo gauges and throw away the darn thing. I hope the newer ones are more reliable.

obieone

If your losing pressure that often, may I suggest a solution of soap and water, and check the schraeder cores, to see if their leaking. You can try tightening them, but sometimes they just have to be replaced. I see a lot of that in the hvac trade.

Jstas

megasat16 wrote: »

Well, I hate to break a bad news about these accutire gauge. I bought one from Costco (may be Sam's Club) a few years back and it broke withing a couple of years. I only used it for about 10 times or less too. I remember the button went crazy for mine. Since then, I only used the el cheapo gauges and throw away the darn thing. I hope the newer ones are more reliable.

???

What were you doing with it?

Radio Shack used to sell these branded as Radio Shack gauges. I still have the one I bought 7 years ago and the one my grandfather had was bought about 10 years ago. Both still work like a champ. Had to replace batteries in mine though but big whoop.

Norm Apter

BlueFox wrote: »

I keep my tires a bit overinflated at 35PSI...

By the way, what's the standard, again? 32PSI? And how often do you guys check the air presssure of your tires?

megasat16

Jstas wrote: »

???

What were you doing with it?

Radio Shack used to sell these branded as Radio Shack gauges. I still have the one I bought 7 years ago and the one my grandfather had was bought about 10 years ago. Both still work like a champ. Had to replace batteries in mine though but big whoop.

I did not do anything with it other than getting the air pressure readings from my car tire. I only used it about 10 times or less. Other times, it was stored inside the pouch it came with it inside the glove box. I bought mine from Costco or Sam's Club and it was around 2002-2003 too.

I had to replace batteries within a year and it just started to fall apart after that. Oh, I also read a lot of complaints about it at that time too. It may just be a bad batch.

megasat16

BlueFox wrote: »

Actually, I was looking at the top one for $50. I keep my tires a bit overinflated at 35PSI for less rolling resitance, and better gas mileage. I try to check every couple of weeks. The problem is the car has Zoom Zoom, so if a front tire is off by a little, the car pulls. Balance the pressure equally and it goes striaght with no hands. And it really does annoy me trying to get the guage on without losing air.

You need to check your tire threads and wears as well as rotate and balance all tires. Ask the tire technician to replace all valve stems. If you bought the tires from Costco, you are covered for all these services.

If that doesn't fix it, you need to take the car for suspension alignment. Your car shouldn't be pulling left or right with tire pressure difference of a lb or two no matter how zoom zoom it is. If your car steering is that sensitive to the tire pressure difference, it may be something more than just air pressure.

BlueFox

Actually, I am surprised at how well the tires and wheels maintain air pressure. If I can get the guage on without losing any air then it will still be at 35PSI for a month or more. The problem is by the time I can get an accurate reading I have lost 1-2 lbs trying to get the guage on. No matter how much I try to get it on straight invariably on one or two wheels I will screw it up.

Sure, in the overall scheme of things this is a minor annoyance, but at some point even with minor annoyances one reaches a tipping point, and that is where I am at now. I spent as much time yesterday trying to get air pressure readings as I did washing the car.

I do not think there is anything wrong with the tires, suspension, etc. since I have them rotated and balanced at each service, but if the front tires are not at equal pressure it certainly does pull. It might be minor drift over some period, but I notice it, and equalizing the tire pressure resolves it.

bobman1235

Norm Apter wrote: »

By the way, what's the standard, again? 32PSI? And how often do you guys check the air presssure of your tires?

32 is the most common but it depends on the car / tire.

In my subaru they say to do 32/29 because of the all-wheel drive.

fatchowmein

I have one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Slime-2018-Super-Magnetic-Gauge/dp/B000ET6ZLK

I think I paid $10 at autozone? Pretty much idiot proof which was exactly what I was looking for. It also has a bleeder valve that you can press to let air out without removing the gauge from the stem. There is a magnet on the back but I'm not sure why it's there. Mine fell off after a month since it's basically glued onto the rubber back. Didn't need the magnet so I didn't care.

exalted512

megasat16 wrote: »

I did not do anything with it other than getting the air pressure readings from my car tire. I only used it about 10 times or less. Other times, it was stored inside the pouch it came with it inside the glove box. I bought mine from Costco or Sam's Club and it was around 2002-2003 too.

I had to replace batteries within a year and it just started to fall apart after that. Oh, I also read a lot of complaints about it at that time too. It may just be a bad batch.

i use mine on almost a daily basis at our shop and havent had any issues.
-Cody