AORoads

like wolfdogs, I've got (still) maybe 8 or so of those old pencil gauges. quite awhile back I tested them against the DIC and my Sears--digital gauge (inexpensive, but accurate or at least, repeatedly reliable). all were about 1lb difference w. DIC sometimes 1-2 lbs. different. I've given away more "pencils" than I still have.

as to running my car and having the DIC read 1-2 lbs. higher when the tires heat up, I must have different tires. mine normally go up 4+ lbs. I doubt if my "reliable" pencil, or fairly accurate digital gauge will read 5+ lbs. if I got out and measured the tire pressures.

Wayne O

It's kind of like people's opinions or color preferences....if you have three different gauges you'll get three different readings. Just take three readings of each tire and then average.

Actually, I use a Moroso Pro Series tire gauge which seems to work well and allows push-button bleeding. On rare occasion I'll compare the reading with a digitial gauge. At the track I'll sometimes use a laser pyrometer to measure (hot) tire temperatures to see if the pressure is working right.

4thC4at60

And, once again, I agree totally with wolfdogs.

John Harry

Consumer Reports just tested them in the May issue. In decreasing order, best first:
Accutire MS-4400B $11 digital
Accutire MS-4021B $10 digital
Intercomp 360060 $56 dial

Don-Vette

Just checked after a ride.

LF- TPS-32lbs.,digital gage-33.8lbs.,manual gage -31lbs.

LR- TPS31lbs.,digital-32.9,manual-30

RF- TPS-31lbs.,digital-34.2lbs.manual-30lbs.

RR- TPS-32lbs.,digital-33.4lbs.,manual-30lbs.

jack5hd

i have the slime gauge,3 or 4 pencil gauges..all read different from each other......how accurate is the tpms ?does different elevation matter with tpms?is there a way to test gauges that is foolproof?. thermometers can be tested with boiling water or ice water.........how critical is 1 or 2 lb. variance is it from recommended tire pressures?

fnsblum

IMHO for every day street driving, not very. Direct sun light on one side of the car for and hour will change the pressure that much. Altitude change makes a big difference on my trailer tires. Haven't driven my Vette down to sea level. Later! Frank

Dif

it's not critical.
I went through the trial and error, finding which tire gage was reading correctly and comparing it to the DIC tire pressure readings.
But I do notice a big difference in ride quality when tire pressures are 2 lbs higher when Cold.

In my case, if I run my tires at 30 lbs cold, the car rides noticeably rough.
What I've been doing since new, is running the tires at 28 lbs cold .. " according to the DIC reading" and the car rides noticeably better.
I know the pressures should be 30 lbs cold ...
but, after 13000 miles the tires are wearing Perfect and literally show no signs of wear.
Now whether the gage is reading 2 lbs high or the DIC is reading 2 lbs low, I'm personally, no longer concerned.
Just some info for what it's worth and others may choose to do things differently.
But for me, with the DIC reading 28 lbs Cold at all 4 tires, the car rides great and tires wear great

emcopet

I was in the service station business for many years. Here are some other factors to consider. Tire pressure is usually between 28 & 30 lbs psi.If you want a softer ride I have had some customers that wanted 26 lbs. more than 30 will be a harder ride. Between 28 & 30 the tire will wear evenly. If pressure is too high the tire will wear in the center too much. If the pressure is too low they will wear on the outside edges. Take your pick but the most important thing is to be the same.

heli-vette

A lot of it is scale , For older eyes the 0 - 120 gauges are a pain . With most measuring tools mid range accuracy is best .So 0 - 60 / 0 - 50 would be perfect with a bigger dial . All my digital micrometers and snap on tech wrenches are useless with dead batteries . Give me a click wrench or steam gauge over any broke dick digital gear .

BEZ06

Yes!!!!

Many forum members that live in higher elevation areas report that when they adjust tire pressure with an accurate handheld pressure gauge, the DIC displayed pressures will be lower.

Owners that live in areas of around 4,000 feet ASL report the DIC is about 3 psi less than their gauge.

Those that live above 5,000 feet report as much as 4 psi lower on the DIC.

Bob

ChevyDave

Yes, and i threw away my copy.. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr ( lol )

Never-Enough

My eletronic gauges have always broken and/or died within a year. neither my current electronic or manual gauges read the same as my DIC.

SanDiegoBert

Always consult your DIC . . .

Scott Simpson

Consumer Reports rated gauges. The most inaccurate were

Slime 20074
Slime 20048

The most accurate were

Accutire MS-4400B
Accutire MS-4021B
Intercomp 360060
Accutire MS-4800B

LS WON

Discount tires told me to use separate tire guage as the TPM's on Corvette get old and that affects accuracy. They also said to avoid the battery operated tire guages.

MikeyTX

If I'm late for work on Monday it's your fault. Do you know how long it's gonna take me to read through that darn site?

HOXXOH

So would a flat tire in Denver read a negative 4 psi on the DIC?

MikeyTX

Well ....................... There ya go Frank ! Time for a short run down the 15

Jimmy W1

And the winner is-s-s-s-s-s-s!! I do the same thing. A .99 cent tire gauge at the gas station always works fine. I've got a bunch of them. As long as all of the tires read the same thing, is there any difference? Ocassionally I might check them with two different ones. But does a pound or two really make any difference? I just make sure they all read the same and keep them that way.