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I have three different tire pressure gauges. One is a dial type, another is digital and I even have an old fashion stick type. They all read different pressures, from 2 to 3 PSI different. None of them read the same as the cars indicator. How accurate is the car’s TPMS? Also, what is the most accurate tire pressure gauge and who sells it?
I have found the TPM system on the Vette to be very accurate. Can not tell you what tire gauge is the most accurate or best but my dial type gauge pretty much aligns measurement wise with the TPM system numbers.
I have three different tire pressure gauges. One is a dial type, another is digital and I even have an old fashion stick type. They all read different pressures, from 2 to 3 PSI different. None of them read the same as the cars indicator. How accurate is the car’s TPMS? Also, what is the most accurate tire pressure gauge and who sells it?
The Lumiteco 2.5 " digital gauge I bought from Amazon this year with 0.1 psi resolution matches my C7 pressures.
Unless you are setting up for competitive track events within 2 to 3 psi is going to be fine and within the tolerance of any consumer gauge.
My go to gauge is an analog dial type from Milton I bought maybe 18 years ago when I bought my first HD pickup and need a gauge that would read beyond 80 PSI. I had it checked by a friend at the university against a standard traceable to NIST and the error was within 2 psi from 2 to 120 PSI and within 1 PSI over most of that range which is plenty accurate. I do treat the gauge well so it doesn't get bounced around.
I would trust my analog now somewhat vintage Milton dial gauge over most of the newer Chinese sourced digital stuff. Digital often provides higher resolution (often reading in 0.1 increments) but high resolution is useless if the base accuracy doesn't support that level of resolution which is generally the case with lower cost digital tire gauges, digital multimeters, torque wrenches, etc. When reading a dial type gauge make sure to look straight down on the indicator to avoid parallax error; in days past better quality analog meters included a mirrored band on the scale which you could use to ensure you weren't decreasing the accuracy due to parallax viewing error.
Unless you are setting up for competitive track events within 2 to 3 psi is going to be fine and within the tolerance of any consumer gauge.
My go to gauge is an analog dial type from Milton I bought maybe 18 years ago when I bought my first HD pickup and need a gauge that would read beyond 80 PSI. I had it checked by a friend at the university against a standard traceable to NIST and the error was within 2 psi from 2 to 120 PSI and within 1 PSI over most of that range which is plenty accurate. I do treat the gauge well so it doesn't get bounced around.
I would trust my analog now somewhat vintage Milton dial gauge over most of the newer Chinese sourced digital stuff. Digital often provides higher resolution (often reading in 0.1 increments) but high resolution is useless if the base accuracy doesn't support that level of resolution which is generally the case with lower cost digital tire gauges, digital multimeters, torque wrenches, etc. When reading a dial type gauge make sure to look straight down on the indicator to avoid parallax error; in days past better quality analog meters included a mirrored band on the scale which you could use to ensure you weren't decreasing the accuracy due to parallax viewing error.
A good analog gauge is fine. I have a max 60 psi large gauge on a devise I think is best for setting tire pressures. It has a hose from the gauge to two tires! That gauge matches the C7 displayed pressures as well as my digital gauge. Therefore setting one pressure balances both tires! Unfortunately this brand is no longer available. They do sell them for trucks with dual tires but they are expensive.
I have a dial type Accugage and it reads within .5 psi of the sensors. By checking all sensors with the same gage, I have found that there is also some variation in the accuracy of the sensors. I have one sensor on one of my cars that always reads low, but Iknow it has enough air in the tire. Tire Gauge Accuracy:
All of our dial tire gauges are ANSI Commercial Grade B gauges (meets ANSI B40.1 Grade B specifications). Unlike piston-plunger-type gauges, the bourdon tube movement is not affected by changes in temperature, humidity, altitude or air stream contaminants. The mechanical accuracy rating is ± 2% from 30% to 60% of scale and ± 3% below 30% and above 60%.
Unless you are setting up for competitive track events within 2 to 3 psi is going to be fine and within the tolerance of any consumer gauge.
My go to gauge is an analog dial type from Milton I bought maybe 18 years ago when I bought my first HD pickup and need a gauge that would read beyond 80 PSI. I had it checked by a friend at the university against a standard traceable to NIST and the error was within 2 psi from 2 to 120 PSI and within 1 PSI over most of that range which is plenty accurate. I do treat the gauge well so it doesn't get bounced around.
I would trust my analog now somewhat vintage Milton dial gauge over most of the newer Chinese sourced digital stuff. Digital often provides higher resolution (often reading in 0.1 increments) but high resolution is useless if the base accuracy doesn't support that level of resolution which is generally the case with lower cost digital tire gauges, digital multimeters, torque wrenches, etc. When reading a dial type gauge make sure to look straight down on the indicator to avoid parallax error; in days past better quality analog meters included a mirrored band on the scale which you could use to ensure you weren't decreasing the accuracy due to parallax viewing error.
I sold 4-5 different manufacturer's gauges over the years when I had my auto parts stores and found Milton to be the best. All their products typically cater more to the professional who more demands accuracy and durability.
I always used Milton for my personal use as well. My tired old stick gauge will usually measure within a pound of my C7 read-out.
Last edited by Kevin A Jones; 07-09-2018 at 09:22 AM.
My TPMS sensor readings also exactly match a fairly inexpensive digital combo tire pressure and tread depth gauge purchased on Amazon. It reads in increments of .5 psi.
My TPMS sensor readings also exactly match a fairly inexpensive digital combo tire pressure and tread depth gauge purchased on Amazon. It reads in increments of .5 psi.
^^^
Hmm, not in my case! The street rod 16.5 inch section width tires operate at 16 psi! Need to be pretty accurate!
Know some folks are OCD about fingerprints, etc. - not me! But some things yep! Thought about how many pressure gauges I have and took this pic!
Gauge circled in Red is latest bought from Amazon for $19 this year. It replaced the other electronic gauge from Jegs that cost ~$50 but every-time I went to use it the battery was dead! The center case holds the two hose device with a 60 psi analog gauge. Balances two tires "perfectly!" Other three gauges are 60 psi max analog gauges. The one on the lower right is one I would give to welding distributors when they visited figuring they would have it longer than a pen! It has the Company name, which I coined when we became a levered buyout from UCC!
Good question as I just went thru this same situation myself with my C6 with Firestone RF. Tire pressure is tire pressure doesn't matter the car. After reading hundreds of reviews of all the different type gauges the question is, is my new gauge really accurate? I have a Moroso dial gauge #89560 that was 2 lbs. over the DIC and my 20 year old Milton dial gauge. The Milton was 1 lb over the DIC. I bought an Accutire digital MS-4021B and it matches the DIC on all 4 tires.
The reviews on the Moroso were what I found, that it reads high. The old Milton was very close to actual and one guy on Amazon checked the MS-4021B against a NIST certified master gauge and found it to be dead on. So that is good enough for me.
I don't think the vehicle DIC display is the most accurate but who knows? It's nice to know that what it shows is nearly exactly what the 4021B shows. Alot of owners here use the 4021B.
Considering the marginal-at-best quality of items "Made in China", I decided to use digital gauges for convenience and because a pressure transducer that provides a voltage output has fewer possible locations to introduce errors than does a mechanical/bourdon tube system. FWIW, my two digital gauges agree with the TPS reading within 1 psi or so.
The Lumiteco 2.5 " digital gauge I bought from Amazon this year with 0.1 psi resolution matches my C7 pressures.
I have this gauge as well and its very accurate. Dead on with the TPMS assuming they're accurate. I bought the version that connects directly to my air compressor
The Lumiteco 2.5 " digital gauge I bought from Amazon this year with 0.1 psi resolution matches my C7 pressures.
The problem is that only tells you how well you can read the gauge and nothing about how accurate it is. You need good accuracy along with good resolution to know what the pressure actually is. On top of that all gauges need to be calibrated to a standard traceable back to NIST. As far as I can tell all gauges are pretty close on accuracy. A stick gauge can be just as accurate as a analog dial gauge with a 3 inch meter face. The difference is stick gauges usually don't have sufficient resolution to easily determine the pressure.
The problem is that only tells you how well you can read the gauge and nothing about how accurate it is. You need good accuracy along with good resolution to know what the pressure actually is. On top of that all gauges need to be calibrated to a standard traceable back to NIST. As far as I can tell all gauges are pretty close on accuracy. A stick gauge can be just as accurate as a analog dial gauge with a 3 inch meter face. The difference is stick gauges usually don't have sufficient resolution to easily determine the pressure.
Bill
Agree, but unlike what is required by some companies for welding pressure gauges i.e. having them checked, calibrated and certified annually back to national standard, I look at how it compares with my other analog gauges. Not certification but my large 2 1/2 inch analog gauge and a smaller one read the same. All three are close to the C7 display. The one I use to set the 16 pounds in my street rod rear tires is very repeatable. Good enough for me!
07-09-2018, 08:20 AM
Tire Pressure Guages
A good analog gauge is fine. I have a max 60 psi large gauge on a devise I think is best for setting tire pressures. It has a hose from the gauge to two tires! That gauge matches the C7 displayed pressures as well as my digital gauge. Therefore setting one pressure balances both tires! Unfortunately this brand is no longer available. They do sell them for trucks with dual tires but they are expensive.
