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Tire Pressure Gauges
About Tyre Pressure Gauges
The scheduled maintenance of a car is between every few thousand kilometres or once every six months. But there is one thing that you should check and maintain every month—the tyre pressure. Having your own tyre pressure gauge can come handy in these cases.
There are a lot of benefits to driving with a properly inflated tyre. The ride comfort improves, the handling feels better, the braking distance will be less, and the cornering will be right on the money. But the air leaves the tyre as you continue to put on miles. Therefore, it is not possible to keep the tyres at a constant pressure at all times. Rather, you can make sure that the pressure is within an acceptable range. Thus, if you have a tyre pressure gauge, you can avoid going down to a car maintenance shop to check the air pressure every month or so. But before you go shopping for a pressure gauge, knowing a bit more about it will be useful.
All you need to know about tyre pressure gauges
All pressure gauges are not the same even though all they do is to measure how inflated the tyre is. There are a few different types of tyre pressure gauges out there. And knowing more about each type of them and how to use them can help you a lot when you choose which one is right for you. Here is a list of the different types of pressure gauges that you will find in the market. This article will help you decide what type of gauge you should buy for your vehicle. In this article, you will also find some wonderful tips that you can follow while shopping for them.
Stick type gauges
This gauge looks like a large ballpoint pen. You can easily fit one inside your pocket. The working of this gauge is also quite simple. There is a calibrated scale inside it that pops out when you press the mouth of the gauge against the tyre pressure valve. But there are two sides to the gauge though. While one side measures the pressure, the other one will let you let the air out in order to adjust the pressure. So, make sure that you are using the right one. The benefits of this tool are that they are small and easy to carry. They are pretty inexpensive as well. But they are not the best when it comes to accuracy.
Dial gauge
Like the name says it, these gauges come with a dial. The main advantage of having a dial is that it is easy to read the measurement, and also, they are very accurate. Most professional car mechanics prefer this instead of the stick type pressure gauge. But you have to be more careful when you handle them. The calibrated spring that is responsible for the accuracy is also a weak point. The spring can lose its calibration if you knock it against something or if it falls down. One more thing to think about is that they are bulkier than a stick type pressure gauge. You cannot fit it in a trouser pocket.
Digital tyre pressure gauge
These days more and more people, including professional mechanics, are going for digital gauges. There is a strong reason for that. They are sometimes cheaper than a dial type pressure gauge and give the same level of accuracy. There is also one difference in the way it shows the reading. While you have to keep the gauge on the tyre pressure valve to get the reading from a dial type meter, a digital gauge saves the reading even after you have removed it from the valve. This display will show you the reading until you clear it. The backlit screen means you don’t need to shine another light on it to take the reading.
Using tyre pressure gauges
It is normal for tyres to lose pressure over time. Even if you haven’t driven the car, the tyre will lose some of its pressure. But the tyre will lose more pressure, the more you drive it. The main point of air leakage in an undamaged tyre is the rubber sidewall of the tyre. The pressure valve, or inflation valve, only accounts for a fraction of that. The tyre pressure also changes with the outside temperature. But you have to keep the tyre pressure within the optimum range regardless. The best practice is to check the tyre pressure once in a month under normal usage. But if you happen to drive more than usual in a week, it is a good idea to make sure that the pressure is optimal.
Tips on how to buy Tyre Pressure Gauges
There are a few different types of pressure gauges, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. It can be quite confusing when you try to choose one. But it’s not rocket science. If you know what to look for, it is easy to select a pressure gauge without any hassle. Here are some tips that you can follow when you shop for pressure gauges.
- Choose the type of pressure gauge – First and foremost, you need to set your preferences. Some gauges are more expensive than others. But when you go for cheaper gauges, you compromise accuracy and durability. A stick type pressure gauge can be really cheap, but if you want more than that, you need to stretch your budget out a bit and get a dial gauge or a digital gauge.
- The tyre type – Not all gauges will work for all types of tyres. For large truck tyres, you need a pressure gauge that can measure up to a 160 psi. For car tyres, the normal range is between 20 and 50 psi. But if the tyre is even smaller, say a bicycle tyre, then you need a low tyre pressure gauge that can measure from 2 psi to 20 psi.
- Storage and portability – How you want to store the car tool and how you will be using it are important to consider. If you want something that is easy to carry, a large dial type pressure gauge will not be useful at all. But if you won’t be travelling with it a lot or you want something very accurate and will be storing it in your garage, a dial type gauge is a good choice.
- Hose – You will find tyre pressure gauges with a long hose. This house is useful to check the tyre pressure if the valve is deep inside the wheel well. You can twist the hose to reach into the wheel wells. This type of gauges is especially useful in large vehicles and cars with modified wheels.
Finally, pressure gauges are sensitive equipment. You need to take good care of them to make sure that they work well. Dropping them on the floor or knocking them against something hard can result in inaccurate readings. Also, checking them once a month is imperative to maintain proper tyre pressure. And finally, don’t forget to check out other products in the car supplies category. Our product search engine features more than 500 shops and brands offering car tools from Bridgestone, Halfords, BMW, Grainger, Michelin, and many more.
Question & Answer
How to check tyre pressure without a gauge?
Although there are ways that you can approximate the tyre pressure in your car, nothing comes closer to using a tyre pressure gauge. But in case you had no other ways, you can use some tricks. The easiest way is to look at how much the tyres splay when the tyres are static. A fully inflated tyre doesn’t mean that it will be perfectly round. But if it splays too much, that is a sign of low pressure. Another method is to drive the vehicle over a kerbstone. If the tyre splays too much, it will be more noticeable when you drive it over a kerb. Finally, there is the puddle test. Ride the car through a puddle and then drive it over a pavement.
Are cheap tyre pressure gauges accurate?
There are some cheap digital tyre pressure gauges that are accurate. But the thing about cheap digital gauges is that they are not very durable. Some will last for a few years while some will break after a few months. So, when it comes to digital meters, you are compromising the durability when you go for the cheaper ones. On the other hand, there are cheap stick type gauges that can last for a long time. But the trade out is that stick gauges are not accurate. But if you are a normal user, a stick gauge is good enough. Unless the car performance really matters for you.
What is the right pressure for car tyres?
Manufacturers specify the tyre pressure within a minimum and maximum range. This will specify the tyres as well as on the car window. They use the ‘cold pressure’ to specify this range. The cold pressure means the pressure in the tyre when you fill it up after letting it rest in the shade for a few hours. Usually, for a medium-sized car, this will be between 30 and 35 psi. The best thing to do is to inflate the tyre to the middle way between the minimum and maximum pressure. If inflated to the maximum, the braking range of the car will suffer as well as the ride comfort.