New tire pressure gauge

[OVERKILL]

After being thoroughly disappointed in the fact that the new Snap-On tire pressure gauges aren't made in the USA anymore (my old one is), I decided I'd try and find a German-made one.

That proved to be pretty easy actually, as there are a variety of "Made in Germany" tire pressure gauges, the problem was getting one in Canada without getting thoroughly dominated on shipping, which seemed to be the issue.

Enter: Trav

Being the legend that he is, Trav was able to hook me up and I'm now the proud owner of a FLAIG tire pressure gauge, which I'll be keeping in the glovebox of the M5 (the Snap-On one does duty in the glovebox of the Expedition).

I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to Trav for helping me out here, and I'm extremely impressed with the quality of this item.

Here is the equivalent product from Snap-On (note the COO):
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?...amp;dir=catalog
Price is $60.45 + shipping and tax from the website.

I paid about the same for this gauge.

Even came with a calibration sheet

 

[addyguy]

$60 for a tire gauge????

Are you....wait, never mind. Just forget it.

Enjoy your tire gauge!

 

[Colt]

Overkill?

How accurate is that unit said to be?
Most of the Accutire digitals are said to be right on or maybe .5lb off.
I have a couple these $20 units and have been happy with them for years.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
$60 for a tire gauge????

Are you....wait, never mind. Just forget it.

Enjoy your tire gauge!



Yes he's neurotic, why he's here with the rest of us. He needs that gauge, if the pressure goes off by 1lb he's rolling off a cliff.

 

[SLCraig]

That thing looks sweet.. I love quality things like that.
I'd be more inclined to borrow it at that price though.
I pretty much only add air to my tires if they look low, because I can usually tell within a few pounds, how much pressure is in the tire anyway.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Colt
Overkill?

How accurate is that unit said to be?
Most of the Accutire digitals are said to be right on or maybe .5lb off.
I have a couple these $20 units and have been happy with them for years.

Just open the picture in a new tab, you'll see it says on the sheet

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Originally Posted By: addyguy
$60 for a tire gauge????

Are you....wait, never mind. Just forget it.

Enjoy your tire gauge!



Yes he's neurotic, why he's here with the rest of us. He needs that gauge, if the pressure goes off by 1lb he's rolling off a cliff.


EXACTLY! We don't need a cliff-diving M5, we've already witnessed a cliff-diving M3, that's enough of that nonsense!

 

[LeakySeals]

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
That thing looks sweet.. I love quality things like that.
I'd be more inclined to borrow it at that price though.
I pretty much only add air to my tires if they look low, because I can usually tell within a few pounds, how much pressure is in the tire anyway.


One of my vices (pardon the pun) is nice tools/instruments. And you already know my position on first-world sourced items, and this goes right along with that.

 

[Coprolite]

So the tolerance is 1.45 PSI? I take "final value of the scale" as the maximum scale marked... Am I missing something here?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
So the tolerance is 1.45 PSI? I take "final value of the scale" as the maximum scale marked... Am I missing something here?


Yup, sounds about right. Would have been lower if I had opted for a gauge with a narrower scale (0-57psi for example was another model) but since I have some tires that take 80psi on some other equipment, I went with the 0-142psi scale model.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

SEARS has a digital w/air bleed for $30.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
SEARS has a digital w/air bleed for $30.


I prefer analog gauges, I gave my digital one to my sister when I bought my Snap-On one.

 

[Russell]

Is there a high quality digital gauge out there?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Russell
Is there a high quality digital gauge out there?


The same company also makes digital gauges.

Here's their catalog:
http://www.flaig-praezision.de/uploads/media/4_03.pdf

 

[SubLGT]

What are F1 pit crews using?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: SubLGT
What are F1 pit crews using?


Probably calibrated inflator tools that you can set a given pressure and just pop it on the tire and it will inflate/deflate to that pressure.

And I'm sure they are quite expensive.

 

[addyguy]

I've heard more times than I can count that digital tire gauges aren't worth do-do, none of them.

Many 'experienced' mechanics I've talked to have several inexpensive analogue ones ($10-20), and they swear by them.

 

[gaijinnv]

Originally Posted By: Russell
Is there a high quality digital gauge out there?


Originally Posted By: SubLGT
What are F1 pit crews using?


Look closely at what's on the belt of every NASCAR official working in pit lane during a race - they all have an Intercomp digital tire pressure gauge clipped to their belt:

Intercomp 0-99.99psi Tire Pressure Gauge

Proudly made in the USA

Each time it is turned on and Zero'd, it self-adjusts for ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure.

I bought one years ago and have stopped worrying about whether my tire pressures are accurate.

 

[gaijinnv]

Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
Originally Posted By: Russell
Is there a high quality digital gauge out there?


Originally Posted By: SubLGT
What are F1 pit crews using?


Look closely at what's on the belt of every NASCAR official working in pit lane during a race - they all have an Intercomp digital tire pressure gauge clipped to their belt:

Intercomp 0-99.99psi Tire Pressure Gauge

Proudly made in the USA

Each time it is turned on and Zero'd, it self-adjusts for ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure.

I bought one years ago and have stopped worrying about whether my tire pressures are accurate.

BTW, accuracy is + 0.1% of applied pressure. So for example, at 35psi it is accurate to + 0.035psi