Tire Gauge, Mine is off 10% which one should I get

[tnman]

Soooooo, I think I may have found my poor wear problems with all my tires since I have owned the ST. While on my last trip my buddy checked my tires for me as I was still getting ready. He thought I was running 40PSI so he checked them for me. I always run 42 front and rear. Come to find out my Acugauge is not accurate! I thought the Acu part stood for accurate but it measures 4psi high (I was only getting 38psi when I thought I had 42. I think that is a HUGE difference! We checked it with 3 different gauges and mine was the only one that was different.
What gauges do you guys use or recommend? I'm tempted to get a few cheap ones and check it with multiple as it appears testing with only one can cause you problems.

 

[Skunkape]

You know how far yours is off now, just compensate for it. I don't think there are any real good gauges without spending big bucks for a racing gauge or similar. JMHO

 

[Walleye]

Just went through this yesterday, I am near obsessive with tire pressure. I checked mine early, we've had a big fluctuation in weather temps here, deciding to check my 5 stick gauges and one dial gauge. One nearly 5psi above the rest, 3 nearly same and 1 a bit lower with the dial gauge (personal favorite) coming in about 2 psi above the average and of course it wont fit in the wheel space of the ST with standard valve stems. Who knows or can prove any of the gauges or your buddies is correct, funny how we develop trust in without proof. A measuring cup is always, ( ok here we go, i gotta go check them now) correct. We must have a Standard to verify accuracy, and a gauge from a trusted company with a verifiable quality control record. I am willing to pay more for the quality and peace of mind.

 

[mlheck]

My Accu-gauge is also off by 10%. So I fill to 46 instead of 42. I also had some weird wear issues early on. Once I figured out the gauge was off, no more problems.

 

[ST Gui]

We must have a Standard to verify accuracy, and a gauge from a trusted company with a verifiable quality control record. I am willing to pay more for the quality and peace of mind.

+1 ! Using tire wear to gauge gauge accuracy (if/when possible) is a terrible way to roll.

but it measures 4psi high (I was only getting 38psi when I thought I had 42.

Did you feel a difference in handling once your tire pressure was 'corrected'? I wouldn't miss a couple of pounds but 4lbs is quite a bit. I notice it most when trying to put the bike on the center stand.

 

[DeanR]

Accu-Gage will recalibrate it if you send it to them. They even put a new rubber surround on mine.

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[paulcb]

Get yours calibrated and get a TPMS. Both of the ones I've used have matched every tire gauge put up against it, ±1 psi.

A TPMS is my most important farkle. I currently use one very similar to this.

 

[SMSW]

Get yours calibrated and get a TPMS. Both of the ones I've used have matched every tire gauge put up against it, ±1 psi.

A TPMS is my most important farkle. I currently use one very similar to this.

My experience too. In fact, I use my TPMS as a backup to check my pressure gauge.

There are multiple problems with cheap tire gauges. They might not repeat the pressure accurately, and the error might not be linear over the range of the gage. Compare yours to a TPMS or accurate gauge and hang on to it.

 

[ST Gui]

Accu-Gage will recalibrate it if you send it to them. They even put a new rubber surround on mine.

IDNKT! Great! Does this apple to all their gauges? Is there a fee? I have a Joe's Garage or something that looks like an Accu-Gage. To get recalibration I'd get an A-G to be the standard.

 

[dwalby]

Accu-Gage will recalibrate it if you send it to them. They even put a new rubber surround on mine.

hey, good to know, I've got a couple of them from the '80s that appear to be accurate when I compare them to each other and a newer gauge I bought a few years ago.

The rubber gasket that seals around the valve stem is getting kinda old on one of them, if it ever fails I'll remember to send it back for a new gasket. I should call them and see if they'll just mail me one without sending the gauge in.

 

[dduelin]

“He who owns two watches never knows the time.”

 

[bdalameda]

I used to be fairly obsessive about pressure until I had a temperature/ pressure monitor and realized that temperatures and pressures vary greatly depending on whether or not you park the bike in the sun vs. the shade and the ambient air temperature and barometric pressure when you fill the tire or adjust the pressure. Riding in traffic or at high speed will also cause large swings in tire pressure/ temperature. I have seen my rear tire pressure vary from 40lbs. to over 50lbs. during a day of riding. The front does not vary as much but can easily vary from 36 to 42lbs while riding depending on ambient temperatures and riding conditions.
I have wondered about how the rear tire temperature on the ST1100 is affected by how close the exhaust is routed around the rear tire as it would seem to me that that even with the tire turning, over time, the exhaust would radiate enough heat to warm up the tire. This might have an effect on the tire wear and tire pressure/ temperature. I've thought about making a heat shield to try and see if there was any improvement in tire temperature/ pressure swings.

Dan

 

[paulcb]

I used to be fairly obsessive about pressure until I had a temperature/ pressure monitor and realized that temperatures and pressures vary greatly depending on whether or not you park the bike in the sun vs. the shade and the ambient air temperature and barometric pressure when you fill the tire or adjust the pressure. Riding in traffic or at high speed will also cause large swings in tire pressure/ temperature. I have seen my rear tire pressure vary from 40lbs. to over 50lbs. during a day of riding. The front does not vary as much but can easily vary from 36 to 42lbs while riding depending on ambient temperatures and riding conditions.
I have wondered about how the rear tire temperature on the ST1100 is affected by how close the exhaust is routed around the rear tire as it would seem to me that that even with the tire turning, over time, the exhaust would radiate enough heat to warm up the tire. This might have an effect on the tire wear and tire pressure/ temperature. I've thought about making a heat shield to try and see if there was any improvement in tire temperature/ pressure swings.

Dan

+1. I fill to 42/42 cold in the garage, and then just let it go from there. The tires are designed for these pressure/temp swings, so I don't worry about it. Plus, the temps we read are not the temps of the tire carcass, especially the outer surface where all the action occurs (traction and flex).

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I primarily use pencil gauges because they are so small they can be carried anywhere so I have one in each vehicle at all times. My experience has been that every cheap plastic pencil gauge (China) that I have ever purchased was not worth owning and were not accurate. Based on this experience I have gone back to what I have always found to be accurate which is the higher quality Milton pencil gauges. I always try to find the 5-50 P.S.I. gauge graduated in one P.S.I. increments as it is easier to read- Milton S-921 and they are under ten bucks each.

I have tested probably 15 to 20 tire pressure gauges using a master calibration gauge (benefit of where I worked) including dial and digital gauges. The cheap plastic pencil gauges were the worst and varied wildly in accuracy. Most decent quality dial gauges (I didn't have any cheap ones) were within two P.S.I. when tested at 42 P.S.I.. Amongst the worst that I tested was the cheap Accu-Gauge electronic digital gauges- some off by as much as five P.S.I.. Surprisingly the Milton pencil gauges that I linked to above were the ones that were the most consistently accurate when tested at 42 P.S.I. as in they had the least variance amongst the lot tested. None were off by more than two P.S.I.. I tested five of them and all but one were within one P.S.I. and they all read one P.S.I. higher than actual pressure. They were surprisingly consistent as well in that they would output the same reading over multiple tests- something the cheap Chinese ones didn't.

As far as I am concerned extreme accuracy is not required for tire pressure because it is never checked under controlled atmospheric conditions. You can have the most accurate gauge in the world but unless you are compensating for all of the environmental factors comparative readings are only a close reference. Because of this, as long as the gauge that you are using is within a couple of P.S.I. of true, consistency of the readings is more important so that any significant pressure changes will be evident. The dial gauge is to bulky to carry on the bike and the batteries have died in the digital ones that I had. I arbitrarily decided that being within two P.S.I. of true is good enough for me. I satisfied myself that the Milton pencil gauge achieves that. Because it is so small and convenient that is all that I use now.

 

[Walleye]

That settles it for me. The remainder of my vast allowance will go to the purchase of 2 Miltons, Thanks.

 

[MidLife]

- Milton S-921 and they are under ten bucks each.

Used to have a Milton as well, but with the heat down here the nylon indicator bar on mine started to slightly warp over time, just enough to stick and cause the reading to be off.

.......unless you are compensating for all of the environmental factors comparative readings are only a close reference.

One purpose of checking the pressure is precisely to compensate for changing conditions (change in temp and change in pressure due to weather or altitude) and adjust the pressure for the current conditions. The pressure should be checked before the ride, that is before the tire heats up from having been ridden. Or as Milton puts it in their instructions, when the tire in "not just driven" condition.

 

[DeanR]

IDNKT! Great! Does this apple to all their gauges? Is there a fee? I have a Joe's Garage or something that looks like an Accu-Gage. To get recalibration I'd get an A-G to be the standard.

The rubber gasket that seals around the valve stem is getting kinda old on one of them, if it ever fails I'll remember to send it back for a new gasket. I should call them and see if they'll just mail me one without sending the gauge in.

I sent it in a few years ago. Not sure if they charged me anything or not. Only a couple bucks if they did, and I got back a reconditioned gauge. Happy.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

One purpose of checking the pressure is precisely to compensate for changing conditions (change in temp and change in pressure due to weather or altitude) and adjust the pressure for the current conditions. The pressure should be checked before the ride, that is before the tire heats up from having been ridden. Or as Milton puts it in their instructions, when the tire in "not just driven" condition.

Checking tire pressure at any given moment only tells you what the gauge pressure is at that moment under those conditions. If, when you check your tire pressures, you are only looking at the reading that you see on the gauge that you are checking the pressure with you are not compensating for atmospheric conditions relative to the last reading that you took- you are only seeing uncompensated gauge pressure at that instance.

If you do not do the mathematical calculations to compensate for the changes in barometric pressure, temperature and humidity since the last pressure check the result that you are getting will not tell you if the air pressure in the tire is actually different from the last time that you checked it. The different gauge reading that you observe may be due to a loss of pressure due to a leak- or it may due to the change in atmospheric conditions since the last check. Similarily you may have a leak and have lost pressure but the gauge actually reads higher than the last pressure check due to different atmospheric conditions. Unless you do the math you do not know.

Because these compensation calculations are not performed between every routine tire pressure check is the reason why I stated that in my opinion an extremely accurate gauge that is accurate to within 0.5% is not of much value for this purpose as the result will never be scientifically accurate anyway. There is no need for this level of accuracy for tire pressure. There is no need to do the compensation calculations for the purpose of monitoring tire pressure either. What is important is monitoring to see if there is a trend over time that indicates that a failure of some sort is causing pressure to be lost.

 

[dwalby]

There is no need for this level of accuracy for tire pressure.

yes, but it seems to be a habit of this forum to take a simple concept and try to turn it into a science project of unnecessary complexity.

 

[ST Gui]

I check it before a ride. That's the last time until the next ride or I get an alarm which I haven't.