Air pressure guages at Fuel Pumps. Do you trust them???

[Shan2nu]

With all the pumps upgrading their old analog gauges to newer digital ones, one might find it comfortable to think that the misreading of gauges might be a thing of the past but no, i just realised how misleading the digital ones can be.

CASE 1
On a recent trip to M'lore, i got our Innova's pressure checked at a local pump only to be horrified, when the guy pointed out that the car was running at 43psi (one psi below the max pressure).

I knew it couldn't be true. ok, i did run the vehichle for a few kms before that but a 10psi increase was not something i was gonna go by.

So, i quickly went to the nearest accessories shop and picked up a brand new gauge. It so turned out that the gauge at the pump was over reading by 6 psi!!!!

So, 33psi according to him was infact 27psi (which would have caused some serious damage, had i taken the vehicle on the 400 km journey).

I asked him to get rid of his gauge and insisted that he use the new one.

CASE 2
It was just yesterday that we got our Wagon R serviced at a local garage. As i drove out of the service station i realised that the car felt a lot more bumpier than normal.

I immediately got home and did a quick pressure check. Believe it or not, the front tyres were inflated to 55psi while the rears were set at 25psi (Perfect recipe for disaster).

So, the next time you take your car for a pressure check, make sure you carry a personal gauge with you. Trust me, it'll make a diff in the long run.

Shan2nu

[MrBoombastic]

What you have stated is very right, Shan2nu... 9 out of 10 gauges (digital gauges included) are always faulty. In Chennai, there is only one place (The BP outlet on Cathedral Road next to Woodlands drive-in) from where I fill air, but even the gauge over there has shown an error on a few occasions.

[imjimmy]

It's a big pain.

I personally have found the guages at pumps to be 10-15% varying.

Don't have a pressure gauge with me.

The best thing is to go to the same pump in your city and always get the air pressure filled up there. Experiment with the best pressure that you need..w.r.t ride handling etc..

Then always stick to that place. So even if you get it wrong it will still be consistent in the error.

BTW i have observed that some digital guages are horrendously wrong. They are usually better but at some places they have a huge error. Sometimes the old analog gauges do come handy.

If someone knows a good guage available at accessory shops..plz suggest.

[GTO]

Nope, I dont trust the public gauges at all. Got myself a precision oriented digital tyre gauge from ebay for $10.

GTO

[imjimmy]

Got myself a precision oriented digital tyre gauge from ebay for $10.

Can you plz provide the details. My friend is returning from the US in early Dec - i could ask him to get it.

[Badcheetah]

always carry a digital one in the boot with me ,and check the pressure my self just to be sure .
Hey "GTO" even I got one from E-BAY, but a friend of mine carried it for me from LA .

[cnu]

Even I need to get one.

1) Is there any branded one available in India that is reliable and accurate ?
2) If getting from US, which one should we go for ? (Any links ?)
3) I think digital guages are always better than analog ones. Right ?

[moralfibre]

TATA Motors provide a nice tyre pressure gauge as a part of their accessories... It costs Rs. 149/- and works well.. Have bought one for myself and am satisfied with it..

[Digital Vampire]

I dont believe the filling station guages at all...

I used to carry a precision Digital Tyre Pressure guage. Also a mini-compressor which plugs to the Cigarette Lighter socket. The compressor itself has an analog guage, but not very dependable. It takes roughly 6-7 minutes to fill an empty tyre.

The combination costed me roughly 1000 INR (~20 Euros) and pretty much paid for itself

[Aroongupta]

I am told that driving too fast (120+) with higher than normal tyre pressure leads to problems with wheel allignment. Is that true?

Arun

[filcord]

I have a digital pressure gauge, purchased in Europe for abt 7 Euro. Has lasted me three years, check my cars once a week and before any journey if loaded with luggage. Changed the button battery in the gauge once for 8 rupees.

The thing is, you have to check the tyre pressure when cold. If you drive to the pressure-wallah for even a couple of km, it will raise the air pressure by a couple of psi easily.

If you have no pump at home, measure at home, jot down the reading, drive to the pressure-wallah, take the reading again, and adjust accordingly, i.e, fill by the proper pressure plus the amount it has increased by.

[Kaizer Sozay]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

TATA Motors provide a nice tyre pressure gauge as a part of their accessories... It costs Rs. 149/- and works well.. Have bought one for myself and am satisfied with it..

Is there any other branded gauge availabe in bombay, please do suggest or else i would go in for the one at a tata outlet

[aah78]

Originally Posted by cnu

2) If getting from US, which one should we go for ? (Any links ?)
3) I think digital guages are always better than analog ones. Right ?

i prefer digital gauges. it's a matter of personal choice. the common factor being that digital gauges are assumed to be more accurate compared to analog ones.

i've been using a Sears Craftsman digital gauge for the past couple of years now and it's given me trouble-free service. i've checked its accuracy with an analogue gauge that i use for my bike and they're both reasonably similar in readings. the digital gauge rounds-off the reading (eg. 24.3 = 24psi and 33.7 = 34psi).

i've used an Accugage digital gauge earlier but it was horribly inaccurate in its reading. especially in cold weather.

BMW & Michelin digital gauges are available but they're expensive compared to the others - not a whole lot though.