Best tire Pressure Gauge for Karting

What are you guys using for tire pressure gauges? When I first started out I used a cheap autozone stick style tire pressure gauge. I quickly discovered they were about as accurate and consistent at just guessing. I bought a longacre and have been pretty happy with it since. It’s about 5 years old now. But recently heard from someone else that they are crap. Now I know intercomp has a nice 300$ digital one and I see allot of big teams and there mechanics use them. Are they worth it? Are they that much more accurate and consistent over my 30$ longacre
0-14 gauge. What’s everyone else like?

I’m quite happy with the Longacre gauges that I use.

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My engineer just got the mother of all tire gauges called an Alfano P/T. It’s impressive and also measures tire temps etc.
I suspect it’s excellent as Jerry informed the tent that we weren’t allowed to touch it or even look at it.

+1 very happy with my digital Longacre that I use for both car and kart track work.

http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1715&prodid=7354&pagetitle=Semi-Pro-Digital-Tire-Pressure-Gauge-0-60-psi

We’ve used the Intercomp ones for years and like them a lot, but I think any gauge will start to read wonky if you drop it enough. We’ve got a couple in the tent and they aren’t exactly same.

What I probably should do is take mine and find someone with a “high end “ gauge and compare. See if they read the same on the same tire.

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This is what I use as well. The digital readout inspires more confidence than analog. Also the bit that attaches to the valve is well designed as compared to many that aren’t designed with the small hubs in mind.

I use a Longacre dial style. Analog guage works fine & no worrying about batteries.

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I “borrowed” my friend’s digital snap on, all the others I’ve had have broken

as a data point, I’ve owned my Longacre for at least 5 years and have never had to put batteries in it. I keep spares in my track bag but it’s never needed them.

One problem with analog gauges, especially some of the low-range (0-15psi) gauges, is if you have regularly maxed out the scale, they lose accuracy.

The digital gauges have their pitfalls, too - they use a transducer with a specified range. Those transducers, like their analog counterparts will become less accurate if you surpass the max design pressure; in addition, they are designed to have the best accuracy at around 50% of the pressure transducer’s range, and less accuracy as you approach each extreme of the scale (high and low).

With that said, I like my Longacre analog 0-15psi and 0-30psi gauges.

I would stop talking to that person :smiley: Seriously, what does “crap” mean exactly? Especially when it pertains to one of the longest standing brands in motor racing.

If you’re happy with the $30 longacre then run with it. I had a Vega analog on that had a BIG dial on it and you could easily eyeball .25psi with it.

Naturally it disappeared a few years ago.

https://www.ebay.com/i/171884086982?chn=ps

How I heard it was crap was when they announced over the PA at the race that someone left an air gauge up at the grid. His response when he heard that was something like “well if it’s a longacre I wouldn’t even walk up there for that junk” or something like that. This is a long time racer and engine builder. I won’t say his name and put him on blast but it made me rethink my air gauges. I didn’t ask him why he thought it was junk.

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You know what we say about opinions :joy:.

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James very true. Recently I was part of a discussion on tire gauges (on a gun forum). Essentially the difference in accuracy between what 1 guy preached as accurate vs inaccurate was 2% vs 3%. I looked up the numbers by the way as Mr, tire gauge expert only provided relative terms.

I can say with almost 100% certainty: if you don’t calibrate your equipment, what you’re reading is only relative to you and that gauge.

If the Longacre is repeatable, and calibrates out well. it isn’t junk.

I use the gauge on the Craftsman battery inflator - that way I’m not losing air pushing a gauge onto the valve!

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I have a Long acre gauge and from day one out the package i havent been happy with it. The needle tends to creep. If i hold the gauge onto the tire and wait it will show said psi then sloooowly creep up but much less than 1 psi. Dealing with it for now though

I had the same issue with mine. I would have to check twice. Start on one tire, set pressure. Work my way around kart and recheck/bleed off. They were almost always .5-1 lb higher when I rechecked them.

You can always go to a hydraulic shop and order a high precision large gauge, maybe 0-30psi and just swap it out onto the longacre.

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