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Your tires are the only part of your car that interacts with the road. If they’re underinflated, they not only cost you gas but can make your car handle unsafely. While almost every car sold has an internal system that reports an approximate tire pressure, the best tire pressure gauges will give you an instant, accurate real-time measure of your car’s tire pressure.
Having the right gauge will also account for nuances in different situations. Like if you drive a heavy-duty truck with high-PSI tires. If you have a 4×4 and need to air down (a.k.a. let air out), and air back up frequently. Or, if your sporty car has wheels with an ornate pattern that make accessing the valve a minor-surgery-level chore.
To find the best gauges, we monkeyed with a handful. A few didn’t make the cut, because the build felt flimsy or they were too awkward to get a consistent reading. We tested a few well-loved brands for quality, using them on a bunch of different cars with various wheel sizes, motorcycles, and side-by-sides. We wanted to hit the latter so we could be sure they were measuring accurately at lower and higher pressures.
During our testing, we found five models of gauges — from dirt cheap to fancy — that measure within a single PSI of each other. Is there a “perfect” gauge? Not that we found, but there’s the right tool for the right application, and that’s what we detail here. This guide will help you find the perfect tire pressure gauge, considering primary uses, user-friendliness, and budget. To wrap up our thorough analysis, you’ll find our helpful comparison chart, buyer’s guide, and frequently asked questions at the end of the guide.
The palm-sized WINTERS Tire Pressure Gauge, 100 PSI ($35) has a lot going for it. First off, cranking to 100PSI means anyone who has a big truck, a little sports car in the garage, and a motorcycle can use this gauge on the entire fleet. The straight stem design can make it easier to press straight down or up onto a valve and get an accurate reading.
With the Winters, you’ll be able to hit the valve core every time and get a quick reading. And the bleeder that’s anchored on the side of the 2 ¼-inch stem is simple to use for lefties or righties. We were able to insert the Winters between the spokes of a motorcycle wheel. Also, taking pressure checks on several different car wheel styles was fast and simple. The soft plastic body was perfectly grippy and small enough to operate with a single hand.
Angled heads have the advantage of enabling the gauge body to stand away from the wheel, so you can read the instrument. Plus, only a small portion of it has to penetrate into the wheel’s body. The only potential downside is that the angled stems can be tough to align just right to depress the valve, so you may have to dial in your approach.
Other than that, the WINTERS Tire Pressure Gauge, 100 PSI’s durability, ease of use, and versatility make it a winner in our book. Heck, it even comes with a nifty zippered red pouch for stashing in your car’s glove box.
During our lifetimes, we’ve “Slimed” tractor tires, car tires, and bicycle tires. The sealant brand just works, so why not try out The Slime 5-50PSI Pencil Gauge ($5), Slime’s dirt-cheap, simple pen-style gauge? And, despite its bargain-basement price, it was accurate to within a single PSI of the fancy ARB and Hoonigan. It was consistently reading about 1 psi lower than those more expensive models.
What do you sacrifice for the low price? Well, the design is less great because the angled head and diminutive size made it tough for our tester to get a firm grip and hold the chuck against the tire valve — and the angled head doesn’t help. Also, depending on the wheel style you’re pretty frequently getting your knuckles backed against the body of the wheel or the outside of the tire.
Is there a bleeder in the house? Well, sort of, but the other downside of this style is that just opposite the chuck fitting there’s a nubbin of metal for pressing down on the tire’s stem. But you cannot accurately bleed off just a little air, because there’s no way to do so while keeping the gauge attached to read the pressure loss. But hey, what do you want for five bucks?
That might be less of an issue for your household than the fact that fitting a pen-style gauge within the housing of some wheels can be very awkward. Still, there should be one Slime 5-50PSI Pencil Gauge in the glovebox of any car. They’re inexpensive, reasonably accurate, they’ll accurately read your tire pressure when you need it. Basically, having one gives you peace of mind, and that’s half the battle.
The ARB ARB505 Deflator Kit 10-60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge ($54) has a unique design. There are two knurled drivers attached to the oversized, bell-shaped chuck. The one closest to the chuck threads onto the tire’s valve, and the second one on the stem threads into the stem itself to grasp the tire’s valve core and pull it up. But unlike a fiddly dinky valve-core extractor that makes you fear losing the core, the ARB operation holds the core within the stem of the extractor.
Why is that important? It makes airing down your truck or 4×4’s tires exceptionally easy and well-controlled. We just pulled up on the collar of the driver closest to the chuck and bled air. And because the gauge/dial was still threaded onto the valve, we could read the PSI as we went.
Also, we didn’t have to keep holding the doo-dad in place. The ARB is threaded in place, so it’ll stay put if, say, you walk away and build a campfire.
When you’re done, the threaded, knurled knob at the top lets you drive the core back into the tire and re-seat it, then unscrew the outer portion and you’re good to go. Basically, like your rig (hopefully), this design is super secure and beefy.
What’s not to love? Well, the chuck of the ARB isn’t small, and it could be a battle to attach some wheel designs with closely or ornately spoked/patterned designs. Also: Do you really air down all that often? If not, this is a seriously beautiful kit, but it could be overkill. But if you frequently take your ride off-road and air down on a regular basis, the ARB ARB505 Deflator Kit 10-60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge is the way to go.
If you have a complex or hard-to-reach wheel design, the smaller chuck on the AutoMeter Hoonigans 60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge ($42) allows you to maneuver around to find the perfect fit. The body is oversized and chunky, with a baseball-sized face that’s super easy to read and secure in your mitt while your other hand presses the chuck onto the valve stem.
Also, we loved the 360-degree swivel fitting onto both ends of the braided line, which prevents you from battling the twist in the hose as you attach it to your tire to take a reading. The design perks continue: The bleeder location let us tap it with our left-hand ring fingers to let air out while we held the face of the gauge and read it, and our right hand kept the chuck attached to the valve.
If we could change one aspect of the AutoMeter Hoonigans 60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge, it would be to give it a thread-on valve attachment like the ARB. This allows you to secure it more steadily and get a more precise reading in one go. As it is, like any chuck that doesn’t thread to the valve, getting that “just right” angle was a bit hit-and-miss. Also, it comes with a giant plastic case that seems excessive and is far too massive for glovebox or even in-car toolbox ease.
The Slime Elite HD Gauge ($24) is certainly easy enough to use, with a relatively compact size that fits in a jean pocket or a glovebox with no trouble. Plus, the large, bright, digital screen is a snap to read, even if you’re dealing with midnight darkness. Is it accurate? Sure. And like the Winters, it reads to a stupidly high 99PSI. But…there are two big issues with these gadgets. Well, actually three.
First, it runs on batteries, and if you’re like most drivers, you’re going to toss this back into your glovebox or tool drawer and forget it for a while. Then, when you need it, the battery might be fried. A CR2032 coin-cell battery runs the thing, and you can find these at most hardware stores, but maybe not at most gas stations.
Second, the smooth housing will be slippery when wet, and the feel of this device wasn’t our favorite. If your hands are grimy and slick, like our testers were as he moved from car to car — one of which was wet since he’d just driven into the garage out of the rain — you’d be fumbling to get a firm grip on the Elite HD.
Third, that bright green button on the stem isn’t a bleeder. That’s an on-off switch, and there is no bleeder at all. This is a pretty big fail, because typically at the aforementioned gas station, there’s no pressure gauge, or it’s profoundly inaccurate. So you’re left to add too much air, then bleed off the excess with a screwdriver or glove-box No. 2 pencil to press on the tire valve.
However, if an easy read is your priority and you can stay on top of keeping the batteries fresh, the Slime Elite HD Gauge is worth a good, hard look.
The GearJunkie staff has been writing about and covering cars for a few decades. We have gotten our hands greasy with everything from old MGs and VWs to older motorbikes—and with a lot of bicycles and e-bikes, too.
As a major part of his career critiquing and test-driving cars, as well as motorcycles and bicycles, inflating (and deflating) tires has frequently been a component of main tester Michael Frank’s evaluation work. But he also loves old motos, bikes, and cars.
As a result, he’s usually elbow-deep in bringing some rusted heap back to life or keeping it going. This typically means swapping wheels or rubber somewhere along the way. And he’s been off-road plenty, airing down and back up as the terrain demands.
While testing for this article, we considered how well each gauge performed and who they were designed for. For instance, if you’re going off-roading, you want a tool that makes airing down your truck or 4×4 tires easier and well-controlled.
That’s what the ARB on our list offers because it remains attached to the valve without holding it there. By contrast, if you’re the average driver who just wants a widget to throw in your glovebox, what do you actually need? What’s not going to be a pain to use? This was in the heads of our testers, too.
We tested all of the devices thinking about dexterity and field use. Because there’s a chance you might be standing beside the road (or no road at all) in a rainstorm, in the mud, pulling a spare tire out of a trunk and wondering if it has any air at all or airing back up after off-roading.
We also wanted an oversized, readable gauge. If it’s dark out when you’re on your knees trying to get the gauge to work, a bigger, readily readable face is preferable. We really liked the round-shaped gauges a lot, especially if they had a grippy frame, because being able to grasp the gauge and press the chuck onto the valve stem helps a lot.
Overall, we tried to find a tire pressure gauge for everyone, from the off-roader to the person who hopes they never have to use it.
When thinking about a tire pressure gauge you want a device that’s versatile enough to measure a bicycle tire, an ATV, or anything up to something like a heavy-duty truck. Do you need a bleeder valve? If you overfill your tire, this allows you to easily remove air with the gauge still attached and reading to let you hit your mark precisely.
You may want a more specialized device. The ARB ARB505 Deflator Kit allows very precise airing down, and the reason for that is that if you 4×4 regularly you get significantly more traction at lower pressures: You’re both increasing the contact patch of the tire and also the friction of it and its ability to conform to the off-road surface. To do that, you need the kind of tool that not only keeps reading as you air down but also stays attached to the valve, which is why a thread-on style (rather than one that you just hold against the valve stem) offers way better control.
Regardless of how you plan to use your tire pressure valve, it’s important to know the basic features to look for.
The part that attaches to the valve (which is where you add air). A chuck either threads on or just presses onto the tire valve.
This enables you to extract air from a tire while (ideally) still having the gauge attached, so that you can keep reading the PSI as you air down. You want to be able to see that pressure drop on the face or indicator or dial.
You want one that provides a grippy exterior (i.e., the housing), like the AutoMeter Hoonigans 60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge. There’s a Goldilocks case to be made for a not-too-big unit, too, especially if you plan to travel with the gauge and keep it in your car. Are you off on an adventure or just need a basic way to check tire pressure?
We prefer analog and battery-free, like the display on the WINTERS Tire Pressure Gauge. Digital models like the one on the Slime Elite HD Gauge are much easier to read, but they aren’t necessarily more accurate. And they require power, meaning they might not work when you really need them to.
We liked a few of the models that threaded the chuck to a hose rather than directly to the housing, because they’re easier to fish the chuck to the valve. If you’re dealing with a very ornate BBS wheel on your vintage Mercedes-Benz or maybe the tucked-in valve of your John Deere riding mower, the biggest pain point is just getting the chuck to attach. This is why a thread-on style is handy. Though again, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s enough room in your machine’s wheel design to operate one.
What are you driving, riding, or operating? An angled chuck enables easier access, but a straight-down one lets you apply more pressure to get a more accurate reading. There’s no “right” or perfect gauge. It has more to do with the machine you’re using, the wheel design, and access to the valve.
This isn’t necessarily the easiest version here, but we include Slime 5-50PSI Pencil Gauge because they’re reasonably accurate, user-friendly, and small enough to store in any glove box.
We didn’t find much variation by kind or even price. However, larger models were generally easier to handle, which made getting an accurate reading in one more straightforward.
What’s your budget and what’s your use case?
If you off-road regularly, you’re getting the most overbuilt unit you can find. You definitely want one that enables bleeding air accurately with the gauge still attached to the tire’s valve stem, so that you can drop PSI steadily and precisely.
If you’re just checking the pressure every few months, get the stick style, save some coin, and move on with your life.
Somewhere in the middle is a simple design with an analog dial-style face that makes the job easier. And we’d add, depending on what you drive, cycle, or moto on, you might want one that reads to very high PSI or very low PSI.
Not that we found. The Slime digital gauge we tested was about as accurate as the analog models within about 1 psi. But we will say we have a bias against digital because we tend not to remember to check the battery life of the devices in our life until they’re fried. We want a gauge to work in the field in the worst-case scenario, especially when hunting down a battery is another headache we don’t have time or even the option for.
GearJunkie contributor Michael Frank has been writing about auto/moto, fitness tech, and cycling for 20+ years. He has worked at Esquire, Forbes, and other outlets like Bicycling Magazine and was the executive editor of Mountain Bike Magazine. He has freelanced for magazines like GQ, Men’s Journal, and Outside. Frank is an avid cyclist, skier, motorcyclist, climber, and photographer based in New York’s Hudson Valley.
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