The Ultimate Tire Pressure Gauge Buying Guide

Discover which tire pressure gauge is right for you.

Maintaining proper tire pressure is crucial for your safety, fuel efficiency, and overall performance of your vehicle. And finding the perfect tire pressure gauge will ensure that your tires are always properly inflated and ready to hit the road.

Fortunately, you have plenty of options to choose from based on your specific needs. Are you looking for the most accurate tire gauge? The least expensive? The one that’s easiest to store?

At Blain’s Farm & Fleet, we understand that choosing the right tire pressure gauge can be overwhelming, given the variety of options available. That why we’ve created this list of pros and cons of each of the main three types.

A pencil tire pressure gauge is a type of analog tire gauge. It’s also known as a stick tire pressure gauge. The key components are a metal outer shell, an inner plastic measuring rod, and the stem attachment.

The inner plastic rod will extend when air pressure is applied. On the plastic insert, you’ll find large and small numbers. This gives you the PSI reading for your tire. For example, if you see a large three and a small nine, the reading is 39 PSI.

Pros:

• Compact size, which makes it easy to keep in your car
• Least expensive when compared to dial and digital gauges

Cons:

• Least accurate of the three types of gauges
• Wear and tear can decrease accuracy

A dial tire pressure gauge is an analog pressure gauge with a dial instead of a measuring stick. To use a dial gauge, attach the gauge directly to the valve stem.

Heavy-duty dial gauges come equipped with an extension hose. If that’s the case, attach the extension hose to the valve stem.

The air pressure will go through the hose. This will cause the needle to move on the dial face. The needle will give you an accurate PSI reading for your tires.

Pros:

• Easy to use while inflating the tire
• More accurate than a stick gauge
• The dial is simple to read
• Dependable
• Some glow in the dark

Cons:

• Less durable—the face of the dial can easily break if made of glass
• Calibrated spring can be sensitive to a lot of motion
• Less portable
• Dials with extension hoses require two hands
• Can be more expensive than digital and stick gauges, if extension hoses are added to the dial
• Bulky when compared to stick and digital gauges

To use a digital tire pressure gauge, attach it directly to the valve stem. A digital number will appear on the screen. This is the PSI reading. This gauge is very easy to read.

If the digital gauge doesn’t have enough battery power, your readings will be inaccurate. If you choose to use a digital gauge, we suggest you keep extra batteries in your glove box in case of an emergency.

Pros:

• Most accurate, because it reads the pressure in precise digital measurements
• Less expensive than some dial gauges
• Can come equipped with backlit LCD and LED flashlights
• Some can be programmed to remember the desired pressure for your car’s front and back tires

Cons:

• Usually more expensive than a stick gauge
• Less dependable than analog gauges (requires batteries to work)

We recommend checking the tire pressure of all four of your tires once a month. This will help maintain your car’s performance. Also remember to check the spare tire, in case you need it in a car emergency.

For more buying guides like this one, check out our Auto Parts & Tools Blog.