Auto Meter 2343 Autogage Mechanical Tire Pressure Gauge

This is by far the most accurate and convenient tire pressure gauge I've ever used. I've gone through scores of generic pen-style gauges, a few digital ones, and even a large truck-style gauge for checking pressures on dually wheels. My previous favourite over the years was a trusty Accutire digital gauge which I've had for about 8 years. The main issue with that gauge was its performance in really cold weather (like -20f), where the readings would get wonky. When its battery finally died a week ago, I decided to splurge on this Auto Meter gauge instead. First and foremost, the dial on this thing is incredibly clear. The white face with black markings and black needle make it very simple to see even fractional PSI readings. The pressure retention valve works flawlessly, there's no leakage at all (so far). I just have to remember to hit the purge button to reset the gauge when I'm taking multiple readings while deflating an over-inflated tire. Build quality feels top notch. This thing is a whole lot heavier than a generic pen-style pressure gauge, but it's still very compact. Easily slips into any pocket. I have no concerns about dropping it either, it feels solid as a rock. It also presses onto tire valves very smoothly and makes it easy to get a good seal for an accurate reading. In that respect, this pressure gauge beats out all the others I've used in the past. My only real issues pertain to my diesel pickup truck. This thing has a max range of 60psi, but my truck's commercial tires are inflated to about 80psi. On the other hand, having a lower max pressure means the gauge can be more accurate within its intended range, so this is hardly a con. Also, this gauge won't reach the inside wheels on a dually. These complaints are minor and probably don't affect 90% of potential buyers out there. Quick story: I recently installed the winter wheels/tires on my car. After installing them, I confirmed the tire pressures with a cheap pen-style pressure gauge (after I realized the battery in my Accutire gauge had failed). All my tires read very low, around 21psi rather than the required 32psi. My electric inflator also died on me, so I was reduced to pumping up all 4 tires using a manual bicycle pump. Finally got them all to 32psi and took the car out for a drive to the grocery store. During the drive, the handling felt very squirmy, almost dangerously unsteady. I blamed it on brand new winter tires and figured they would wear in. I went home and ordered this Auto Meter pressure gauge to replace my old Accutire digital one. Then I went out and swapped the tires on my wife's car too (which involved more bicycle pump torture because they were all low too). Fast forward ONE day (because Amazon rocks and somehow got it here a day early), and I received my new pressure gauge. To test it out, I checked the tire pressures on my car... they were all 10psi too high!!! Turns out the cheap pen-style gauge I used was way off, and I was riding only on the center of the tire tread. I used this new gauge to get my tires back to true 32psi, took the car out for a drive, and the handling was back to normal. No more dangerous unsteadiness. So I went home and re-checked the tires on my wife's car too. Sure enough, they were all 8psi too high (37psi instead of 29psi). Don't risk you life on a cheap pen-style pressure gauge. Those digital Accutire gauges are inexpensive and relatively reliable, therefore a great alternative. But if you want a truly high-end gauge that'll be reliable in any weather, this Auto Meter pressure gauge is the ticket.

After struggling with pencil gauges for most of my natural life, I'm starting to wonder why they even exist. They are incredibly innacurate +/-10psi and never reproduce the same reading. Even heat/humidity affect their readings. Not to mention that the graduated 'pencil' part shifts mechanically when you remove it from the tire, changing the reading. This is an excellent product that allows you to take a reproducible, accurate, reading; then remove the dial and view it. It doesn't require a perfect fit to the valve stem since you can shift it around a few times and the reading will only increase to the accurate reading if you seated it wrong the first time. You push a small button on the side to reset the dial. You can also connect it to the valve stem and use the reset button to bleed off air from the tire. You can stage these bleeding process to keep an eye on how much pressure is left in the tire - great for finding that perfect 35-36 psi you're aiming for. It's a two step process, inflate the tire until you think it's beyond 35 psi, then take a reading and bleed off extra air until it drops to 35psi. Much quicker than the pain of releasing air with a pencil gauge. It could use a flexible stem but that isn't a huge issue, since the price is so low anyways. If it fits your car, then it is well worth the price and you won't need anything fancier. It is contructed of stainless steel, glass, and hard plastic. The steel frame around the dial is flanged so the glass won't break if you drop it on a flat surface. The best part is the feeling I get when I use this, rather than a pencil. I feel like a tire-inflation proffessional. I should charge people at the gas station to use my dial when they inflate their tires.

This unit is solid feeling and fairly weighty. It seems to be made of quality materials. I used it on a Toyota Echo and a Subaru Forester. The cap fits easily onto both vehicles, and will fit onto almost any car with standard valve stems. It is very easy to get a good reading, even though the cap does not pivot. Because the pressure reading is held until you press the release button, it doesn't matter if you have to turn the dial away from you to make the cap fit the orientation. I found this unit to be more accurate than the stick type analog tire gauges also. The readings on this correspond to those given by my air compressor.

This little gauge exceeded all of my expectations and I'll order another one. Most importantly, it makes a quick and reliable connection to the valve stem. It's a solid design which feels comfortable in my hand when taking a reading. The dial face is easily large enough to read and 30lbs is straight up on the dial making it easy to approximate the number without reading glasses. The release valve holds the last measurement so you can view the reading at your leisure. The dial has a glass cover and the meter is both large enough for its purpose and small enough to ride in the glove box. I'll probably give it a crown royal bag to keep it shiny and new.

I like this tire gauge. It's accurate, easy to use, easy to read and doesn't require batteries. Unfortunately, this is the second one I've had to buy as the previous one stopped holding the pressure reading when removed from the valve.

Here's my round-up of tire pressure gauges. Prices vary a lot on Amazon. Usually much cheaper if purchased directly from Amazon (free shipping) than from an affiliated seller. So be careful which seller you pick. If Amazon is out of stock, you may want to wait a week or two. Prices below are what I paid, including free shipping. In Jan 2009, I bought two gauges: (a) Moroso 89560 ($40.04), an analog dial gauge, and (b) Accutire MS-5510B ($38.41), a digital dial gauge. I have separate reviews for these two units. Both are good units with a flexible hose attachment and a bleed valve. They are fine in the garage, and fit any tire, but are bulky to keep in a glove compartment if you want to check pressures when you're on the road (for example, if you suspect a leak). I just bought three compact units. All three are analog dial gauges: I don't want battery-powered units stashed away in a glove compartment (extreme high and low temps, and who wants a unit with a dead battery in an emergency?). Same review posted for the following: Milton (MIL) MILS902 $21.63 Professional Products (PP) 11101 $9.88 Auto Meter (AM) Auto gage 2343 $16.50 All five gauges have a range of 0 - 60 psi. My tires run from 28 - 35 psi. Main features to consider: (1) Accuracy. Accuracy is specified with respect to a calibration source. Since I don't have a calibration source, I can't comment on accuracy. (2) Resolution. (a) Accutire. Digital readout. 0.1 psi resolution. (b) Moroso. 2-1/2 in diam dial. Can estimate to nearest ½ psi. (c) MIL, PP, AM. 2 in diam dial. Can estimate to nearest 1 psi. (3) Reproducibility. Repeated 6 readings for each gauge. Expected some air loss for each reading. No noticeable change for analog gauges. 0.5 psi drop total after six readings for Accutire (it's not leakier, it's only because of the higher resolution). (4) Agreement. Ran 5 sequences of the 5 gauges in different order. All gauges agreed within +/-1 psi. This is good news. MIL consistently 1 psi lower than the others, but this is fine. (5) Mechanical. (a) PP and AM appear to be the same gauge, with two minor differences. Don't know if the innards are the same though...can't open the cases. Both weigh 150 gm, so probably the same inside as well. Heavy sheet metal body. Heavy metal neck, chuck, and valve. Heavy plastic dial cover (hard, not tough, plastic though). Tick marks and numbers on AM dial much sharper than on PP. PP comes with fitted plastic case; AM doesn't. Case is low quality though...hard, not tough, plastic; snap fit. Good for stashing in a glove compartment or tool box. But probably will crack and open up if dropped. (b) MIL. Heavy metal neck, chuck, and valve. **Extremely el-cheapo and flimsy plastic body and dial cover.** Common features (MIL, PP, AM): (1) Have a neck with an angled chuck. Non-swivel. PM, AM neck 2 in length. Milton neck about ¾ in longer. (2) Have bleed valve. Smooth operation. After gauge is removed, pressure reading is supposed to hold until bleed valve is released. (PP, AM): Reading holds even after 30 sec. (MIL): Reading starts to drop once the gauge is removed (not acceptable). Common negs: (1) None come with a boot. Should be standard. A boot is available, but Amazon doesn't sell it directly. An affiliated seller wants $2.99 + $6.95 shipping. That's more than I paid for the PP gauge itself. I have a couple of 25+ yr old Brookstone gauges that have finally deserved a decent burial. Their rubber boots are still in good shape after all these years, and they fit my new gauges just fine. (2) Gauges without a hose are tricky to use. Many wheels now have spokes, and the valve stems are recessed. Worse, my wife's car has short rigid tire sensors: the stems don't flex at all. If you get a gauge with a straight chuck, the neck is often too short and you can't seat the chuck (the gauge body gets in the way). So these units have an angled chuck. The design is idotic though, because the bleed valve is on the same side as the chuck. Depending on the tire, the bleed valve presses against the wheel when you try to seat the chuck. Not good. There is no swivel head. So if you position the gauge to clear the wheel, you may end up with the gauge oriented such that you can't read it. In which case, it's critical that the bleed valve doesn't leak...that way you can get a valid reading after you remove the gauge. You, of course, lose the capability to overfill the tire a bit and then bleed the pressure to the right value as you look at the dial. So these operate more like stick gauges. In this respect, none of this group of three is totally satisfactory. Summary: Of the three, though, I'd go with the PP. It has the lowest price and has a storage case. It's essentially the same as the AM. It's not worth the extra $ to get the sharper graphics on the AM. The MIL is the most expensive, is the flimsiest, and my unit came with a leaky valve. I returned it. Five stars to Amazon for free return shipping and processing a refund within several days. Note added 8/22/09: Prices fluctuate a lot. Go with either PP or AM. If one is significantly cheaper when you order, go with that one.

I almost laughed when I opened the box to this new tire pressure gauge I purchased. Sure, my old flimsy plastic pen sized air pressure gauge fell apart, and I wanted something more robust. Well, I got it in spades with this gauge. Holy Cow! This thing looks and feels like it will work 2 centuries from now. It will be an heirloom to pass on to my kids. Totally love it, and glad I made this purchase. And yes, it does work. Thank You.

I got it last week, just tested it on one of the tires and it looks good (very nice finish behind the glass and outside body), reading is accurate, feels nice and heavy (which I translate to better built quality than cheaper lighter products that will break easily) I like the fact that you can press the button to release air when its inserted into the valve. I also like the fact that it holds the pressure reading even when you take it out of the valve. Two thumbs up, this specific item is a must have item in your car.

This dial-type tire pressure gauge is a nicely made instrument. It is certainly accurate within the 25 to 40 psi range that I use it for. The ergonomics are good, and the design provides easy access to tire valves for all of the vehicles in my household, including a motorcycle. It is pleasing to look at and to use, and I try to give it the care that it deserves.

Got this as a replacement for one I had for 20 years. Exact match and works perfectly.

this one is build differently than most $20 something gauges on amazon.ca (like all other models' inner guts are attached to the back housing with two rear screws, not this one. i really want to open it up) the angled head feels cheap, but it is the easiest one(for me) to get a good seal/reading every time. this is the only one i got that had a serial number sticker. funnily enough, it has the worst, old style blister packaging. made in tw

Very good quality. Very precise. Just what I was looking for.

Good accurate product. Clear dial. Fixed pressure position head may not be convenient for all.