Ever hear the phrase “In name only”?
That could apply to some car accessories as well as consumer electronics(EG: “Crosley” combination phono/tuner/CD/maybe bluetooth all in one). It’s just a name slapped on the cabinet.
Now that Milton acquired Meiser, I hope the same watering down of product quality and availability doesn’t affect the latter of those two tire accessory makers.
Been happy enough with my el cheapo tire inflater with Gauge. Pressure matched up well with tpms readings, and since I know which tire is low, one stop check pressure and fill as needed.
This is the ‘latest’ thread I found on Community for tire pressure gauges,
There’s a long more recent discussion from 2024 at:
Anyone aware of a good quality, accurate tire pressure gauge which is reasonably priced?
That thread was started in 2022 and Chris posted in it at least in 2023… I didn’t look through all 140 whatever post… lol
But right off the bat, members said had mine for 50 years, and 40 years, but is one you would buy today be the same quality as it was 40-50 years ago??
Maybe yes, maybe no… I know todays technology is way different then it was all those years ago, and lots of things are just made different now, washers and driers just don’t last like they used to…
Does the saying “They don’t make 'em like they used to” come in to play here??
Yeah, I overthink everything when I am buying something new or replacing something… 
I don’t know how I missed that thread mopar referenced, but anyway.
There is one issue with the Longacre Racing brand of gauges I recommended, and it usually prompts this response, in the form of a ?…
“Who in half their right mind would pay more than 50 bucks for something to check tire pressure?”
Well, I for one consider tire pressure to be critical in vehicle performance. It’s the part that touches whatever you’re driving on*
*Disclaimer: This statement does not make me better or smarter in this regard than anyone else.
As far as are things being made better than they were 50-70 years ago is concerned, well, I had asked around town if any garages still had one of these bolted to a corner of their workbench, by which I could check how really accurate these Longacres, and other gauges I owned, were:
Nope.
So there must be some reason why car repair places don’t have one of those any more.
Gut instinct would tell me that the tire gauges of the last twenty years, any way, have improved accuracy to the point where a ‘master gauge’ is not necessary, outside of scientific or manufacturing facilities.
Now you guys know I’m a fan of the time-travel science fiction genre. Suppose I’d gone back to Chuck Berry Land, or Presleyville, with the Longacre Racing Deluxe model gauge in my backback.
#1. I’d be brought ‘downtown’ to explain this device I’m carrying.
#2. Every repair shop in town would be asking me to verify the accuracy of the pressure gauges in use back then!
Back to the Future.. whew!
The point is, some products, such as tire gauges, have improved in build quality and accuracy, regardless of price. I just wanted to be sure the gauge I use returns repeated, accurate results, every time.
And that is probably a good reason the master gauge I posted the image to is no longer necessary in every car service bay or garage.
This has probably been posted already, but here it is again…
At least a dozen videos like that appear on YouTube per year.
They’re entertaining, some don’t even employ a live human, just photos fading from one to the next, like a slide show, some even mentioning batteries for an analog gauge or built with AI tools.
I watch them for entertainment, while I’m sitting down filling the septic tank…!
I wouldn’t have watched it except waiting for the floors to dry after mopping. Just a couple thoughts though. Being in Minnesota, the change in the cold temp accuracy was interesting. Also I just wonder how many were made in the same plant. Can’t believe someone doesn’t make dewalt gauges. I dont know where you would get all these different brands. I’d rather see four or five readily available brands tested instead of a dozen I’d never heard of.
You have to go online to find/purchase most quality brand tire gauges:
Auto Meter, Intercomp, Joe’s Racing, Longacre, Meiser/Milton, etc. There’s a place in upstate CT that sells Longacres, Reliable Welding I think.
Autozone, Advance, O’Reilly, etc. all got ‘Slimed’ years ago, and that’s mainly all they sell.
I have two Slime digital automatic tire inflators, and I find their construction to be be of better quality than their gauges. 12v power supply required.
NAPA sells their in-house brand, but I don’t know who makes them, some NAPAs carry Milton.
I have several tire pressure gauges a friend of mine who was a sales rep gave to me many years ago. They are made by WIKA. Nice big 3" dial gauges with heavy rubberized protective outer cases.
I Googled “wika tire pressure gauge” and “wika tire gauge” and the results were just one small pocket model available in the Philippines, and a dozen gauge heads only, for sale on the Wika . com website.
No doubt freebee samples they made for their big customers as gifts then. They have their top of the line gauges on them.
Dad goes by the dial gaiuge on his aIr compressor theres an index catd woth pressures for both his Crv and Mom’s Prius, aling with the riding mower and Yamaha atv. Very ocd about tires and pressures.
Kudos to your Dad! It’s fine to be obsessive about maintaining the part of your machinery that touches the road.
I’m not afraid to say this: Go ahead, flame me six ways from Sunday for saying so.
I’m going to have to think about spending $275 for a tire gauge. Maybe I’ll just make my $20 one work. I noted it is off by two psi, so I just compensate for that.
I did see those. But they are head only, and I’m sure about as accurate as can be. You still need to purchase hose and valve to make it a complete unit.
In your second DuckDuck inquiry, if that’s the kind of query one has to type in to be able to find whatever they’re looking for, then that shows how d u m b the internet platform really is!
The facts are: Wika, at least here in 2025, does not make a complete consumer-ready tire pressure gauge, in the sense that Auto Meter and Longacre do.
You can always repurpose the pencil gauge as a ■■■■■■ thermometer.
Since you last post 12 years ago, some words are being redacted now, and I have no idea what your 6 letter word is, please give some kind of hint, cause your post makes no sense to me or my wife…
Like I said before, the boys in the Amsterdam airport thought it was some kind of a weapon or bomb. Had one in my go bag and like they had never seen one before. Guess they dont use one to pump their bike tires up. Finally let me go but took my coke I had just bought for the 8 hour flight. Jerks.
