Pressure Gauges

Was watching Pat Callinan's 4wd show last night on dvd, it's not something I'd usually watch and therefore don't really know if the guy is any sort of expert or not (not like that guy who travels all over the world on his Coppers Tyres, he's an expert cause he says he is) but he was talking about his ARB tyre gauge that uses "Quality bronze Bourdon Tube gauge design".

His claim that servo gauges shouldn't be trusted is probably fairly accurate but he also claims many other shop brought gauges will be inaccurate too. Now I do realise that as he is sponsored by ARB and probably gets this stuff given to him his recommendation may not be as honest as it could be however it did have me thinking how accurate my $5 tyre gauge is compared to his which start in price at about $30 and go up from there.

Went into ARB today and "expressed" an interest in one of these gauges and told the sales droid I wanted to test one and see how accurate it is before I fork over the cash. After testing all 4 tyres on the Nav the reading on the $39.95 model was between half and one PSI different to my $5 one which I've had for 10 years nearly.

Don't think I'll be rushing to upgrade just because it's got a bronze bourdon tube design given the slight difference between mine and a quality one. What about other people here? Are people spending up and buying these sort of tyre gauges or are people using cheaper alternatives?

I watched that show a few times, although I don't mind it, overall it just seems like one big elaborate advertisement for various 4x4 and camping equipment. Bring back Malcom Douglas!!!

WIR35 said:

Bring back Malcom Douglas!!!

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Don't worry C9 or C7 regularly do, I know it wasn't a new one but he was on one of the channels last weekend, but then so were the Leyland Brothers so that doesn't speak to highly of weekend TV.

One of the things I don't mind about the Leylands is that unlike Jack Absolom, they don't try to sell you old beat-up Volkswagens that can knit sweaters, reel in 60 metre swordfish and cook a perfect souffle at the same time.

Mike's passed on, but Mal and his wife still get on the trail. I don't think they do a bad job, it's not as good a quality as something produced inside the studio with Big Brother or Australian Idol, but in contrast to those shows, it has that "real feel".

As for pressure guages (or any other item sold by a sponsored salesman) I think they're all going to be "roughly accurate" within a certain range. Since some of them rely on bending metal (springs), over time they'll lose accuracy anyway.

I have the ARB tyre deflator, it operates as a gauge too. I also have a $20 tyre pressure gauge, they are a couple of PSI out, I would trust the ARB one first.

I agree about the servo ones, what about the electronic types where you just dial in the psi you want and it fills/empties to that mark? I'm sure they would have started out pretty accurate, but these things need calibration, probably 3 monthly or less. Bet they don't do that.

One other thing, I bet your 10 year old $5 tyre gauge is better quality than what you can buy for $5 now........some of teh stuff in SCA is just rubbish.

Pat Callinan used to be the main guy for 4wd monthly magazine, he quit that a few years ago and now has his own show. Its blatant obvious that he is just trying to flog of new or arb products in general, i agree that people like mal are a better show to watch heck even that crazy dude on man vs wild, at least inn reality these people show you how to do things without having to spend a fortune.
I think Pats show is more for the new 4b owners out there that dont have the slightest clue how to 4wd.

Agreed.

I'm not so sure about the Man V Wild guy, he is obsessed with drinking his own piss, which as far as I know is actually one of the worst things you can do in a survival situation because it actually dehydrates you quicker?

I just tested my two gauges,cheapy from kmart and bushranger from arb that air's down as well and i found 1 psi difference.No big deal really.
Bear Grylls(man v wild) reminds me of mr bean.

navarian said:

Bear Grylls(man v wild) reminds me of mr bean.

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Yeah he is a bit of a stiff but i suppose you cant joke around and have to be serious in his situation. As for drinking piss, i dont know, i dont think il ever do it unless your referring to beer, but i cant say i wont do it unless im in a life or death situation.

I believe because urine is full of everything that your body has processed and rejected, (salts and minerals/chemicals), the negative effects outweight the positive effect of hydration that the water content can provide. I'd imagine if you distilled it with a simple still setup then it might be okay, but I am quite happy to leave it to the bear man.

If you can drive through Mongolia without a flat then you're Cooper tyres are that good everyone should have them but if you register the domain name Mr4X4 then obviously you have to be an expert, the problem I have is that Mr4X4 uses Perelli's and not Coopers but I'm sure thats a whole diferent argument.

I rarely believe any sales pitch from someone on tv telling me the best tools for the job are the ones someone has given them free of charge to boast about but it had me wondering if tyre pressure is something that has to be 110% accurate.

We all know that different conditions require different pressures but does 1 psi really make that much difference, I've never thought so. I'd be annoyed if I brought a tyre gauge that was 10psi out but 1 or 2 psi doesn't really effect me that much. That Pat bloke constantly tells people for sand driving it has to be between 16-18 psi and his gauge is so accurate it can measure this but if the gauge is just slightly out and I get mine to 19 am I going to get bogged when I follow him, or stuff my tyres, I doubt it.

I dunno I guess it's just the same old crap under a different banner, once upon a time advertising used to be informative but these days it's complete crap and if you start believing it all then you'd be broke and have a shed full of crap that barely works, or you'd be running Danoz trying to get rid of it all.

Well said mate. Considering people used to drive on the sand in old beaten up 2WD cars with aeroplane tyres on them, I'm pretty sure most modern day off-road components are not necessarily must-have items. They probably make things easier/comfortable, but you don't "need" them.

1 psi....Pffft..
Aparently Bear Grylls was eating maggots in the french alps on the tv tonight.

The same goes for road travel too, I've been running my fronts at 38 and my rears at 39 for the trip across the Nullabour but I don't run them that high at home. Nearly everyone of will be running different road pressures for different reasons but they will probably all be in a similar ball park so once again does it matter if any one of us has a tyre gauge that is slightly out.

If 100% accurate cost the same as my $5 gauge and lasted forever without recalibrating then maybe there is a reason for 100% accuracy in tyre pressures but given the cost I don't see it as a huge issue to be slightly out.

And Jason, you are right, those cheap ones from SCA (like just about everything they sell) are made to a price and not to a standard. We've brought some of them over the years to chuck in glove boxes or spare tool kits etc just so there was always one handy but while their readings do come close most of the time it doesn't take much for them to end up in a handful of pieces.

navarian said:

1 psi....Pffft..
Aparently Bear Grylls was eating maggots in the french alps on the tv tonight.

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I caught Mr4X4 on tv today and he was on some beach on the NSW coast and he was driving his Patrol along the sand. What's more his tyre gauge told him he had 16-18 psi in his tyres and he didn't get bogged. He's got to be an expert.

I need to stay off the beaches, if Mr4X4 is out there being pissed on by a maggot-eating Mr Bear, I don't wanna get caught in the crossfire.

Old.Tony said:

I need to stay off the beaches, if Mr4X4 is out there being pissed on by a maggot-eating Mr Bear, I don't wanna get caught in the crossfire.

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You're assuming you're good enough to share the same beach with someone so good.

Although I think Mr4X4 was down south today.

even his kids would be better off-roaders than us

His kids would be lost without any gadgets. Good ol fashion skill takes time to learn and not all this electronic bullcrap.

But their daddy knows everything about 4 wheel driving thats why he's MR4X4.

If you take all the fancy gadgets out of these guys cars, or even stick them in a 70's model Land Drover what they are doing is no different to the Leylands and others from their day.

The argument of whether some of these new guys could do what the older guys did isn't even that relevant, it's the same or similar dirt roads and it's the same or similar tricks, just a different way of coming to the final answer. And lets face it if any companies gave us the sort of money they give these guys and told us to thrash around the bush and make a tv show there arent many of us that would say no. There will no doubt be some who say it just on principle but I know I wouldn't.

My old man used to do training films for the SECV (when they existed) and used to deliberately bog 4X4's in the open cut mines just so he could film how to get out of the situation for their internal training. Work time often led to play time as well but his situation was no different to some of these guys it's just he wasn't on national tv, he still got paid to hoon around in someone elses car and make a mess, just he got to do it where many others didn't and I know damn well if they offered me the same deal I'd take it up.