I am an idiot! I've been filling my tires every time I gas up, using my trusty USA made tire gauge that I've had for about 5 years. Always filled it a little less than factory recommended 36psi, and I've always thought the 944's ride was harsh and stiff - it's a sports car, right? Every pot hole I hit, I would wince thinking the suspension was gonna fall out!

Anyway, I ordered a Porsche tire gauge ($20, what the hell), and when I tried it out, I was showing 45 psi !? Turns out, I've been running with the tires way over inflated!! Duh! I never thought my original gauge could be so far off! THAT's why my ride has been so harsh!

After lowering all the tire pressure (in all our cars), the 944 rides like a dream!

Just thought I'd share this "D'oh!" moment!

 

I've been considering the same, good to hear all's well. Who did you order your gage through?

 

Bummer. Glad you got it figured out!

 

Remember to only add/measure the pressure in your tires when they are cold, not after you've been driving. This is important.

 

I have been meaning to buy a more accurate tire gauge as well. Mine is a 3-year old pencil type type K-Mart. Cost me a whopping $2. I guess its just peace of mind for me.

 

yeah, Epic, very good point, What i usually do is check the pressures at home after the tires are cold, before i drive it. If the pressures are low i just pump them up a little at the station, and when i get home and the tires have a chance to cool I recheck and take some air out as needed. hot/cold PSI vary.

 

Don't rush out and buy that Porsche gauge.
1) It's all plastic
2) It's hard to get a good seal for a reading
3) You have to push that button after every reading, which gets annoying

Funny thing is, Paragon sells it for $22, and you can get one on Ebay for $44!!??

 

In the business "cold" is defined as:
Tires driven less than one mile before inflating or tires having sat more than 4 hours. Just a helpful hint. If you want more information checkout www.tiresafety.com
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So how do we know how accurate our guage is???

 

Only way to see how accurate a gauge is - compare it to another one! If two different gauges give you the same reading, you are probably fine.

Funny thing is, my wife bought me a new version of the gauge I had for Xmas. Got it at Restoration Hardware for $12. Made in China and not the US. So, when I got a much higher reading from the cheapo new gauge, I figured IT was defective, and returned it! Since the Porsche gauge came up with the same high reading, the one my wife bought me was fine - my old gauge is the wrong one!

I assume most new gauges work fine within a few pounds at most. And buying a cheap $2 stick gauge isn't such a bad way to compare readings.

 

I have a porsche digital gauge and a BMW one, both are very accurate, the technicians at work tested the BMW gauge against a snap on gauge and found them to be very comperable. I don't have a button on my porsche gauge nor do I find it hard to seal. BMW one is also great, I keep one in each car.

 

I compared my cheapo stick one to my dad's cool-techy-digital one and we came up just about the same pressure. (mine has black lines, his has 2 decimal points!!!!) I figured this was good enough since they both read off pretty much even within a pound.

 

If you race or AutoX you may check them hot. I do, Actually I always check them hot. I also check them about 2 times a week.

 

When I attended the Rolex race in Daytona two weeks age I bought a Longacre gage from the Wine Country Motorsport guys for $24. I had originally I thought the price was high for a pressure gage but after I saw the race teams using the same gage I went back and bought one. It has an air chuck attached to the gage by a hose and a pressure release button to make adjusting the pressure a snap without removing the chuck from the valve stem.

IMO if you're going to spend $20 on a plastic gage get one that the pros use for $24.

 

I have a digital gauge that reads about 2 psi low and an analog gauge that reads about 2 psi high. I aim for the middle.

I have however found remarkable consistency with the gauges at gas stations in my area. I never would have trusted them, but they seem to give me similar readings in relation to my gauges.