Accuracy Matters: Why Digital Tire Pressure Gauges Are a Drag Racer’s Best Friend

Tire pressure has a huge impact on how a vehicle performs at the drag strip. It needs to be monitored and adjusted after each pass based on track and weather conditions. An accurate tire pressure gauge is the most important tuning tool any drag racer can own, and it should be a priority item in every toolbox.

Standard tire pressure gauges come in two types: analog and digital. Both can get the job done, but if you’re serious about getting the most precise tire pressure reading possible, a digital gauge is the way to go. That level of accuracy could be the difference between a round win and an early exit on race day.

So, what makes a digital tire pressure gauge better? Aaron Van Heel from Intercomp provides some insight into the benefits.

“One difference is that with any analog gauge, you are depending on a mechanical device with moving parts that can be susceptible to damage if the gauge is struck, dropped, or shaken while going down the road. This can lead to the internal mechanical mechanisms being compromised or broken. A digital gauge uses a high-quality sensor, and that’s going to lead to an elevated level of accuracy,” Van Heel explains.

A good digital tire pressure gauge is extremely accurate—you want one that can read out to 0.01 psi. That precision is especially important in drag racing, where both rear tires must have identical pressure to maintain consistent traction and balance.

Intercomp’s digital tire pressure gauges are designed to deliver ±0.1% accuracy while automatically compensating for barometric pressure changes. The 0–150.00 psi models are user-selectable between 0.1 and 0.01 psi resolution. Each digital gauge also features a 1.25-inch backlit display, making it easy to read in even the darkest staging lanes.

You can learn more about Intercomp’s line of digital tire pressure gauges on the company’s website.