Central Tools 3S401 Digital Tire Tread Depth Gage

I ordered this tool hoping it would be a high quality, easy to use, easy to read tire gauge. So far it has met all those criteria, and I very happy with my purchase. The order arrived in great shape and on time.The tool comes packed in a nice protective hard case with a foam lining, and with battery and instructions. The instrument itself is of hefty construction, and therefore likely high quality construction. It's not some cheap toy. I haven't owned it long enough to know whether the electronics will hold up with time.It's easy to use, just like a manual tire gauge, except that you can set it to read out in metric or English decimal units, and additionally in 64ths of an inch, which is of the most interest for users in the United States. When you remove it from the measurement site, it retains the measurement in a precise and easy-to-read layout. No having to guess which lines it's in-between.

This very expensive tire tread depth gauge is heavy, cumbersome to use and is inconsistent in the readings I get at the same place on the same tire. It takes two hands to use, and the whole process of trying to get accurate readings is frustrating. I ended up going to a local auto parts supply store and purchasing a six buck old fashioned tire depth gauge that works like a charm. Buyer beware.

There were one or two little broken bits of plastic off the housing when it arrived. It had a nice container with some foam inserts so I don't really understand how that could've happened. The directions were a little hard to follow but it has a good, solid heft and appears to be a quality measuring tool.

nice gauge--easy to read--so why only four stars? two reasons: (1) in usa when filling out multi point inspection sheet, tires are stated in 32th-so this gauge does factions is sample form and you must change them to 32th-no big deal-very easy math that can be done in a second in your head without a calclulator (ex: 1/4=8/32) -- (2) price--cheaper tools out there and after a litle time who needs a gage anyway-you can see tire wear just by looking--but I would buy this again

solid tire depth gauge. few notes:- it measures backwards on the digital though so you have to subtract it from 1 to get the real tread depth. also doesn't stick with consistent lower fraction number so you have to do some simple math in your head.- the extending bar on the right side is a manual way to see the tire depth. a great backup in case battery dies- it is a bit long so need some clearance to get to the tire tread or just measure down lower on the tire closer to ground- solid metal feel, sturdy.- standard button batteries.- comes with a protective plastic case.---------------------overall pricier than the greasy pen version but the digital is really nice to have and the quality and construction make me think i won't be needing another for many years. i highly recommend.

I was hoping this tool to be good, but it has poor design. In my honest opinion, the tool is way too big/tall and heavy because 50% of the time I can't take a tread reading because the tool is too big to fit in between the tire and the upper wheel walls on most of the cars I work on. This thing weighs like 1/2 pound and that's just way too heavy for a tire tread gauge. It does feel rock solid sturdier though, but it too difficult to use because it's hard to quickly retract the measuring point in between taking readings.

The nearly all metal design makes this heavy in your hands and it doesn't feel like it will break like other cheap plastic designs. It even tells the length in fractions of an inch, though I'd prefer if it stayed in 1/32s to makes things easier. I don't see myself buying another depth gauge. We've used it in our shop for a few weeks now and it's held up. It's miles easier reading a digital screen over our old analog measurement tools. Get one of these and stick with it...it won't disappoint.

Works great! Automatically turns itself on. Large view screen makes it very easy to read. Study steel construction and a nice little case to protect your investment. I've used the basic tread depth gauges previously and after breaking two of them and the last one being so worn it was unreadable I figured I'd try something new. Very happy with my purchase and know of a few other technicians that have also followed and purchased one after using mine.