Park Tool Dial Kit For DT3 Truing Gauge DT-3i

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When it comes to spending money on tools for your personal work bench, one could easily spend more than $1,000 and be missing quite a few. Where does one draw the line when enough is enough? The answer is honestly, never. That being the case, I picked up the Park Tool Dial kit for my truing stand. After 2 years of using it, here are my impressions:

Out of the Box:

When I opened the box, I was pretty darn surprised. I ordered the Dial Kit and that was exactly what came in the box, nothing more, nothing less. That being said. I didn’t have the arm to actually attach the thing onto my stand which was a little frustrating. That being the case, I had to spend an additional $40 to get the Park Tool Rotor Truing Gauge to be able to use it. $80 gone, just like that! Only an OCD home mechanic like myself can really justify such a thing.

Once I finally got the dial attached to my truing stand I was blown away with how cool it was. Unlike the Park Tool Rotor Truing Gauge that only gave you up to about a 10th of a mm of misalignment, the Dial kit amplified that up to a 100th of a mm. This next-level measurements really makes a HUGE difference when working with older brakes that are just so meticulous in removing that rubbing sound.

The Dial/Rotor Truing combo works really well together. I am able to position the head of the dial very easy between 140mm to 203mm rotors, front wheel or back wheel, it doesn’t make a difference one bit.

I’ve been using it for 2 years now without any signs of wearing out and it is just as helpful as the day I installed it. That being said, you’ll want to make sure it is stored in a safe place away from the elements and from being dropped. It’s so exact and precise that I don’t really feel it would do well with any form of abuse.

Bottom Line:

We all have owned that one set of disc brakes where the rotors constantly rubbed from side to side, pistons wouldn’t retract all the way, adaptors weren’t machined right. Although the Park Tool Dial kit won’t completely fix all of it, it’s a really great tool at minimizing these issues. The Dial costs $40 and you need to purchase the Rotor Truing Gauge (another $40) in order to attach it. Most people don’t want to spend that sort of money on something so simple which is its major pull back from people actually owning one. BUT, if you’re a fanatic and can justify the price, it is worth every single penny. It tells you so much more than what the naked eye can. 5 stars for function. 4 stars for quality. 2 stars for price. Average rating: 4 stars.