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Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - Alex Corday

Hi how hot do the surface of car tyres get, the tread that is in contact with road?

Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - nick62

Under normal driving conditions not very much above ambient temperature.

Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - Andrew-T

Some heat will be generated in the rubber by rapid flexing, but at this time of year roads are cold and heat will not build up much. More heat will be generated in the brakes, so the metal parts of wheels will probably feel warmer than the tyres.

Things are different in a hot summer.

Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - badbusdriver

Some heat will be generated in the rubber by rapid flexing

This is also where the danger of running with under-inflated tyres lie, especially at main road speeds. Because there is so much more flexing of the rubber, much more heat will be generated.

Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - mcb100
Theoretically measurable with an accurate tyre pressure gauge (or TPMS that offers readings, rather than just a warning) since the air pressure within the tyre increases by (roughly) 0.1bar with every 10 degree centigrade increase in tyre temperature.
It’d be interesting to see if the tyre takes in any heat from a hot brake disc, or is it all caused by longitudinal and lateral forces.

Edited by mcb100 on 23/12/2021 at 09:03

Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - RT

It can vary considerably - by using part of my caravan TPMS on the car temporarily and displaying temperature rather than pressure I could see that at steady speed cruising at 60 mph the temperature was little above ambient but a succession of roundabouts taken enthusiastically could jack the temperature up another 10-15 degrees C

Tyres - How hot do car tyres get - mcb100
Further to above, I’ve just been talking to a friend who’s a test driver and tyre tester for a living.
From a tyre that has been on a drive at an ambient of 5 degrees, a 10 minute trundle to the shops will produce an instantaneous surface temperature of 35 degrees, but they shed that heat quickly, so by the time you’ve got out and put your hand on it, the tyre will have cooled.
Three laps of a handling circuit will produce a figure of about 65 degrees, but, again, the temperature drops as soon as the loadings come off the tyre.