tire/hub temperature

[flc]

Due to the recent extreme heat, and in preparation for a long trip to the mountains next week I recently bought a handheld digital temp reader. I have been playing with it some and realized I don't know what an acceptable increase in temp would be for tires and hubs. Has anyone used one of these long enough to tell me what would be acceptable and what would be an indicator of extreme overheating. I don't expect an actual temperature but something on the line of an acceptable percentage of increase. Thanks,

[veggiesnvino]

You might consider checking the packaging for the hub grease, it should list the acceptable temp range.

[Nigels]

IMO keep the tire thermometer to check your slicks on your track day car.

Here is a better way, If your axles are lubricated correctly, your tires inflated to max spec on tires, tires in good condition, allignment of wheels is correct, trailer not over weight, trailer balanced, brakes adjusted correctly, then after 15/30 minutes driving and bringing your trailer from 60mph to a stop with normal braking then you should be able to touch the brake drums with your fingers and they should all be equal and feel warm, the tires should also be equal and feel warm, neither should feel hot. If they are hot or very unequall after this test then maintenance is required.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Nigels

IMO keep the tire thermometer to check your slicks on your track day car.

Here is a better way, If your axles are lubricated correctly, your tires inflated to max spec on tires, tires in good condition, allignment of wheels is correct, trailer not over weight, trailer balanced, brakes adjusted correctly, then after 15/30 minutes driving and bringing your trailer from 60mph to a stop with normal braking then you should be able to touch the brake drums with your fingers and they should all be equal and feel warm, the tires should also be equal and feel warm, neither should feel hot. If they are hot or very unequall after this test then maintenance is required.

I can tell you never worked in a foundry or a welding shop! Never use your (FINGER) for a tester! Youroo!!

[jimh]

i'll probably try and shoot mine this week and see what i come up with. off the top of my head, i would say they shouldn't get over 120F.
i've always gone by feel so the new toy is going to be a learning curve for me as well.

[SaskCampers]

The important thing is that they are within abt 10% of each other. You will usually find one side will be warmer than the other if you are in cross winds as well. I always check the truck as well and the trailer tires are usually close to what the truck is showing. Hubs generally are all close on the trailer.I posted on here a while back our temps when we were down in the States somewhere around 42 or so centrigrade.

[jimh]

mine was just an off the cuff guess. i will start by shooting axles from the rear. i have decorative covers over the bearing housings that prevents me from actually feeling them. i'm looking for a good reference point while everything is known to be good. that is probably going to be trial and error.
just abt any way u check it is going to be influenced by the amt of braking just prior to stopping.
when i've had a spare on, i could feel the housing.

[jimh]

Originally Posted by youroo

I can tell you never worked in a foundry or a welding shop! Never use your (FINGER) for a tester! Youroo!!

i worked around rotating equipment in a refinery for 41 yrs. it was common to check for vibration and temp with ur hands. u had to get the "feel" for how each piece of equipment was running.
some of the older hands would smell and taste products....i wouldn't do that. that would be like testing a freshly welded joint with ur fingers.

[flc]

Thanks for the responses. I'll play with it and see if I can come to some reference points. I've always used the "finger" test in the past and looked for a consistent feel. I just checked my grease and it gives a working range of 20-500 degrees. For a reference point, I just shot my boat tires and hubs. The boat is in my garage and hasn't been moved for a couple of weeks. The reading was 97 degrees and will probably go up over 100 before the day is over here. It's been up to 110 here lately so I imagine on the road it would be easy to go over 120. New toy to play with.

[gtkato]

I've used digital thermos for years (especially critical in my heavy Truck Camper with single rear tires)
While traveling, temps will vary greatly because of the sun angle and direction on your tires. Best to measure the temps early in the morning first, make sure they are all within spec. Everytime you stop you can do a quick check with the thermo. Under inflation is generally the cause of high temps in the tires. Anything over 150 degrees could cause blowout (even with the sun beating down, you will see only around 110 or so). Same for the hubs. Varying temps will always be the case while on the road because of the sun direction.
If you get high temps close to 150 degrees, you need to double check you air pressure. Heat is the main cause of blowouts and burnt bearings.

[Nigels]

Originally Posted by youroo

I can tell you never worked in a foundry or a welding shop! Never use your (FINGER) for a tester! Youroo!!

God gave us fingers for testing all sorts of things! The Key word here was "Should" (be able to touch the drum with your fingers), sorry I should have expanded on this. Within a few inches of touching the drum your brain and nerve endiings should kick in, to say hesitate or continue. If hesitate then you enter into phase 2 of the operation, which is to add some "spit" to the ends of your digits, phase 3 gently proceed, etc

It works for me........sometimes the brain bit tho doesn't

[Nigels]

Originally Posted by TheSasks

The important thing is that they are within abt 10% of each other. You will usually find one side will be warmer than the other if you are in cross winds as well. I always check the truck as well and the trailer tires are usually close to what the truck is showing. Hubs generally are all close on the trailer.I posted on here a while back our temps when we were down in the States somewhere around 42 or so centrigrade.

Thats interesting, my truck tires feel hot compared to cool on the trailer, I did upgrade the trailer tires from C rated to E rated though due to 2 C rated tire failures within 750 miles, (thats another story I will keep till fall)

I wonder if any one else that also upgraded could comment?

[jimh]

Originally Posted by flc

Thanks for the responses. I'll play with it and see if I can come to some reference points. I've always used the "finger" test in the past and looked for a consistent feel. I just checked my grease and it gives a working range of 20-500 degrees. For a reference point, I just shot my boat tires and hubs. The boat is in my garage and hasn't been moved for a couple of weeks. The reading was 97 degrees and will probably go up over 100 before the day is over here. It's been up to 110 here lately so I imagine on the road it would be easy to go over 120. New toy to play with.

what ur looking for in the grease is NLGI Grade 2 with a min DROP TEMP of 440 F.

[flc]

Originally Posted by jimh

what ur looking for in the grease is NLGI Grade 2 with a min DROP TEMP of 440 F.

mine says NLGI grade 2 with a drop temp of 500 F.

I was out mowing a little while ago and it was beginning to get pretty warm when I finished. My truck has been sitting in the driveway since noon yesterday so I measured the tires. One side was in the shade and they read 104 F. The other has been in the sun since it came up and they read 151 F. Tire pressure is right on for all of them. I speculate they would actually cool down slowly if I began driving the truck and getting them out of direct sunlight.

[jimh]

that will work.
i have pressure and temp transmitters on the trailer tires. it surprised me how much the pressure will rise as the temp goes up.

[DF5.4]

Originally Posted by jimh

that will work.
i have pressure and temp transmitters on the trailer tires. it surprised me how much the pressure will rise as the temp goes up.

It's 1 pound per 10 degrees

[jimh]

seems like i've observed a much greater increase than that. i know my tire pressure will rise 10 or more pounds within abt 10 miles. i don't recall what the temp did to do that but think it was somewhere around 20 deg F.
i'll have to put the sensors on before the next trip and get a better picture.

[DF5.4]

That's the rule of thumb for the ambient temperature. It would be nice to know the air temp in the tires. Anyone know an F1 engineer? They have sensors on everything.

[jimh]

thought the same thing abt them reading ambient temp due to their location. they seem to follow tire temp more than ambient. i doubt that they r very accurate due to their location on a static line. but they do give an indication. can watch them rise as the pressure rises. when the tires are going flat, temp goes higher.
i've checked the tire pressure a number of times with a gauge and found them to be correct. no reason not to believe them when rotating.
i've had them indicate a tire loosing pressure several times and found that the tires were. a couple times there was a problem with the tire. the other times, the loss of pressure was due to the sensor not tight and leaking. either way u have to address it.

[jimh]

Originally Posted by DF5.4

It's 1 pound per 10 degrees

that number seems more realistic than what i remember seeing. next time i take the risk and put the sensors back on, i'll see what they read. with the sensor on the end of the valve stem, i don't know what all is influencing it.