Forum Discussion

10forty2's avatar
10forty2
Explorer
Sep 07, 2016

Normal and Maximum Tire Tread Temps?

Came back in from a fairly short, 170 mile trip at no more than 65MPH. We experienced no problems, but for grins and giggles, I decided to take out the trusty laser-temp gun and measure the tire tread temps when we parked in the driveway. The lowest was 145F and the highest was about 160...the inner dually on the muffler/tailpipe side measured on the rear of the tire opposite of the tailpipe.

Again, no problems, but I haven't measured the temps right after stopping on a trip, so what's your experience on how high is high?

18 Replies

  • I also 'shoot' the temp gun at the tires and hubs. The most I've gotten at the tire tread is in the upper 140's. And, it takes a long time to get there (100's of miles).

    My tire pressure monitoring system shows pressure and temp and it does seem accurate.

    For those that just fill to the max and forget about it, also do an inspection of your tires before departure. Yes, they might be full of air right then but you never if you have run over a nail or something that you might see. I always look at the tires the best that I can before we head out each morning.

    Safe travels,
    MM.
  • From another Forum (2010). Doug

    I forwarded this thread to my contact at Michelin. Here is the response:

    A tire in operation will heat up until it reaches its equilibrium temperature where the heat being generated equals the heat being dissipated.

    The temperature of the tire will increase with an increase in ambient temperature. There is nothing to worry about in the ranges stated, if the temperature gets above 250 degrees F then I would be concerned !
  • Effy's avatar
    Effy
    Explorer II
    10forty2 wrote:
    Effy wrote:
    What type of tires? I agree that temps seem a little on the high side, but I guess it really comes down to which tires you have.

    I have only seen mine get near 120 but I am on a gasser with a lot less weight.


    Goodyear G647 19.5. I'm sure I'm at or just over max weight for the coach suspension as listed, but the tire-load table says I have plenty of space left, so they aren't loaded to the max. The last time I weighed I was less than max GVW on rear and over max on front....making me about 50lbs overweight total for the coach. I've since shifted weight from front bins to rear and we've also permanently taken out some furniture since renovation....dinette set, jack-knife sofa and recliner. Plus, I've removed the old analog tube TV set which weighed 50lbs by itself.

    I was just curious. All the temps I measured were taken on top of the tread where I'd expect them to be hottest,and not at the sidewall.

    For those who think close monitoring of your tires is stupid, I can't wait until you have your first blowout at highway speeds and see what it tears apart on your coach. I've had 2, causing about $6K worth of damages...not to mention the headache of waiting on the side of the road for several hours while Roadside Assistance tries to find you a service center and the expense of replacing new tires that you had JUST replaced..... Oh, and then there's that whole SAFETY thing...you know...the reports of accidents and deaths that occur when tires blowout....but I'm sure that's not a big concern....


    You forgot lack of control due to a smaller tire patch. Not nearly as important but quality of ride also suffers. Max psi tires ride like bricks especially when they heat up. This has been debated before but if manufacturers wanted you to run max psi they would tell you to do so instead of providing a weight chart and advising that you weigh your vehicle and set psi accordingly. Any argument otherwise is a direct contradiction of what the manufacturer recommends and therefore a dumb argument in my opinion. Max PSI is a threshold and really more of warning than advice.
  • Effy wrote:
    What type of tires? I agree that temps seem a little on the high side, but I guess it really comes down to which tires you have.

    I have only seen mine get near 120 but I am on a gasser with a lot less weight.


    Goodyear G647 19.5. I'm sure I'm at or just over max weight for the coach suspension as listed, but the tire-load table says I have plenty of space left, so they aren't loaded to the max. The last time I weighed I was less than max GVW on rear and over max on front....making me about 50lbs overweight total for the coach. I've since shifted weight from front bins to rear and we've also permanently taken out some furniture since renovation....dinette set, jack-knife sofa and recliner. Plus, I've removed the old analog tube TV set which weighed 50lbs by itself.

    I was just curious. All the temps I measured were taken on top of the tread where I'd expect them to be hottest,and not at the sidewall.

    For those who think close monitoring of your tires is stupid, I can't wait until you have your first blowout at highway speeds and see what it tears apart on your coach. I've had 2, causing about $6K worth of damages...not to mention the headache of waiting on the side of the road for several hours while Roadside Assistance tries to find you a service center and the expense of replacing new tires that you had JUST replaced..... Oh, and then there's that whole SAFETY thing...you know...the reports of accidents and deaths that occur when tires blowout....but I'm sure that's not a big concern....
  • I inflate my Class A tires to the max and get on down the road. No weighing needed just staying under the max allowable load. My tires will age out before wearing out. Some people make tires and dumping way to complicated.
  • Effy's avatar
    Effy
    Explorer II
    What type of tires? I agree that temps seem a little on the high side, but I guess it really comes down to which tires you have.

    I have only seen mine get near 120 but I am on a gasser with a lot less weight.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    We inflate our tires based on the amount of weight they carry... my tag tires on need 75 psi not 120 for the weight they carry.
    OP, I temp all of my tires on the sidewall at the tread as that's the easiest place to temp on the inside dual tire. 145 is about the highest I'll see and this spot is aprox 15-20 degrees less than the center of the tread.
  • You will also find that the center of the tread will measure hotter than the outer part of the tread. As long as the tires are inflated to the proper PSI cold, based on the coach weight, any temperature increase is not a concern.