Forum Discussion

laknox's avatar
laknox
Nomad
Jun 10, 2014

Tire heating and cooling

This is just to satisfy my curiosity (and maybe a few others', too), but has anyone ever seen any info on monitored wheel well temperatures and airflow? All these tire threads reminded me of a situation a friend had many years ago on his boat trailer. He went through a number of tires on his trailer in a short time, all blowing out with no warning. He ended up talking to an "old tire guy" at a small shop, and he said that there simply wasn't enough space between the tires and the fenders to allow adequate air circulation. Buddy unbolted the fenders and found there was enough room to allow him to raise them about 2", drill new holes and re-attach them to the trailer. Magically, his tire issues disappeared. I'd love to be able to attach a remote thermometer inside the wheel well to measure air temps and see how much cooling is actually taking place, then put some small scoops on the leading edge to see if it would make a difference. NACA ducts would be more elegant, but not sure how well they'd work and they'd be a lot more hassle to install. Thoughts?

Lyle
  • CANAMKID's avatar
    CANAMKID
    Explorer
    Jun 11, 2014
    NASCAR teams run ducting tubes to the brakes & tires to keep
    them cooler. Average temps go above 275 farenheight.:)
  • Francesca_Knowl's avatar
    Francesca_Knowl
    Explorer
    Jun 11, 2014
    Did anyone read the article I linked to? The "buses" discussed therein are tour buses and what they call "motorcoaches".

    They're talkin' highway speeds there, folks- not 15 mph inner city block-to-blockers.
  • Gale_Hawkins's avatar
    Gale_Hawkins
    Explorer
    Jun 11, 2014
    laknox wrote:
    I know that a TPMS will report temps =inside= the tires, I'm talking ambient temps and airflow around the tires and wheels. I'm just trying to see if there's any info on whether air can "pack" into a wheel well and cause the air to flow around the well, as it has been demonstrated to do in a pickup bed, thus causing less cooling. As I've said, I've thought about putting a small scoop on the leading edge of the well to direct more air over the wheels. It's just a thought based on that issue my friend had...

    Lyle


    If the tire is not going hot per the TPMS how could there be a wheel well high temp issue? I understand how stop and go 15 MPH buses with rear engines could have a wheel well air exchange issue.

    I think Allworth nailed the main factor. :)
  • big_buford's avatar
    big_buford
    Explorer
    Jun 11, 2014
    A cooler running tire can only be a good thing far as I'm concerned :)
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    Jun 10, 2014
    big buford wrote:
    Seems all the big rigs are using air dams to keep air off the tires for mileage ?
    Course they are turning much slower than our rigs.


    Dunno. Off the top of my head, the slight vacuum caused by the under-belly air dams in front of the tires, might provide plenty of airflow as the air flows back around the dam, over the tires. Would be an interesting experiment...like the one I proposed for RVs. :-)

    Lyle
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    Jun 10, 2014
    Francesca Knowles wrote:
    Interesting question...your friend may be on to something. I've never seen any info on this subject as it relates to trailers, but heat buildup due to poor wheel well air circulation is evidently known to be a problem with dual/rear wheels on buses (and motorhomes?).
    Here quoting from this Tire business.com link
    Tire Business wrote:
    The rear tires of transit buses and motor coaches are especially vulnerable to high temperatures due to the lack of air flow around the tires.


    It's probably important to note that according to that author, circulation evidently only becomes a problem when some other malfunction (underinflation/bad bearings/etc) begins to generate extra heat. He doesn't say how/if tire temps are affected by wheel well airflow during "normal" operation.


    Don't forget that most buses are rear-engined and, if a city bus, don't travel that fast and stop frequently. You get a lot of brake-induced heat, too.

    Lyle
  • big_buford's avatar
    big_buford
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2014
    Seems all the big rigs are using air dams to keep air off the tires for mileage ?
    Course they are turning much slower than our rigs.
  • Francesca_Knowl's avatar
    Francesca_Knowl
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2014
    Interesting question...your friend may be on to something. I've never seen any info on this subject as it relates to trailers, but heat buildup due to poor wheel well air circulation is evidently known to be a problem with dual/rear wheels on buses (and motorhomes?).
    Here quoting from this Tire business.com link
    Tire Business wrote:
    The rear tires of transit buses and motor coaches are especially vulnerable to high temperatures due to the lack of air flow around the tires.


    It's probably important to note that according to that author, circulation evidently only becomes a problem when some other malfunction (underinflation/bad bearings/etc) begins to generate extra heat. He doesn't say how/if tire temps are affected by wheel well airflow during "normal" operation.
  • amxpress's avatar
    amxpress
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2014
    They once made a device that wrapped around the rim, inside the tire. They were little fan blades that spun with the rotation of the wheels. They were suppose to circulate the air inside the tires, keeping it cooler. Sounded like a good idea, don't know why it didn't catch on. Why not mount a wall mounted thermometer probe near the tires to measure the ambient temperature around the tires?

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