I think this is a dumb idea but maybe on an off handed chance it might work. You know those thermometers that take a reading from your temple, well, since they have a metal temp sensor could it be possible that they could work as a tire thermometer? With the sensor I think you be reading actual rubber temp.

 

Might work in theory, but since they are designed to read temperatures from a human body, they are probably only accurate over a very narrow range (probably 90-110°F), which is not the range you are going to care about for warmed-up race tires. That's just a guess though.

 

That is a dumb idea.




$37 at harbor freight. Works awesome.

I've used it to check tire temp, turbo temp, intercooler temp hotside and coldside, anything, you name it.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I was told NOT to use non-contact thermometers to check tire temps.
Apparently only contact type tire pyrometers produce a reliable reading.

Also, I bought mine at
Wholesale Product Snapshot Product name is Laser Infrared IR Thermometer 480 Centidegree

Only $14.67 (free shipping), and works like a charm..

 

You want to check the temp below the surface (1/8" to 1/16"). You could use a laser to display or log real-time temps (and even better would be lasers on each edge and in the middle per tire).

 

I already have a laser but was of the impression that they weren't really effective. Anyone else have an opinion on either one?

 

It's easy enough to check. Get a thermometer and a real tire pyrometer, test them both at the same time.

My guess is there is a bit of difference between a $9 thermometer and a $200 tire pyrometer, else the latter would be closer in price to the former.

 

Naw dawg, its just marketing. Just like android and mac.

 

You should just try it and compare it to laser and post your findings.

 

Have you considered buying a purpose built tire thermometer? I feel like that would work really well...

[song]do you know the way to use ebay?[/song]

 

IR thermometers will work fine for checking tire temps. A rubbery surface will be what is closest to its preset emissivity correction which usually is ε-0.95. This is also why the manual states to use tape on reflective surfaces, although it doesn`t state reflective in the IR range, which is a whole other thing than the visual range of light we see.

They will however not give correct readings on clear metal like on intercoolers or turbo cold sides as the low emissivity of the surface will reflect the surroundings more than read the actual heat radiation in the IR spectrum. This will make people happy as the intercooler always will seem to have just slightly higher than ambient temps...

Also, the laser does nothing, only there to show you where you are pointing the IR sensor.

 

^This... the IR thermometer we used at the race shop was a bit more expensive and it had to be recalibrated for different surfaces. It made a fair amount of difference if you didn't.

 

I tried the temple thermometer on a cold tire and it didn't work. So that doesn't look too promising. For HPDE the inexpensive IR reader should be close enough.

 

"Accurate" depends on what info you want.

If you want a temperature to compare to tire manufacture specs of operating temp. etc, then you should be using the tire pyrometer.

But, if you need a consistent number given to compare each session on track, then the IR temp sensor is fine. This describes 90% of the useful information you'll need.

It may read 150* and is actually 155*, but if the inside edge is 250* that's accurate enough info.

 

If you aren't going to use a probe-type thermocouple that measures the true tire temperature ~1/4" below the surface of the tire, don't waste your time with tire temps at all. IR thermometers are a joke unless you are taking the data in real time (i.e. you have three of them mounted in the fenderwell feeding data to an onboard logger while mid-corner).