Tire Temperature Monitoring – Why/How to Install
September 5, 2025Tire temperature monitoring gives us key insights into car performance, be it on the road or track. This article goes over those benefits and the practicalities of running an entry level monitoring system.
“Tire Temperature” Clarification
When I refer to tire temperature, I am not referring to the temperature of the air inside the tyre, which is of limited use.
When you see MoviChip refer to the term tire temperature, it is always in relation to tire surface temperature.
Benefits
There are two main benefits to tire temperature monitoring.
General Tire Operating Temperature
The first is the general temperature of the tire surface. Generally, what temperature is the tire operating at. Knowing the temperature let’s us decide if the tire model/type/compound is suitable for our use. Unfortunately for road tires, recommended temperature operating window data is hard if not impossible to come by, but that is another story.
Regardless of what manufacturer data is available, we as engineers and drivers know, after collecting enough data, at what temperature the tire seems most happy at. And from here, we can make changes be it pressures, tire compound, tire type etc to get the temperatures we need. And we can only have this data, if we have a tire temperature monitor.
Temperature Across the Width of Tire
When we know how temperature varies across the width of the tire, we can make practical changes to our setup using this real-world data.
Instead of using a “suspension alignment that’s worked before”, with a tire monitor we can see if that “worked in the past” setup is actually optimum.
Is the inside of the tire noticeable hotter than the outside or vice versa? Is the middle of the tire cooler/hotter than the edges? When we know the temperature gradient across the tire in real-time, we have the answers to these questions on a corner-by-corner basis. Instead of making changes we think might work, we have data to base our changes on.
The benefits of knowing how temperature varies across a tire is so elementary, so crucial, it is surprising how primitive/rare the measuring of tire temperature is.
In track environments, measuring tire temps when the car returns to the pits is common.
For road cars, we are lucky if we even know the temperature of the air in the tire (for all the use that is).
We spend so much money on road cars. Suspension (coilovers, 1000 Euro minimum, likely 1600 Euro+), wheels (1000 Euro+, forged), tyres (600 Euro+), alignment components (100s of Euro) and so on. How many people do we know that have put a tyre temperature monitor on their car to see if they are getting the most from these components? I’d say probably none. Which is a bit crazy. We all know a “good” alignment place and the car seems “great after”, which might well be the case, but could it be better?
Practically – What Do We Need For A Basic System?
Those are they key benefits of tire temp monitoring. Let’s look at the practicalities of installing a basic tire temperature monitoring system.
Constant Monitoring
Do we need to constantly monitor tire temperatures?
I would say no. When we get our tyres working evenly across their width, I don’t see the need to measure constantly barring something major eg change of tyre model/compound, running off track/pothole and so on. A temporary mounting solution is fine.
Number of Sensors
How many sensors do we need monitoring at any given time?
I would say one. Let me explain.
More often than not, we are going to be running a symmetrical wheel alignment, therefore monitoring the side of the car that is under the most stress is going to dictate the alignment for the other side.
Front & Rear
We are only going to be making changes to one end of the car at a time.
Say we have two sensors, one on the front and one on the rear, both mounted on the side of the car taking the most stress. If we see the need to make changes to both the front and rear, ideally we are only going to do one end first. Only when we have the front (or rear) where we want it, are we going to start looking at the other end. Obviously when we change the grip at the front we are more than likely going to change the way the rear behaves, hence one change at a time.
Asymmetrical Setups
The argument can be made for running more than one sensor if we think there is time to be had running an asymmetrical alignment setup. Being able to monitor the effects on the other side that is unchanged at the same time as the side that was changed could be a time saver.
Multiple Sensors
In a perfect world running a sensor for each tyre at the same time is a nice luxury. However I would say, assuming we are not looking to run asymmetrically setups, one sensor will get us where we need to be as quickly as multiple sensors.
Sensor Mounting (Front Axle)
Ideally we will mount the sensor so it is fixed in relation to the wheel. This way even when the wheel turns we are still measuring the same cross section of tyre. Of course this mounting solution is possible but it will take some ingenuity in the fabrication department.
Ultimately the goal of the monitoring system is to see how the tyre is getting worked across it’s width and to achieve this I think it’s entirely reasonable to monitor the tyres only when they are pointing straight ahead.
If we are over loading the outside of the tyre during a corner, this excess heat is still going to be in the tire when the wheels turns back to the straight ahead. In short, monitoring temperature only when the wheels are pointing straight is only a small sacrifice.
MoviChip TTM
MoviChip TTM tire temperature monitoring system is a “basic” monitoring system. It utilises one sensor and is designed for fast install on the vehicle and fast removal with no wiring needed. You can find out about the product here.
Tyre Temperature Monitor (TTM) by MoviChip
MoviChip TTM (tyre temperature monitor). Measure the surface temperature over the entire width of the tyre to understand if your wheel & suspension alignment is getting the most from your tyres.
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