Tire cooling systems as well as vehicles and methods including same

A tire cooling system operatively disposed along an associated vehicle body adjacent an associated vehicle tire, said tire cooling system comprising:

• a deflector panel displaceable between a first position in which a first nominal volume of air flows along the associated vehicle tire during movement of the associated vehicle at a given rate of travel and a second position in which a second nominal volume of air that is greater than said first nominal volume of air is directed along the associated vehicle tire during movement of the associated vehicle at said given rate of travel;
• an actuator operatively connected to said deflector panel and operable to displace said deflector panel between said first and second positions;
• a first sensor configured to register data having a relation to a physical characteristic of the associated vehicle tire;
• and,
• a processor communicatively coupled with a memory, said actuator and said first sensor, said memory including instructions to:
• determine, based at least in part on said data, that said physical characteristic of the associated vehicle tire is one of a) equal to or greater than a first threshold value and b) less than said first threshold value;
• and,
• initiate displacement of said deflector panel from said first position to said second position thereby increasing air flow along the associated vehicle tire from said first nominal volume of air flow to said second nominal volume of air flow thereby generating a corresponding increase in convective heat transfer from the associated vehicle tire.

A method of cooling a tire of a vehicle that includes a vehicle body and a wheel with the tire, the vehicle body including a wheel well and an aerodynamic profile extending along the vehicle body and across the wheel well, the wheel disposed within the wheel well of the vehicle body and inside the aerodynamic profile such that a first nominal volume of air flows along the wheel during movement of the vehicle at a given rate of travel, said method comprising:

• supporting a deflector panel on the vehicle body adjacent the wheel well such that said deflector panel is displaceable between a first position in which said deflector panel is substantially-entirely disposed within the aerodynamic profile of the vehicle body with the first nominal volume of air flowing along the wheel during movement of the vehicle at the given rate of travel and a second position in which said deflector panel projects outwardly beyond the aerodynamic profile of the vehicle body such that a second nominal volume of air that is greater than the first nominal volume of air flows along the wheel during movement of the vehicle at the given rate of travel;
• acquiring data having a relation to a physical characteristic of the tire;
• determining, based at least in part on said data, that said physical characteristic of the tire is one of a) equal to or greater than a first threshold value and b) less than said first threshold value;
• and,
• initiating displacement of said deflector panel from said first position to said second position thereby increasing airflow along the wheel from the first nominal volume of air flow to the second nominal volume of air flow and generating a corresponding increase in convective heat transfer from the tire.