Vehicle thermal testing method and apparatus is based upon the use of a mobile handset. The handset uses spot infra red thermal sensing to identify thermal imbalance between wheels on opposite sides or the same side of a vehicle. Testing identifies thermal levels resulting from braking by mere application of the handset to wheel nuts after a short brake application and without use of roller test beds or other such equipment. Tires can be similarly tested. The handset can generate test instructions. Repetition of an initial test enables the offset for cooling during the test to be verified. A similar technique applies to tires. The handset may communicate with a base station providing for keyboard input of vehicle data and results printout.