An inexpensive IR (infrared) thermometer may have problems taking accurate temperatures of shiny or reflective objects. A good IR thermometer will have the ability to make adjustments for the type of surface that is being measured. One simple solution to more accurately take the temp of a shiny metal object is to apply a small piece of black tape to the object and take the temperature at that location. Obviously you would need to apply the tape before the object is heated. Here a link on Fluke's website that discusses using infrared thremometers...
https://www.fluke.com/en-us/learn/bl...ed-thermometer

Personally I use a cheap Duratrax thermometer for racing. However I'm running slower motors with conservative gearing so I don't really need to run fans on my speed controls or motors. Here is a link...
https://www.duratrax.com/accessories.../dtxp3100.html