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Any thoughts on whether this is cosmetic or needs replacing urgently. Clipped a kerb earlier, it's about 30mm long and 4-5mm deep at its worst.
The tyre's done approx 20k and is one of a pair of cheapies that the dealer stuck on there when I bought the car about 5 years ago.
There's still a few mm of tread on them but I'm leaning towards binning them. I've a 400 mile journey on Sat and I don't want to be twitching my arse over every pothole...
no pic for me
can't see the picture but for me, damaged sidewall is an instant fail. They might have some life left on the tread but that isn't the bit that will explode sending you into a firey cartwheeling ball of death.
At 20k miles they don't owe you anything.
Think that's sorted it
Oh ****, now i've seen the picture are you trolling 😉
No, no and again no.
I would replace it
That looks like it's just taken a chunk out of the rim protector bit of the sidewall so could be fine but without a full inspection you won't know. If there is any bulging or twisting of the sidewall then it's a definite replacement. As they are cheapies and have done 20k I'd just fit new ones.
Yikes. Put your spare on and get that replaced.
That looks like it’s just taken a chunk out of the rim protector bit of the sidewall so could be fine but without a full inspection you won’t know. If there is any bulging or twisting of the sidewall then it’s a definite replacement. As they are cheapies and have done 20k I’d just fit new ones
That basically sums up my own thoughts. Thanks everyone.
Annoyingly, we're on holiday so will have to just use Kwik Fit rather than my usual place.
Get onto somewhere like BlackCircles, check out prices then look at fitting centres near you. Then give the centres nearby a call and see if they can beat the price. Most garages can get tyres in a day or two from the wholesalers. Oh and Kwik Fit's online prices are always cheaper and if you ask they can match them instore if you're nice.
Looks like it's rubber that's damaged rather than structure/cords/plies
reluctantjumper+1
I did similar (a bit less deep and a bit higher up the wall) to a brand new Conti many years ago.
Got the garage to take a look and they said it was fine. No exposed wires and not in danger of going through.
Edited I would get someone reputable to check it rather than risk it but also if it's done 20k bit of a why bother chancing it.
Just super glue it back on.. what could possibly go wrong?🙈
My daughter did that to a brand new tyre on our family car that I'd sensibly put off replacing until she'd passed her test. FIL has a mate that owns a tyre place. On my description he said, it'll probably be fine. On inspection he said no, not a chance. I bought 5 tyres in a week! 😁
It's damaged to due being pinched between kerb and rim rather than a big pothole, so it's probably ok structurally.
As above, it's mainly the anti-kerbing ridge of rubber which you could consider sacrificial. If there is no bulge, and you can't see any plies or the cut ends of them when having a firm prod with a blunt screwdriver, it's not illegal.
However I totally understand the general consensus to replace it. If it's 5mm deep as you say, I think the photo is making it appear worse than it is. You can always trim off the flappy bits and tidy it up a bit.
Risk versus reward in that case, surely. It's a 5 year old tyre with a few mm of tread left?
Kerb strip has done its job.
Any exposed cords? If not I'd not worry. But if its at 3mm or so id be looking to swap it out
New tyre if you ask me.
If it's holding pressure I might be tempted to nurse it down to the local supermarket if you really need some shopping, but I would not be driving on that as a general rule.
The wheel should also be re-balanced as it looks pretty shoddy, not nessesarily from what caused the tyre rip, but its clear that wheel has had a few knocks.
Further, there are two potential points of fail here, the rim, and the missing rubber.. has the rim been repaired and filled before? it looks a bit pinkish in the pic, and it looks to be degrading.
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That’s a big ‘NOPE’ from me! As part of my job I would have to do wheel and tyre condition checks on cars newly arrived on site, and damage like that would be an immediate red flag.
The wheel should also be re-balanced as it looks pretty shoddy, not nessesarily from what caused the tyre rip, but its clear that wheel has had a few knocks.
Further, there are two potential points of fail here, the rim, and the missing rubber.. has the rim been repaired and filled before? it looks a bit pinkish in the pic, and it looks to be degrading.
You what?
My rims look like they've been driven on, the powder coating is lifting and look 10x worse than those. So did my last car. Both have been driven over 100k each with no issues and certainly never needed rebalanced between tyre changes.
You what?
My rims look like they’ve been driven on, the powder coating is lifting and look 10x worse than those. So did my last car. Both have been driven over 100k each with no issues and certainly never needed rebalanced between tyre changes.
Driven on, or driven over? the OP's pics look like the wheels are damaged as well as the tyres.
I stand by my initial comment:
If it’s holding pressure I might be tempted to nurse it down to the local supermarket if you really need some shopping, but I would not be driving on that as a general rule.
And the OP is contemplating a 400 mile road trip on saturday.
On that .
I doubt a Copper would be as lenient if he saw that mess. Equally if you were to have an accident, the insurance company would probably take issue with that as well.
I mean, just look at it...
it's major damage to the rubber, and in the same place the rim looks to have been banged and patched up previously. Very badly.
It certainly wouldn't pass an MOT like that.
Just shown the picture to the tyre fitter at work who is working on one of the trucks and he says it should be ok but probably best to change when you can, it's thick rubber at that point as it has a rim protector. Would pass an mot too as no cord showing and no bulge! He also says mattyfez would condemn every rim that came in his workshop if he classes that chip in the rim edge as damaged 😂
It certainly wouldn’t pass an MOT like that.
The following criteria should be used when assessing a cut in a tyre:
any ply or cord that can be seen without touching the tyre - fail
if by folding back rubber or opening a cut with a blunt instrument, so as not to cause further damage, exposed ply or cord can be seen irrespective of the size of the cut - fail
if a cut which is more than 25mm or 10% of the section width whichever is the greater, is opened with a blunt instrument and cords can be felt but not seen - fail
No cords = no fail. Another example of people putting a lot of faith in the minimum standard.
Even as a self-confessed cheapskate while it's not compulsory I'd still get it replaced before a long trip. Especially as it's had a good life for a ditchfinder special. - cheaper than a blow out.
Drive to the tyre shop ✔️
Drive 400 miles not so much
There can't be much life left in the tread now, time to replace
It's a cosmetic ding to the rim, nothing more. The pink is probably a reflection of the OPs clothing or a red car next to it!
MOT would be a pass with an advisory.
Police could give 6 points... If the tyre had the defects previously discussed (cords visible). But from what we can see, it's legal.
Rightly or wrongly, there will be countless cars and vans driving around with similar damage.
And won't you think of the inside, they also get damaged and not many people have a good look at the potential horrors there. We are meant to check daily at work, but you have to wear gloves incase you cut your hand on exposed wires or embedded glass, do the chances of actually feeling anything other than a huge bulge are minimal!
The car's booked into Kwik Fit for 9:30 - I'm on hols and don't want to be shopping around all day.
The small ding in the rim was caused at the same time as the gouge in the tyre. It's def not been previously patched (?!?). Well done to Detective Spooky, I was indeed wearing a red rain coat when I took the pic 😁
Rightly or wrongly, there will be countless cars and vans driving around with similar damage.
It'll be a lot worse than similar! I'm one of those weirdos who naturally checks out tyres on cars I pass in car parks and the amount of cars with exposed cords on the edges, little or no tread, cracks in the sidewalls (record is a tyre with a date code of 1999!) and the odd bulge or deep cut is not unusual. I'm fretting about my rear tyres being below 3mm currently and I don't know why as they're perfectly legal and the vast majority of people never check them. Even just seeing high performance cars with ditch-finders on them makes me question some people's priorities with regards to safety of their car.
@mattyfez driven on.
And that's bugger all in the way of damage, as I said mine are/were far worse and have had no issues, advisories or even comments over 200k.
I’m one of those weirdos who naturally checks out tyres on cars I pass in car parks
Me too - I don't do a tour, but you notice the car next to you at least. I commented one time to the youngish mum getting her kid out of the back seat and got told to **** off and mind my own business. I left it but if she has a blow out or skids because of lack of tread and kills someone then it kind of is my business?
I had something that was minor in comparison and it was an instant fail. Cost me a fortune......
I had damage of a similar nature but longer, deeper and further up the sidewall on both nearside tyres after being forced into the curb by a truck coming the other way on a country road last year.
In my view, both tyres were scrap but you would not believe the carry on I had getting them replaced. It was a company car and whilst I spoke to the lease co and they were comfortable after some photos and discussion that they needed replacing, KwikFit kept saying they didn’t even though it was chargeable work like any other customer! Even up to point of picking the car up after the work the miserable **** got one more “nowt wrong with the ones I took off” before I left.
Unbelievable. It was a Tesla M3 Performance with thick end of 500 brake so not an insignificant amount of energy being put through the tyres! Back to a private car now thankfully.
TLDR - I’d replace them.
I’m fretting about my rear tyres being below 3mm currently and I don’t know why as they’re perfectly legal ...snip
Some Michelins remain good down to 1.6mm, various tests suggest that <3mm increases wet braking distances. If you've got rears down to <3mm I'd be more concerned with age-related cracks 🙂
They're 2 years old and have done 60k!
I commented one time to the youngish mum getting her kid out of the back seat and got told to **** off and mind my own business.
Have had that to a few times, once for pointing out to a gent that his tyre was completely flat!
People are great aren’t they? 🙄
I had similar, certainly less bad and it was marked as an advisory on the MOT.
I would not risk it based on your photo. As ever, there are only 4 things connecting your car to the road and I would not risk one of them failing at up to 70mph.
Are you replacing 1, 2 or 4 tyres?
I would not risk one of them failing at up to 70mph.
Up to? Are you new here, OP will either be making progress at 85 because 70mph was chosen in the days of no seatbelts or airbags and drum brakes, or under 56 because Greta.
Are you replacing 1, 2 or 4 tyres?
I replaced the damaged one and the other one on the same axel.
The other two will prob be nearly ready for replacing at the next MOT (approx 9 months away).