0

got a slight cut in the sidewall of the tyre. What do you recommend - repair or replace? Its a fairly new tyre with just ard 11K kms done. Pls suggest. Thanks! enter image description here

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
  • 156,290
  • 29
  • 252
  • 491
Aditya Gaurav
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 2
    Possible duplicate of Tire SideWall Damage. Replace? – kyle_engineer May 21 '18 at 20:58
  • There are dozens of answers on this stack covering this exact topic, so I am voting to close this. A summary answer, replace the tire if you have any question about the type's safety. – kyle_engineer May 21 '18 at 20:58
  • 1
    Every question on this topic is different and requires a picture to get a safe opinion or answer, so they are not duplicates technically. There should just be a wiki for this type of question, with general advice about any tire damage. – Moab May 21 '18 at 23:00
  • Relying on a wiki, as advised above, is not the safest course of action - replacing the damaged tire as per @kyle_engineer is a safe course of action, or taking it to a professional tire fitter / establishment for inspection and subsequent action is also safe. – Solar Mike May 22 '18 at 05:45
  • 3
    A picture doesn't really do it. That looks very minor to me, but what I am willing to drive on and what I recommend to my customers are entirely different things. The topic simply has too much liability to make a "looks purty okays to me" kind of suggestion. I've seen huge chunks missing which I know are okay to drive on. I've seen tiny slits that look fairly innocent, but hide a huge deep cut that has cut through sidewall bands making the tire unsafe. "Whadya think about this??" Replace it. – SteveRacer May 22 '18 at 06:04
  • @SteveRacer That's the exact reason that I've always decided to take the approach of "sidewall damage is unsafe" rather that what I really think for myself personally. I had this discussion with my friend who's been a mechanic for a couple decades, and his response is basically the same. If there is any risk that it may be bad, it's best to just replace it. Unlike other parts on a car, there aren't many ways (to my understanding) that you can really inspect the integrity of the tire without causing further damage or pushing it too far. – kyle_engineer May 22 '18 at 18:39
  • Not even sure the damage the OP is referring to. The smear that wiped out the C in Mi helin, or the small cut in the Michelin Man's arm? And is that a rivet sticking out of the right side of the DOT oval depression area, or just a rubber nib?? Seems the wrong place for one of those "new tire" rubber nibs. I'm guessing the damage is somewhere above the rim rash. It looks very very minor, but as I said before - I simply think it is not prudent to make a judgement from a picture alone. Maybe, just maybe, if I could take the tire off the rim and inspect the inside. But then just buy new! – SteveRacer May 23 '18 at 01:20
  • I looked again, and if you click the picture and center over the wiped out "C", it looks like a fairly deep chunk missing. Not curb rash, but some sort of jagged puncture. I don't see metal or fiber, but who knows if it went deep enough to break belt strands, and how many... – SteveRacer May 23 '18 at 01:24
  • I know I'm rambling now, but this comment is in regard to a "wiki" on the subject. No! If you think about it, answers to this question, no matter how well-meaning, will be "opinion-based" . . . which ain't something we do here. – SteveRacer May 23 '18 at 01:27
  • Thanks for all the replies! I did get an alert on my dashboard for low tire pressure and got it inspected by a mechanic. He did some checks and confirmed no puncture. Filled the air back and it hasn't leaked since. It has been more than a week since then with no/minor change in PSI. I do plan to take the car to the workshop to double-confirm, however as of now the tire seems to be holding all the air. – Aditya Gaurav May 28 '18 at 04:00

1 Answers1

1

Is it leaking? If not, leave it. If it’s leaking, never repair a sidewall. You’ll be at risk of a blowout. Buy a new tire and be safe.

Alex Volpe
  • 642
  • 1
  • 6
  • 16