Can this tire sidewall damage be repaired or should I replace the tire?

Question

I* hit a curb and got a small tear in the front passenger side tire. The tear is about 1" long and goes mostly across the surface of the tire but also a little bit, maybe 1/4", toward the inside of the tire. If this is beyond cosmetic and not repairable, I'll of course replace the tire. But these tires only have about 3000 miles on them and to my uneducated eyes, this area of the tire looks like a rubber ridge designed for style or rim protection rather than structure. Not that the rim protection worked!

These are BF Goodrich Advantage T/A tires, size 225/50R17, in case that matters.

* OK, it was my wife driving at the time, but I'd never blame her in public!

Answer 1

The damage you are showing is minor cosmetic damage.

If the following occurs with sidewall damage, then get it replaced:

• Tire deflation (cannot be legally repaired in most countries)
• You pull the flap back and see damage to the side wall plies (corded area under the rubber which supports the tire) whether deflation has occurred or not
• Bulging of the tire at the damage site

If you aren't seeing any of these things, you should not have any issues running your tire until the tread wears out (normal use).

As a side note (and primarily my opinion with nothing to really back it up), the area where your damage has occurred seems to be extra rubber put in place on low profile tires to help protect the rims from curb rash. Yours looks like it was a little more serious of a curb encounter, but still, if no issues as stated above, you should be fine.

EDIT: If the flap of rubber sticking out bothers you (aesthetically), use a small amount of rubber cement to it and it should keep it in place. It really isn't bothering anything the way it is.

Answer 2

If you decide to keep driving on this tire, don't use superglue on that rubber flap. When superglue sets it becomes rigid and brittle. The tire will flex a bit when you drive, and break the glue bond in a short time.

Instead, use the rubber glue from a bike tire puncture repair kit.

Answer 3

this area of the tire looks like a rubber ridge designed for style

Wrong, This part of the tyre protects sharp objects from getting into the inner more structural parts of the tyre.

The damage to your tyre does not seem too critical to cause any immediate change to driving or safety.

That said if any sharp objects hit the wall in this particular area it will be a problem , I would say , use them for another 5k miles and replace them just to be sure. I had a similar wear on my tyre and they held good for a long time but its just me, since they were practically new.

Edit : In case your tyre forms a bulge at that particular area , I would consider replacing it definitely.

Answer 4

As long as it does not go so deep as to get into the sidewall plies stuff like that is usually OK stick it back on there with some super glue and drive on it for a while then check it look at it spray soapy water on it if nothing's wrong she's good to drive on till the tire is rotted our worn.

Answer 5

I had a about a 1/2" tear on the outer wall of a brand new tire.The rim had a scratch, thinking a a curb cut the flap of rubber. Used Gorilla super glue, using latex gloves, squirted a dab of glue into cut, pressed the rubber together. Excess glue created a seal around the cut. Tire looks new, flap is secure. Got lucky the tire wasn't cut deeper so no air leak. I'm sure rubber cement would also do the trick or any rubber sealant. The super glue is very quick. I'll keep an eye on it, but appears to be a solid fix

Answer 6

There is a video that shows you how to repair your sidewall damaged tire . Here is the link https://youtu.be/VFz-Lr5GUd8