We had a pretty intenese rainstorms over here in NY and the potholes are ripe on the highways. I finally hit a nice one that made the sidewall bulge on my tire, the damage dosen't look too bad, just a small bulge. I was wondering are small bulges or any type of bulge on the sidewall mean the tire must be replaced for fear of blowingout on the road?

This post has been edited by betz698: Mar 29 2005, 01:31 AM

don't take any chances, yourself and your nearest and dearest lives are at risk by a damaged tyre, if in the slightest dought get it changed, it will be a good idea to get the tracking checked at the same time.

Their are many types of bludges ....the one which is long and thin is actually caused in the curing process of a tire and does not effect the performance of the tire

then you have cupping of tires this is a unique as it happends with age and braking in turns too much in a front wheel car.remember as with every thing in life a tire can only do 1 thing good at one time.so when people brake and turn you are loading the side walls in weird fashion.Best pratice brake before a turn and accelerate from apex which will make your car wheels and suspension last longer.

You might get them due to increased preload with low air in the tire too.

the last pot hole damage should be watched carefully.it gets bigger then change the tire.this is due to the inner liner failure and air seeping into the metal cord layer

ofcourse ,my .02 cents as always

This post has been edited by banditboy: Mar 31 2005, 10:49 AM

I took no chances since i know the roads are going to get worse. I took the full size spare out and mounted it. I took close look at the tire the bulge is pretty good and there is a crack in the rubber, where the sidewall meets the tread.

Good call safety first