Hello, just yesterday I hit my tire against a curb (pretty stupid, i know). I drive a lincoln aviator with after factory tires (SP Sport Maxx, -basically 22’’ low profile tires). While the rim didn’t get damaged at all, there was a definite gash in the sidewall. I brought it to an OK Tire, they said "shouldnt be a problem, just cosmetically ugly). The dealership wasn’t sure, said it should be ok but wasnt sure. Doesnt appear deep enough to have effected the tire and they said that these low profile tires have very thick sidewalls. Just not sure what to do? Replace it? …problem is lot of treadwear left and pretty expensive tire. Super glue it so its not ugly aesthetically? As a caviat to all of this, I am about to go on a 1,000 miles road trip next week. THANKS for the any comments!
Have you got a spare tire? Do know how to use the jack? If your wheels have special lug nuts do you have a wrench you know fits and has the strength needed to take off the wheel? If yes to the above then I’d move the tire to a rear wheel. A flat on the rear wheel is easier to control than a flat on the front.
Then take your trip. The glue to make a cosmetic repair may not work but I don’t think it can hurt. A rubber based glue would likely handle the flexing better than super glue. You’ve got a fancy truck, with fancy wheels and tires, if there is any cord showing at all on the sidewall I’d get a new tire. The only really safe option in fact is a new tire. Otherwise you are taking chances, how big a risk apparently even the tire experts are unsure off.
Thanks, im just really confused. Dealer says “ehh, should be ok.” Miller OK Tire says “Its ok, not deep enough at all, sidewall are made thick on these low profile tires.” Sears was like “OMG!!! Yes, replace.”
Its like three totally different opinions, making it very unhelpful for me. Turnaround time for me is minimal. I am moving (hence the 1,000 mile trip). And would need to order these tires by monday. The “gashed” sidewall tire is on the back right.
Damaged sidewall = replace, period.
One shop maybe interested in your safety, or the sale of a tire. Hard to tell, and without seeing tire it ends up being your call. I’d avoid towing a 90 zillion ton travel trailer or a full load in the back until you gain more confidence that the tire will hold up. A heavy load in the back will make it much harder to control the truck in the event of a flat, keep that in mind. Good luck.
wont be towing anything
Attaching a pictures of it. I dont believe the “white” in the third is chord.
Also, zooming the way i did on those pictures makes it seem MUCH bigger than it actually is
what is your life worth??? replace the tire, then make your trip.
Those pictures look pretty bad to me.
What you don’t know is: Are there any damaged cords behind the gash? If so, will they weaken on every rotation when the sidewall flexes?
If it were my car, I would replace it, without question.
Good pics, that’s a nasty gash. I’d get another tire on order and on the truck before the trip if possible. That is not enough rubber to trust when the tire gets hot under load IMHO.
ok so if it repair here is the prob.how many tires should i get? obviousely replace that tire…but the front left tire and back left tire have still plenty of tread remaining. The front right is lower than the others on the tread. So should I buy just one replacement? Wont that screw up the balance? Then get two? Or is that going to look weird aesthetically. Or should i spend an crapload of money and buy all four
4 new tires…peace of mind and a price tag of 500-800…again how much is your life worth? a blow out at 65 mph will cost you more than 4 tires…to me it is a no brainer…
prob is these tires are expensive. and the front left and back left really have PLENTY of tread wear remaining.
they are the 26535Z22. dunlop’s site says : http://www.dunloptires.com/dunlop/display_tire.jsp?prodline=SP+Sport+Maxx&mrktarea=Performance
Charging 265 per tire!
www.tirerack.com is selling them for 150 each. is this possible??? 100 dollar per tire difference?
I would replace those tires as soon as possible. If price is a problem, then buy something cheaper.
As others have said, what is your life worth?
"Oh, hi Saint Peter! I’d have died much later but the treads on two of my tires were too good to consider replacing them.
I wont mind spending the money. They are the tires I want. I just want to make sure of a few things.
1). That “gash” is serious enough to consider replacing the tire.
2). If I replace that tire, should I just get that one replacement? Or get two or all four. ( I would have probably changed my tires a year from now if I hadn’t gotten that gash last night).
3). I only have about a week to get these tires. And have to order them. so its going to be tight. Dunlop is trying to sell them online for 265 per tire each. these online stores like www.treaddepot.com and tirerack.com are selling them for about 150 each. I would just order them and bring them in locally for an install. Are these online sites reliable?
Thanks for the help in this short amount of time.
With Tire Rack you may have to pay shipping, certainly you have to pay for mounting, balancing, and putting them on the truck. What’s your deductable if you have an accident. That’s what I think about when I consider getting snow tires for winter driving.
It looks like the concensous is get at least one new tire to replace the damaged one. Is your truck full time AWD? If yes, you may need to get more than one tire to avoid damage to the drive train. If it is 4WD that you engage and disengage you might be ok with just the new tire on the back. To balance the wear you can get the new tire “shaved” to match the tread depth of the current tires on the truck.
Or, you can drive it as it is. We are the armchair quarterbacks on this one.
bump?
-
YES, that gash is more than serious enough to warrant replacing the tire.
-
The AWD mechanism on your vehicle complicates things greatly. If the remaining tires have most of their tread remaining, then you can probably safely replace just one tire. On the other hand, if there is significant wear on the other tires, replacing just one tire will cause major damage to the AWD mechanism. Trust me–the cost of 4 new tires will seem like chump change compared to the cost of mechanical repairs to the center differential/clutch pack/viscous coupler (depending on the design of your AWD system).
-
If you still have the original factory rims, getting 4 “conventional” tires will be considerably cheaper than buying another set of these “high style” tires. Aside from making your vehicle look like it is being driven by a purveyor of controlled substances, these tires are also much more prone to damage from potholes and curbs than “conventional” tires are. It’s your call, but this type of impractical tire inevitably costs the driver far more in the long run than the type of tires that the vehicle was originally fitted with.
I agree, you’re going to have to replace all of them if your car is AWD.
And in a mini editorial, I must ask why would you put 22 inch wheels and ultra-low profile tires on an SUV? Clearly they don’t help with off-roading, the big wheels add unsprung weight, your vehicle will be slower due to that and the possibility of the overall axle ratio changing due to increase in overall height of the tire. The ride will be rougher, the towing capacity may be reduced, and as you found out they are easily damaged. If I showed up on even a class 4 trail with 24’s on my Bronco I’d be laughed out ORP. To me rims bigger than 17 or 18 inches on a truck or SUV screams “poseur”. It makes about as much sense as putting some Super Swampers on a Corvette. / editorial