If you’re concerned about that crease or what looks like a fold on the side of your tire sidewall, I have some good news or bad news depending on what it looks like.
Earlier this morning while washing our family’s Toyota Corolla, I came across a crease in the tire sidewall of our passenger side front tire. Below is a photo of said crease. You’d think tires are supposed to be absolutely smooth all the way ’round but apparently, that’s not always the case. Here are my findings
- Sidewall indentations or undulations a.k.a. valleys– Good news, most likely this is just a part of the manufacturing process that shows up when you inflate tires.
- Sidewall protrusions of any sort a.k.a. bulges or mountain looking sidewall damages– Unfortunately, it’s bad news for you and I’ll get into that a bit later. Your tire sidewall is damaged, can’t just be repaired, and it would behoove you to get a new tire on their ASAP.
TireRack.com, experts in the tire industry since 1979, has a great article on tire sidewall damage of this sort and is where the post that put my mind at ease.
In the case of sidewall indentations, according to Tire Rack, “sidewall indentations are a cosmetic condition that does not affect the performance of the tires.”
But, if you see sidewall protrusions of any sort, even if it looks uniform, as per TR ” it reveals that there is an undesirable gap between some of the body ply cords inside the tire.” If you notice these bulges or protrusions shortly after getting your tire serviced, it’s likely that your tire was damaged. But, if you only notice these tire protrusions after several weeks as I did, something you ran over is probably the cause of this particular sidewall damage.
Tires are the only thing physically connecting you to the road so taking care of those four tires on your car is paramount to daily safety for you and your loved ones.
Did you recently notice any tire indentations or protrusions like I did once? Any other tire anomalies you’ve encountered in the past? Let me know in the comments below.
Source: Tire Rack
