Is this tyre ruined?

The missus curbed the near side front tyre. It's quite annoying as they're new Continental Sport Contact 5 with loads of tread left.

Can it be repaired or do I need a new tyre?

Thanks

That can't be repaired, I'd not drive with it on my car and I think it would be an MOT failure.... If it's nearly new you'll get away with replacing just that one rather than the axle pair though

If it was my partner's car, I would change that just for peace of mind.

Does not look safe to me!

It isn't an MOT failure as the wires are not visible. When I bought my golf last year it had been curbed badly by the previous owner, the tyres had similar chunks out of them. I took it straight to an MOT station to ask if it should have failed the 12 month one it just had put on and they got the guidelines out and it was fine. However, I notice you have a further slice under the first one, does this expose the threads?

Some sidewalls are quite thick, mine were in them tyres and I still drove the car hard with no issues. I think it's a personal preference, in reality it's still legal as long as no threads are shown but it's safety could be questionable.

I'd still drive it.

Replace that asap.

Whilst it's not showing cord and technically imo legal to use, it's clearly had damage that most likely has weakened the sidewall which increases the chance of a blow out.

£70-£100 is a small price to pay to avoid a blowout, believe me, you don't want to have one!

Depends on what the car does, if it's 30mph max round town I might consider running it as is, otherwise I'd be getting it changed asap.

It's just the rim protector. It looks like it has done it's job. Rather than throw the tyre away, I'd be checking the rim for buckles. If it's ok I'd drive on it no problems.

I did similar damage to mine , I replaced it

Hmmmm.... it's a tough one. I'm not sure if that has *just* cut into the flange rim protection or not. To me it looks like it possibly is. The FR protection is just thick rubber designed to take hits whilst protecting your alloy and the main body of the tyre from kerbs.

If you think its just the protective strip which has taken a knock, I would keep a very close eye on it in case it starts to bulge. Any hint of a bulge and it should be changed immediately.

I'd say it looks fairly shallow and surely that part of tyre is for protecting the rim so its designed to be knocked about?

Certainly if you're pottering around I personally wouldn't see the issue. But its your cash.

Glue the flappy bit back on and use the tyre as normal. Just keep an eye on it for any bulging but I don't see it causing any weakness in the structure of the tyre.

Janesy B said:

Glue the flappy bit back on and use the tyre as normal. Just keep an eye on it for any bulging but I don't see it causing any weakness in the structure of the tyre.

Click to expand...

Glue it with what? Regular super glue or is there a special type of tyre glue?

Can use the stuff you get in bike tyre repair kits.

Got to be honest, as long as there's no thread showing, I'd just superglue it all back in. Looks like its just eaten the rim protector.

sports_brah said:

Certainly if you're pottering around I personally wouldn't see the issue

Click to expand...

Why do people say this? It's the biggest pile of nonsense ever.

Either the tyre is safe or it isn't - thats it. There is no 'if you are pottering around' safe and 'if you are not pottering around' dangerous. People who 'potter around' still do 70mph+ on Motorways etc.

It honestly winds me up that people think tyre standards are about whether you drive a fast car really fast or not and that somehow if you don't then tyres somehow matter less.

IMHO this one might well be ok, but if it is ok it's ok for any purpose not just 'for pottering around'. Any tyre that would be dangerous if you decided not to just pop to the shop at 30mph is dangerous full stop and should be removed from the car.

Police officer: Sir you're tyres are bald.
Me: It's OK, I only potter about.
Police officer: Sorry my mistake, have a nice day.

I'm with Fox on this one.

I'd personally say it's fine, that's the rim protector doing its job. I'd continue with it but what you do is up to you.

[TW]Fox;29147823 said:

Why do people say this?

Click to expand...

Because a blow out at 30mph is less less risky than at 70mph?

I'd happily fix a puncture on my push bike and continue riding but I wouldn't do any 50mph descents, I'd want to replace the inner tube before risking that.

I'd rather not have a blow out at all.

Janesy B said:

I'd rather not have a blow out at all.

Click to expand...

This.