How concerned should I be about possible damage to tire sidewall?

August 12, 2022 2:20 PM

Hi everybody. Being especially inept at parallel parking – especially when doing so on a steep hill – I scraped my front passenger-side tire, which now has scuffmarks on it. (Link to images attached.)

This is rendered all the more frustrating by the fact that the tires are practically brand new, but I digress. Anyway, I'm hoping the fact I was going slow (coasting downhill with my foot on the brake) means this isn't serious, but I'm hoping you guys can put my mind at ease. Thanks in advance, though I'm generally pretty good about thanking people afterwards as well.

posted by DavidfromBA to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

Response by poster: Evidently my attempt to post the link to the images failed, so please excuse my doing it this way: https://www.flickr.com/photos/196240280@N05/
posted by DavidfromBA at 2:22 PM on August 12, 2022

It looks ok to me, but I can't be conclusive. I see no bulges or pinches in the sidewall, so I think you got away with it. If it was a low speed scuff (at parking speeds) like it suggests I don't see an obvious issue.

Having said that, the absence of evidence of an issue on a photo is not at all the same as being able to inspect the tyre personally. Safest course of action is to get it inspected before you go on any long journeys or at highway speeds. I can tell you I can't see an issue, but not necessarily that there is no issue, if that makes sense.
posted by Brockles at 2:39 PM on August 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure if it's a trick of the light, but it looks to me like you tore a divot out the sidewall. I would only drive it, slowly, as far as the tire store to have it replaced.
posted by SPrintF at 5:16 PM on August 12, 2022

I'm not sure if it's a trick of the light, but it looks to me like you tore a divot out the sidewall. I would only drive it, slowly, as far as the tire store to have it replaced.

It looks to me in the photo just like surface scuffing, but definitely yes: if there are divots or chunks torn out, go get a professional's assessment.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:44 PM on August 12, 2022

If that was going to cause a problem, my neighbor's car which lacks a single square centimeter of unscuffed sidewall would have exploded and burned the entire neighborhood by now.
posted by flimflam at 7:51 PM on August 12, 2022 [5 favorites]

Tires are tough, and if you could damage them like this the world would be littered with cars with brand new but dead tires. The sidewall is made of the same stuff as the tread, and they take a staggering amount of abuse. I've never seen a tire damaged by scuffing against a curb. I'd drive this without a second thought.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 8:23 PM on August 12, 2022

I’m not worried for you. I live on a very narrow street and have to hug the curb. I scuff my sidewalls almost every time I park, and the one flat I’ve had in 23 years was from a nail through the tread. Your tires can take it.
posted by mumkin at 8:55 PM on August 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

If it's truly just a scuff and not actual damage, like chunks or scratches, you're almost certainly fine.

I've gotten a lot better about it over the years, but I have still done it a ridiculous amount of times, to no consequence whatsoever other than damaging a cheap wheel cover a few times.
posted by stormyteal at 9:02 PM on August 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: With the caveat that my eyesight isn't what it used to be, there don't seem to be any missing chunks or divots, although I'll go back and take another look. Most of you seem to be saying it's nothing serious, so I'm cautiously optimistic that's the case. Thank you everybody for your feedback.
posted by DavidfromBA at 8:25 AM on August 13, 2022