I just noticed a seriously deep gouge to the sidewall of one of my tires. Unfortunately, I managed to damage the wheel as well.

Has anyone successfully repaired something like this?


I’m pretty sure I know when this happened as I recall physically cringing like I had sliced my own knuckle.

These tires have 5,000 miles on them. Is it worth it to repair or should I pick up a new tire?

 

Not an expert but I would replace it. Check with a reputable tire shop however. Also check to see if the tire is covered under warranty.

 

Replace the tire. While a relatively small puncture in the tire's tread face can (sometimes) be repaired side wall damage is not repairable. The tire is junk.

Wheel might also need to be replaced. Probably best to consult with a MINI tech.They have the best knowledge about what damage is ok, repairable, and what is not repairable.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback. Glad I had a Tire Rack gift card floating around. Will be (cautiously) grabbing a new tire tomorrow.

 

Since it is on the sidewall, don't take any chances of having it blowout at speed. Get a new tire, or buy a new set depending on how many miles are on this set.

 

Get a new tire, i had something similar couple months ago. Tire rack or most reputable places should be fine but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get a road hazard warranty on your tires, the $20 it might cost will be worth it for these situations and all you gotta do is get your free replacement tire and pay the small fee for install.

 

With 5,000 miles on this set of tires I will be getting just the one tire and definitely the warranty.

 

I would have your tread wear measured mostly so you can figure out if your new tire, being the newest of the 4 tires, will be balanced with the others. I would actually suggest getting 2, put them on either front or rear and using the extra "good" tire off your car as a backup since im not sure you have warranty on your existing tires. This is what I did for my same situation.

 

I just measured the tread depth of the damaged tire. For reference, these are Michelin Pilot Super Sports with 7/32" remaining tread life. These get switched out to a set of Blizzak WS80's for the winter.
I hadn't thought of getting a pair, but you're right, it may be a good idea to have my "good" one turn into a spare for any future tire incident.

 

It's not a matter or is it 'worth' to repair, rather is it 'safe' to repair. The answer is NO. Buy a rope, tie it to a branch and make a swing out of it.

 

For tire damage something caused the tear in the rubber you can see, at the same time there might be damage to the inner structure that results in weakening. This can lead to irregular wear or stress and failure and any inner damage cannot be repaired.

If you have road hazzard warranty on the tire from purchase you can place a claim for replacement and the tread depth is used to prorate the value.

You can't just repair the rubber on the outside.

 

Picked up a replacement pair from my local Tire Rack and put in a claim with the them under their free road hazard protection warranty (2 year). A full reimbursement for the original tire was approved in one phone call with verification from the shop that replaced the tire (New Country Mini in Hartford).

There was no actual damage to the inner cords of the tire.

Thanks for all the feedback.