[saket77]

Originally Posted by rajendra2278

I had an incident yesterday. While taking a left turn around a street corner (a compound wall is present here), I presumably went too close to the wall. Result is a reasonable scratch kind of thing (not sure what else to call it) to the rear left tyre sidewall.

You are fine there. No worries. Small advice: Keep this tire at the rear only to be on the safer side.

Regards,
Saket.

[AYP]

Hi guys, noticed this crack on the side of my tyre today. These are Apollo Alnac 4G R14 tyres on my Figo 1.5 diesel. My instincts tell me to replace the tyre but these are as new(or old) as the car itself and have run for 27 months and 19500 Kms.

These have at least double the life left as per the thread depth. Please advise.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by AYP

Hi guys, noticed this crack on the side of my tyre today. These are Apollo Alnac 4G R14 tyres on my Figo 1.5 diesel. My instincts tell me to replace the tyre but these are as new(or old) as the car itself and have run for 27 months and 19500 Kms.

These have at least double the life left as per the thread depth. Please advise.

Get rid of it. I won't even keep it as a spare.

Originally Posted by AYP

These have at least double the life left as per the thread depth. Please advise.

Tread depth is only one aspect. Side wall failure leading to tire burst can be much more disastrous.

Regards,
Saket

[anupamsinha]

I noticed a cut in the front tyres of my Renault Scala. Attaching pics. I am out on a holiday with the car. Planning to replace the tyre once i am back. It would be around 700 kms till i am back. Any idea if it's safe till then?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by anupamsinha

I noticed a cut in the front tyres of my Renault Scala. Attaching pics. I am out on a holiday with the car. Planning to replace the tyre once i am back. It would be around 700 kms till i am back. Any idea if it's safe till then?

Fine cracks that you are absolutely sure to be superficial can only be passed as ok. And this is certainly not superficial.

Change with the spare tire immediately.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by anupamsinha

I noticed a cut in the front tyres of my Renault Scala. Attaching pics. I am out on a holiday with the car. Planning to replace the tyre once i am back. It would be around 700 kms till i am back. Any idea if it's safe till then?

Out of the question.
Change it immediately. This is NOT, repeat NOT, a superficial damage. At any speed the Tyre in this condition can blowout.
So change it immediately. Dont be penny wise and pound foolish in this matter. And Dont procrastinate either.

[milton bertin]

The damage on the side needs to be inspected.

The tire is OK if the ply cords are not damaged.
Easy to inspect.

You can see that in the EU certification process a faulty rubber cover in the side is NOT listed as a failure on the tire certification test.

http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/L...0060101:en:PDF

Please note, the criteria for a tire to fail the test:

"6.2.2. A tire which, after undergoing the relevant load/speed test, does not
exhibit any tread separation, ply separation, cord separation, chunking
or broken cords is deemed to have passed the test."

So, if the damage doesn´t compromise the ply cords, you don't need to worry.

[tud]

Noticed this cut in the rear right side tyre on the new Safari. The car has done approximately 2500 kms so far. I recall a small mishap when the tyre ran over a kerb and slipped down while negotiating a turn last week. The air pressure has not dropped and has been consistent at 33 psi.

Any pointers if this could be repaired or requires a replacement. If replacing, I will have to dispose this tyre as I cannot use it as a spare (spare is a 16" rim).

[RubberGuru1113]

Originally Posted by tud

Noticed this cut in the rear right side tyre on the new Safari. The car has done approximately 2500 kms so far. I recall a small mishap when the tyre ran over a kerb and slipped down while negotiating a turn last week. The air pressure has not dropped and has been consistent at 33 psi.

Any pointers if this could be repaired or requires a replacement. If replacing, I will have to dispose this tyre as I cannot use it as a spare (spare is a 16" rim).

Attachment 2353611

If air pressure has not dropped, it means that the cut has not penetrated completely to the inside of the tyre, and the polyester fabric is still intact, which is why for now the pressure is being retained.



Refer the above image, the sidewall is cut but the plies are still intact.

Having said that, it is only a matter of time before the cut penetrates and damages the fabric. Would strongly advice you to get the tyre replaced. Since it is Bridgestone and a stock OE tyre I doubt if it will be covered under warranty.

Since the polyester plies are still un-damaged (going by your assertion that there is no pressure loss), there is also the option of doing a reinforced heat repair - the cut is reinforced with a patch from the inside and the rubber is re-moulded using heat after inserting some filler material. This is typically done in truck re-tread centers, Royapettah is especially popular for this. You need to leave the tyre with them for at least a day as the heating process itself takes an hour or so and it needs to sit for a few hours before being fitted on the vehicle again.

Disclaimer - This kind of repair is quite dicey - especially because your tyre has a lot of life left and needs to cover at least 40k km more, and such repairs - while useful if you want to stretch the life of a tyre slightly, may not be a good option for an almost brand new tyre to run till its end of life. My strong recommendation is still to replace your tyre with a new one.

[tud]

Originally Posted by RubberGuru1113

If air pressure has not dropped, it means that the cut has not penetrated completely to the inside of the tyre, and the polyester fabric is still intact, which is why for now the pressure is being retained.

Would strongly advice you to get the tyre replaced. Since it is Bridgestone and a stock OE tyre I doubt if it will be covered under warranty.

My strong recommendation is still to replace your tyre with a new one.

Thank you. I went with your option and got the tyre replaced.

And here is some news about my good experience with TATA Motors:
I asked TATA Motors for a warranty coverage. They took pictures and sent the images to Bridgestone. Bridgestone gave a 30% discount for replacement tyre purchase - given the age of the tyre and the kilometres run, I expected a better discount as this looked like a manufacturing defect that gave way. The service centre then requested TATA put in the balance 70% and TATA obliged.

So a thumbs up to TATA Motors for this

Also to note - the service centre, scratched the alloys while removing the wheel from the car (in their process of taking detailed pictures) and also managed to damage the plastic cladding in the underbody by placing the jack wrong. They have promised to set this right. So when the replacement tyre arrived, I told the service centre that I would prefer to get the tyre installed at a professional tyre centre and they obliged.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by RubberGuru1113

If

Attachment 2353634

Refer the above image, the sidewall is cut but the plies are still intact.

Having said that, it is only a matter of time before be a good option for an almost brand new tyre to run till its end of life. My strong recommendation is still to replace your tyre with a new one.

Solid information and insights. Thank you for sharing such detailed information with everyone here.
Really appreciate your inputs.
Cheers!

[zeng]

Originally Posted by RubberGuru1113

Attachment 2353634

Refer the above image, the sidewall is cut but the plies are still intact.

Since the polyester plies are still un-damaged (going by your assertion that there is no pressure loss), there is also the option of doing a reinforced heat repair - the cut is reinforced with a patch from the inside and the rubber is re-moulded using heat after inserting some filler material. This is typically done in truck re-tread centers, Royapettah is especially popular for this. You need to leave the tyre with them for at least a day as the heating process itself takes an hour or so and it needs to sit for a few hours before being fitted on the vehicle again.

Good tips.

As it is, external elements like air, rain, dirts etc are not prevented/stopped from being trapped within the cut surfaces.

Would the trappings (plus tyre flexing in use) cause damage to sidewall fibre plies with time?

Would an external patch necessary to help 'prolong' tyre longevity in this case?

[RubberGuru1113]

Originally Posted by zeng

Good tips.

As it is, external elements like air, rain, dirts etc are not prevented/stopped from being trapped within the cut surfaces.

Would the trappings (plus tyre flexing in use) cause damage to sidewall fibre plies with time?

Would an external patch necessary to help 'prolong' tyre longevity in this case?

Hi - any patch applied on the tyre exterior will fall off as the adhesive will lose strength when open to the elements. Like I mentioned, sidewall repairs involves a reinforced fabric lined patch on the tyre interior, and on the exterior, the cut will be filled with rubber crumbs, and heated so that the rubber melts and flows into the cut. After the process, it would look completely smooth.

[dextor]

Would like to share pleasant experience which I had with JK Tyres recently.
I got a side wall cut on my Hyundai Creta (2022 purchase) front tyre. It was big and deep enough. After reading user experiences on Team BHP I understood the tyre will burn a hole in my pocket.
Before going for new tyre thought of giving a try if something can be done in terms of Insurance or warranty. Called the Hyundai dealer who was not of any help and he straight away refused for any alternative. Also they gave tyre price quote which was 1.5 times the cost available online.

Luckily I went to JKTyres portal and after browsing a lot found in warranty section that they offer 5 years general warranty & 2 years unconditional warranty. Now this word "unconditional" caught my attention & I immediately called the JKTyres support. Unexpectedly the way customer care talked was very professional and pleasing - really meant "happy to help".
They told me that I can either reach out to their central office in same city or reach out to Hyundai dealer for warranty claim. Next day reached out to Hyundai dealer who again tried to wash the hands but I forced him to take the tyre and sent it to JKTyres office. Initially person refused & said there is no warranty for tyre cuts. But when I showed the unconditional warranty section on the portal his stance changed. He said he knew about it but generally nothing happens or if at all warranty is honoured they will charge 50% cost. I was ok to pay 50% instead of full so left the tyre & got the spare tyre loaded on the alloys.

One thing to note although Hyundai Creta brochure mentions that the spare tyre is one size smaller (R16) but in actual it was same size (R17).

Surprisingly next day I got a follow up call from JKTyres & they wanted to know how I have proceeded with the tyre. When I told that I gave it to the dealer they immediately connected me to JKTyre office in BLR and from there I was informed that the tyre was not received. I thought single day is quite early for dealer to send. So I waited for another 2-3 days but even after a week the dealer did not sent the tyre. Dealer kept promising me that he has sent and soon I will hear the update but nothing happen. Finally I reached the dealers place & shamelessly he returned me the tyre saying due to some transport issue the tyre has been returned back and as I am in hurry I can go to JKTyre office myself. I could make out that they never sent the tyre for warranty claim. To avoid wasting time further I brought back the tyre and planned to visit JKTyre office myself.

Due to some emergency I had to travel out of station so I called the office & they assured me that I need not worry about warranty claim & they will keep the support ticket open. In the meantime I took help of one of my friend who took the tyre to JKTyre office. They inspected the tyre & in 10 minutes gave a brand new tyre. They did not ask for any bill or proof or where the owner was. I was expecting that they will charge some money/fees but nothing was charged.
I was happy & amazed seeing the service quality & support they had provided. I am not sure about other tyre brands but JKTyre is surely making a difference by providing great experience and offering unconditional warranty.