[NiInJa]

Don't use it, replace the tyre, no further debate on that You can use the damaged tyre for a lot of DIY applications. I would make a wall clock out of it !

http://www.boredpanda.com/recycling-...ing-diy-ideas/

[AkhileshY]

I had a similar experience when my car (Skoda Rapid) was brand new and hit a pothole. This car also has the spare wheel of different size. Could not take the risk as its sidewall. So immediately replaced the tyre. Its always better to be safe than sorry.

[narsi_6989]

Originally Posted by sanchari

Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Is there anything else I need to be aware of? I am planning on driving to Bangalore from Hyderabad later this month, and I want to make sure its safe (the tyre shop guys told me it shouldn't be an issue).

Unfortunately in Jazz VX (not sure in other models), the spare tyre is of different size and the manual advises to use it only for temporary purpose and not for regular use.

I was in the same situation in May 2014 when the front tyre of my 1 month old Rapid was damaged. Even in Rapid the spare tyre is of smaller size and can be used for temporary purpose only. I went ahead and changed the tyre immediately. Since the car was new I got the tyre from OEM supplier Apollo at 50% rate, purely on goodwill basis. I advise you to change the tyre at the earliest. The whole episode is documented here

[revvenant]

Originally Posted by sanchari

I was making a left turn while driving my Jazz the other day, and the rear wheel hit the kerb (it was abrupt edge of the kerb with sharp edges ). It caused a dent in my tyre. I am attaching the pictures below. I took it to a tyre shop, had them remove the tyre, inspect it, and make sure there was no debris inside, and had them put it back again. The tyre shop guys told me that it should be all right and shouldn't cause any issues, just advised me to drive carefully and make sure I don't hit that part of the tyre again.

Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Is there anything else I need to be aware of? I am planning on driving to Bangalore from Hyderabad later this month, and I want to make sure its safe (the tyre shop guys told me it shouldn't be an issue).

Unfortunately in Jazz VX (not sure in other models), the spare tyre is of different size and the manual advises to use it only for temporary purpose and not for regular use.

Please post this thread in appropriate forum if this is not the right one.

I would suggest replacing the tire. Remember that road temperatures will be higher than the ambient temperatures in summer (the reverse is true in winter) due to a variety of reasons. Hyderabad-Bangalore highway road surface in summer gets very very high temperatures (my guess would be upwards of 55 deg C during noon).
I would absolutely want my ride in top notch condition for such adverse conditions.

No point in trying to save 4-5ks when it could (potentially) cost you a lot more in damages.

[maker_of_things]

Originally Posted by sanchari

Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Is there anything else I need to be aware of? I am planning on driving to Bangalore from Hyderabad later this month, and I want to make sure its safe (the tyre shop guys told me it shouldn't be an issue).

I wouldn't suggest you drive on these tyres much less go on a 500+ km roadtrip on these.

The sidewall of a tyre is technically the thinnest piece of the tyre. The cut looks deep and it already might have compromised the structural integrity of this tyre.

It might seem okay to you on short city rides but during long highway rides this tyre might seriously do some damage, as the air inside will only expand and cause a blowout.

Correct me if I'm wrong but these are the Goodyear GT3 tyres right? They aren't that expensive (around 4k -5k each). This is a small price to pay for some peace of mind and your safety.

[deepfreak15]

Change the tyre immediately please. It's not safe

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by sanchari

Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Is there anything else I need to be aware of? I am planning on driving to Bangalore from Hyderabad later this month, and I want to make sure its safe (the tyre shop guys told me it shouldn't be an issue).

As all other people has already suggested, there should not be any rethinking on replacing the tyre. It will be really suicidal if you plan to run on that tyre further. Such a deep cut on the sidewall will surely make the tyre susceptible to blow off.
Tyres are something which we should never take a chance. If in doubt, REPLACE.

[sanchari]

Thanks everyone. Just wanted to check with others first, as I wasn't fully convinced by the Tyre shop guys. Hence my question. Will get the tyre replaced soon.

[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by sanchari

I was making a left turn while driving my Jazz the other day, and the rear wheel hit the kerb (it was abrupt edge of the kerb with sharp edges ). It caused a dent in my tyre.

Don't sweat it. Change the tyre.

Another suggestion is, go for a nice tyre upgrade and get 4 new tyres while returning 3 semi used + 1 damaged for a discount. Good tyre shops buy back older tyres for reasonable amounts depending on how good you negotiate. This could be an opportunity to get some nice smooth riding Michelins for example. Do not think that the tyres are being replaced early (9k), just think that you are postponing your future replacement by 9k kilometers.

With respect to single tyre replacement, if there is the slightest chance of tyre failure at speed on a highway with other drivers around, some of whom may not be driving safely or with safe vehicles - the potential damage vs ~ Rs. 3500-5000 for a single tyre replacement is not even worth discussing. If it's about the money, just avoid going to a fancy restaurant for 1 meal and you will get most of it back.

Also, consider changing your tyre shop as you see the unanimous opinion here is to change it vs their advice to keep it. Seems like dangerous advice to me.

[rugsrags]

While i too would suggest a tyre change for peace of mind personally i feel that tyres are designed keeping in mind a lot more abuse than this particular damage. Case in point is my Rexton's tyres. They were developing cracks on the inside wall which were never visible to the naked eye. The only time it could be seen was either when it visited the workshop or my tyre guy for routine balancing/alignment. Especially the last time when i returned from a long highway trip including a drive on the yamuna expressway and part of the agra - lucknow expressway with the car fully loaded with luggage and passengers. Shot off a mail to the MRF people and their technician saw the tyre and explained that contrary to popular belief one should have tyre pressure at a 2-3 psi higher than recommended on long highway drives since it helps the tyres stay cooler.

You can see the cuts my car's tyres had for reference. And these were due to the tyres heating up by running it at the recommended tyre pressure! Icing is that i didn't know the potential hazard of the condition since i only get my tyres inspected once in 7-8k kms!

[Cool_leo_guy]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

While i too would suggest a tyre change for peace of mind personally i feel that tyres are designed keeping in mind a lot more abuse than this particular damage. Case in point is my Rexton's tyres. They were developing cracks on the inside wall which were never visible to the naked eye. The only time it could be seen was either when it visited the workshop or my tyre guy for routine balancing/alignment. Especially the last time when i returned from a long highway trip including a drive on the yamuna expressway and part of the agra - lucknow expressway with the car fully loaded with luggage and passengers. Shot off a mail to the MRF people and their technician saw the tyre and explained that contrary to popular belief one should have tyre pressure at a 2-3 psi higher than recommended on long highway drives since it helps the tyres stay cooler.

You can see the cuts my car's tyres had for reference. And these were due to the tyres heating up by running it at the recommended tyre pressure! Icing is that i didn't know the potential hazard of the condition since i only get my tyres inspected once in 7-8k kms!

Those cuts don't look spontaneous ,IMHO, but rather a result of damage to sidewall from some sharp stone or Boulder etc. Or they may be caused due to rubbing of tyrewall to roadside when the wheel climbs from lower side footpaths , which are 'kuchcha' on many of our smaller roads. The tarmac is 4-8 inches higher in some instances.

[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

Shot off a mail to the MRF people and their technician saw the tyre and explained that contrary to popular belief one should have tyre pressure at a 2-3 psi higher than recommended on long highway drives since it helps the tyres stay cooler.

Slightly higher pressure tyres do stay cooler. If you remember the British F1 race from couple of years ago where people had multiple tyre failures, Pirelli's stop gap remedy was 2 psi higher pressure.

Explanation is pretty simple:
A lower inflation leads to more tyre contact therefore marginally more grip. However, more contact = more friction - hence the potential for higher temps with lower inflation.

Higher inflation does the opposite. Higher inflation on highway drives also aids FE marginally due to aforementioned less friction.

Always note that this is a small adjustment. If your recommended pressure is 32, then 34 is okay - not 40 or something absurd like that. Typically, 10% above recommended is the limit so that between filling air you run within a range of 10% above to 10% below. Also note that cold tyre temp is important and not to check the pressure when you're straight off the highway after a 200 km run.

[sushil_n79]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

I had exact same damage in my Innova. I made the tyre as spare by adding tube. Bought a new tyre and fixed it to the front. There were occasions when I had driven in spare for 100kms and had no issues.

Hi Sanchari
Good Day
Its not a good feeling when the tyres gets damaged like what had happened in this case from hitting the kerb. Many years ago we had a similar kind of a cut on the front left side tyre of my father's premier padmini. Now in those days tubeless tyres were unheard of and immediately the vehicle had to be stopped as it also cut the tube inside.
I changed over to stephney and went to our regular tyre vulcanisation shop.
Changing the tyre with a new one was not an option because it involved some amount of money and those were the days when people used to mostly opt for retreaded tyres instead of new ones to save on the price.
Upon checking it was identified that the hole on the tyre was so big that i could put 2 fingers through them .
Then this guy came up with a quick fix solution.
In those days the concept of fixing puncture on the tube by heat with the help of adding a rubber compound was very common. it was commonly known as Garam Punchure in hindi.
He tried the same on the side wall of the tyre and put it for heating like the way the punchure on the truck tyre was fixed. He was a pro at it and did it in such a way that it did not bulge out.
After half an hour of applying heat it was done. Thereafter i put in a new set of tube and made that tyre as the spare wheel.
As far as i remember one year after that when the tyres needed replacemenet we used that tyre on the rear wheel and opted for new set of tyres for all 4 including one for the stephney. And i had taken numberous trips on the highway on those tyres and nothing happened touchwood. I guess primarily because we used to mostly cruse between 80 - 90kmph on the highway and in a car like premier padmini one needed to have real guts to go on speeds like those because the normal speed of them was between 40 - 50kmph.
Again this was just my experience which worked for me. the only thing was that as long as we stay within the speed it was fine. I would say replacing would be always the best option but just in case you nomally dont drive very fast this is also an option. not sure if it will be possible in this age and time.

Thanks and regards
Sushil Narayanan

[fighterace]

Originally Posted by sanchari

I was making a left turn while driving my Jazz the other day, and the rear wheel hit the kerb (it was abrupt edge of the kerb with sharp edges ). It caused a dent in my tyre. I am attaching the pictures below. I took it to a tyre shop, had them remove the tyre, inspect it, and make sure there was no debris inside, and had them put it back again. The tyre shop guys told me that it should be all right and shouldn't cause any issues, just advised me to drive carefully and make sure I don't hit that part of the tyre again.

Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Is there anything else I need to be aware of? I am planning on driving to Bangalore from Hyderabad later this month, and I want to make sure its safe (the tyre shop guys told me it shouldn't be an issue).

Unfortunately in Jazz VX (not sure in other models), the spare tyre is of different size and the manual advises to use it only for temporary purpose and not for regular use.

Please post this thread in appropriate forum if this is not the right one.

For low speed city usage, you can use the tyre on the rear axle (with a tube if you want to put one). But I will not recommend highway usage. Since you are planning a highway trip, replace with an identical new tyre and keep the damaged tyre as a full size spare mounted on an appropriate rim. You may put a tube in it for added safety.

[rugsrags]

Originally Posted by Cool_leo_guy

Those cuts don't look spontaneous ,IMHO, but rather a result of damage to sidewall from some sharp stone or Boulder etc. Or they may be caused due to rubbing of tyrewall to roadside when the wheel climbs from lower side footpaths , which are 'kuchcha' on many of our smaller roads. The tarmac is 4-8 inches higher in some instances.

Well i had 4 tyres replaced initially and 3 of them have been changed as of date under goodwill warranty in the course of 2-3 months so its definitely not because of rubbing of sidewall. The car is only driven on well made highways and in the city with no offroading at all and it doesn't even go to any area where its needed to climb any curb or footpaths.
The car came originally with Hankooks which performed flawlessly while i think the MRF wanderers are inherently defective in this size configuration. It doesn't help that the size is exclusive to the Rexton and the Rexton hasn't sold in numbers for the tyre guys to do any research. You can read in my review of the car how difficult it has been to source common parts like tyres and battery for the car.