As the words sidewall damage suggest, it means the damage to the sidewalls of a tire that could happen by a small accident or with any sharp substance that was placed on the road when you were driving. This damage could be spotted by bubbles on the tire’s sidewall or with a deep scratch on the sidewall of the tire.
What Is Tire Sidewall Damage?
Tires are made up of multiple parts such as treads, shoulders, and sidewalls. Although all are vital to the tire, the sidewall area is more important by all means, as it has to face too much pressure when you are driving. The most probable damage could be the sidewall damage in case of any trouble in tire damage and it could be spotted easily.
Types of Tire Damages:
When you are on wheels, it is quite obvious that you could face any damage. There are different types of tire damage.
1. Punctures
Punctures are quite common whether you are driving a car, motorbike, or any type of vehicle. It could happen by piercing any sharp thing on the tire and the tire loses air pressure as well as control of the tire on the road.
2. Deep Scratches and Cracks
Deep scratches and cracks could also cause damage to the tire. The main cause of such damage is heat and somehow bad roads. These types of damages are not spotted earlier but these are quite bad in the long run.
3. Bad Treadwear
There occur different types of irregular tread wear damages. Sometimes, it is because of the bad alignment of tires. It also can happen by over-inflation in the tire. One-sided wear damage can infect a particular area of the tire and central treadwear damage causes the middle area of the tire to be infected.
Tire Damage Causes
As there are some specific types of tire damage, there are also some causes of damage that lead the tires to get severe damage.
Over Inflammation of Tire:
Different tires may need inflammation differently. For instance, a truck tire, a bicycle tire, and a car tire are not the same and they would need tire inflammation accordingly. Usually, a car tire requires air pressure between 30 and 35 PSI. so, the over-inflated tire can cause damage, as well as the under-inflated tire, could also bring damage to the tire. It can affect the shoulder region of the tires. Just try to fill up accurate air pressure in the tires.
Wrong Alignment:
The wrong alignment of the tire can also lead the driver to damage of the tire. If your tire is not aligned properly, it could give you great trouble while you are driving on the road. It must be checked out if you have newly aligned tires and if the technician has fixed the tires accurately or not.
Wearing and Tearing:
With every ride you take and with every rotation of tire you take the wear and tear down towards the damage. For maintaining this issue try to have a regular check and if you find irregular tread, just resolve the issue.
Can We Drive With Damaged Sidewall
It is obviously dangerous to drive with a damaged sidewall. It can give you hurdles and turmoils in driving. Somewhat, a little cut or scratch cannot reach the tread wear. So, with these little scratches, you can continue your driving but care is also mandatory in such cases.
What Type of Sidewall Damage Is Dangerous?
The tread in the tire is located at the point of 1/8″ to 3/16″ (3mm to 4.5mm). If you can see the tread it means the damage is severe and the tires should be replaced. The rule of thumb is also useful to know the depth of cut you get in the tire. Another induction of tire damage is bubbles in the tires. If you see bubbles in the tire, this is a prominent sign that you should change the tire. So, a deep cut on the sidewall that reaches the tread is always dangerous and one should avoid driving with such damage.
How to Repair Tire Sidewall Damage?
How to repair tire sidewall damage? Or it may be asked as can we repair tire sidewall damage. The quite obvious and clear answer is “NO”. When you find bubbles on the tire sidewall or a deep cut, you cannot repair it by yourself nor your vehicle technician would suggest you repair the tire. Little scratches on the sidewall of the tire can be glued but this is not a repair on a long basis. The tire sidewall repair must be avoided because it could be risky for you.
Temporary and Cheap Sidewall Repairing:
Hence, it is dangerous to repair a tire’s sidewall. Still, a little puncture with a nail or a little scratch could be repaired and fixed. We can do this repair with the following method. First of all, inflate the tire to know from where the air was leaking then scrape the infected area with soap and water. Then cover the plug stem with some cement and fix the wire puller. Try to reach the wire towards the damaged area of the tire and make sure the cement on the plug remains wet till you have fixed the problem. Now, cut the remaining part of the wire with rubber and apply fast dried cements on it again. In the end, reinflate the tire and see how it is working.
Conclusion
This is where the discussion is keenly focused. As an author, I would suggest that anyone who has to deal with tire problems must read it. It is a fact we encounter problems in relation to tires while driving, including on highways. One of these problems is sidewall damage. We tried to cover the area if we can repair the sidewall damage but we hardly get any clues about it. The most effective way is not to repair the damaged sidewall but only a puncture with a small nail or a little scratch and the method mentioned above.
