Sidewall Damage

EMSTONE

MEMBER
2007 TOYOTA 4RUNNER
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
56,000 MILES

My vehicle was recently shipped abroad. When it arrived, it had a small abrasion in the sidewall of the tire. I don't see any obvious bulging but my question is whether the tire is still safe to drive. There are no reliable mechanics in this part of the World and replacing the tire would be very costly. If you need additional details on the size of the tear, let me know. To my untrained eye, it looks like the outer layer is compromised but that the next layer is just exposed.

Image (Click to make bigger)

1 Reply

PROTECH1980

MEMBER
901 POSTS

The outer layer of rubber on the sidewall has actually only one function - to prevent damage to other, more important layers. The most important layer for safety is deeper and consists of radial rayon threads with rubber in between to prevent friction between threads.
Real damage and real problem is when external object reaches this thread layer and cuts one or more of the threads. Then the shape of the tire cannot be maintained but you get a bulge on the sidewall.
In my opinion what you have is a scraping of that outer layer. The important threads are definitely more than 3 mm deep in the sidewall and from what I can make out in the picture it doesnt appear that deep, just the outer layer, I would suggest driving it and taking a look at the tire from time to time, inspecting for bulging.