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Sidewall Damage after ONE day of getting brand new Conti SportContact :(


defmay
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Hi

First of all, great community, new here  :grin: 

Changed all 4 tyres of my Audi 2009 A6 (3.2 Quattro) on Saturday to Conti Sport Contact 255/35 ZR 19 

 

Hit the kerb while moving out of the parking lot and got the damage near the side of the rim on the sidewall  :wacko: Being blasting myself since!!  Can anyone pls tell me if the damage is substantial enough to warrant a change in the tyre or can i still drive with this? There is no vibration or anything else and the car drives fine.

Thanks guys  +++   

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Hi, welcome to TSN and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

 

Personally speaking I'd change the tyre , a chunk missing out of the sidewall like that will have compromised it to some degree. On the bright side, as the other 3 are so new there's no worries about replacing both on an axel at the same time :)

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Oh no - you must be gutted!

 

On balance, I'd agree with Mr B, that's a nice car you have there so it's going to be important to you that the tyres are ok.  The damage has gone deeper than the sacrificial bead, and seems to have a tear at the base of the indent, so I'd be concerned. 

 

Is there a trustworthy independent tyre place that you take plenty of work to and would trust their judgement to be unbiased?  Or a friendly MOT inspector you could have a word with?

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I'd have to say, under the circumstances I would change it, although it appears to just be the rim protector that has taken the hit & the integrity of the tyre is not lost.

 

Good advice from Mr P though, to ask at your local MOT testing station.

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Hi, welcome to TSN  :grin:

 

Another vote for changing it I'm afraid.  I know that personally I wouldn't feel comfortable driving with a piece like that missing - even if someone told me it was fine it would always be in the back of my mind, especially at motorway speeds.

 

+++

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I'm jesting, by the way. You may not have seen the winter tyre banter on here.

In all honesty, the chances are you will be totally fine. There are people who drive for 10's of 1000's of miles with tyres that are much worse than that without incident. However... As has been mentioned, you have a degredation of structural integrity with both the wheel and the tyre and it could well be considered as contributory negligence in the event of an accident (especially seeing as you've now documented it with photographic evidence on the Internet) and it would be hard to prove otherwise, so I'd change it.

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Aww thanks guys...didn't expect so many to chip in so fast and i mean it in a good way.. :grin: 

 

Merry Christmas to you all by the way...

 

I am not based in the UK but in the Middle East...each tyre costs 240 GBP and changing all 4 already tore a hole in my wallet (and heart! after I saw the damage)…tyres are insanely expensive here!!

 

I might take the car to one of the roadside garage experts and get his opinion as you guys suggested. I was rather hoping the condition doesn't look like that it would deteriorate further but I guess the consensus here is that it is now ruined beyond salvation!  :( 

 

Though would appreciate if someone can explain as why the wheel looks damage?  Its the rim which has been chipped/bent on the side of the sidewall damage...or is the term wheel / rim being used interchangeably here?  :uhoh: ...am confused

 

I kept the torn piece as a souvenir by the way...maybe i can stick it back?  :( ...like just so i don't get a burn everytime i look at it. 

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Where abouts are you in the Middle East? The chances are that what you save weekly in fuel compared to us Brits is enough to buy a new tyre anyway ;)

The rim can take quite a hit and with a few balancing weights will pretty much always come back ok - unless its an old RS4 wheel and gone oblong... I think everyones concern here is with the tyre itself that has the missing chunk. There is a big chance that you will never have any problem ...*but* for a couple hundred quid to safeguard your peace of mind and your car worth thousands of pounds, it seems like a no brainer to me +++

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