There are many hazards to car tires. Stray nails and screws or other debris can easily puncture a tire and cause a leak. However, sometimes the blunt objects can be even worse than the sharp ones.

Hitting a curb can cause a lot of damage. Plenty of cars get their wheels scratched gouged up by rubbing against curbs, but usually the tires only sustain minor scrapes. However hard this customer hit a curb was enough to take an entire chunk of rubber out of the sidewall, leaving a gash all the way to the cords. This tire needs to be replaced as soon as possible, because the structural integrity has been compromised.

Bulges in the sidewall are another problem. Potholes are often the cause of this damage, and the tire also needs to be replaced as soon as possible. The bulge is caused by internal damage of the sidewall, and the pressure pushes the side outward. If left unrepaired, the bulge could potentially get even worse and maybe blow out. If this tire had a chunk missing like the previous tire, when it hit the pothole it may have completely blown out instead of just making a bulge.

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-Dan