Dent in tire a reason for concern?

[rogerkathy]

Just spotted a shallow dent in my 5th wheel tire, a little bigger than my thumb. Not a bulge but is this normal? It makes me think I got too close to a curb at some time to cause this but not sure.

[007matman]

I've seen them before. Never thought much about it. I think it's normal.

I've had them for years and it's been fine.

[Oaklevel]

I would watch it, but I believe that it is where the belts overlap. Can't see a lot in your pic, maybe a tire expert will pop up.

[cavie]

I would make it a spare. You have a lot ($$$$) riding on it. Are you a betting man?

[Tireman9]

Sidewall indentations are normal and are present in almost all PSR, LTR, and STR tires. This is where the body ply material (not the belts) overlap.
When you inflate a tire all fabric (i.e. non-steel) sidewall tires stretch a little. When you have one layer or ply it stretches a little bit. where there is an overlap it stretches less and creates an illusion of a "dent".
This is OK.


What is NOT OK is a bulge outward. That can be an indication of either an "open splice" or of a possible sidewall Impact break. HERE is a post from my RVTire blog showing what a bulge looks like and the results of my "autopsy" that confirmed sidewall damage due to some pot-hole impact on my wife's car.


I have a number of posts on "Impact" Here is another.


IMO you can learn a lot and get answers to many tire questions on my blog. But I am obviously biased.

[rogerkathy]

Whew! Looks like I'm ok for now. Didn't want to spend money on tires this year. Planning next year for that as the tires are only 2-3 years old now (I know, I know about the China bombs).

[emoney]

Y'up, "in" is fine, "out" is not. I always remembered it because of the initial association.

[Paulie1138]

But I am obviously biased

Tireman9, you are going to get belted from these tired threads (or, treads?).....lol!

[wmtire]

The tire term for this is "Undulation", and you can do a forum search ( I've posted a few times on it) or internet search on this term and find more reading on this to help and make sure.

Here is one from tire rack

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretec....jsp?techid=32

[phillyg]

I've seen the undulations on numerous tires and have learned they're normal.

[Villagerjjm]

I had a set of Firestone tires that started to dimple just like what you see in the photos. I continued to run them, then the steel belts began to separate. The tires actually began to warp.

[chapelt]

Looks like you hit something hard, possibly broke steel belt? Just a guess. Wouldn't trust. Should have it looked at.

[wmtire]

See this post on how to manually feel for undulation:


http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1287826

[Tireguy397]

I totally agree with tireman9. I spent 33 years in tire business including working in a manufacturing plant. Nearly all tires have this undulation in the sidewall and it is normal. Doesn’t look nice but normal. It is actually the strongest part of the sidewall. As long as it is a indentation and not a protrusion you are good to go.