Need help on potential tire safety issue before the morning.. Please!

[davemsc]

Hey all,
Can you give me your thoughts on these 2 pictures? These are tires that are on a "new to me" car that I am supposed to pick up tomorrow. I was looking to get pics of the DOT numbers but when I did, I saw this.
I'm assuming both are safety issues. The crazy thing is, these Goodyear's are this year ...dot is 0616.
I see a crack in the first pic and the second it looks like there is a chunk missing altogether from the tire where it meets the rim.
Thanks so much guys. Your help is greatly appreciated
Cheers
Dave

 

[mazdadude]

First pic looks like a minor rock mark, the second pic looks like the bead sticker was not peeled away in that spot. I would not worry about either

 

[davemsc]

Thanks for the reply.
I'll admit that I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to cars, but to me, that first pic looks like a crack. That can't be good. My 6 year old tires don't have any of those.
For the second, that looks like a hole. I can see more of the rim. Again, not to argue, but how can that be a sticker?
Thanks man

 

[mazdadude]

No worries! The first pic is like the side wall tread edge ran over very sharp rock, maybe metal? > On the second pic, imagine a very thin piece of saran wrap... It is just glossy, not a missing chunk... Before it and after it you can see the torn away jagged remnants between bead and wheel.

 

[davemsc]

OK...I feel stupid about the 2nd pic of that only a sticker. It totally looks like a hole where you can see more of the rim haha. I'll concede that that one isn't a problem
However, the first one is real damage. I'm assuming the chances of that getting wide is now much higher. I was always told that if the crack or break or puncture is in the sidewall, it's toast.
Isn't that the situation here?
Thanks

 

[mazdadude]

OK...I feel stupid about the 2nd pic of that only a sticker. It totally looks like a hole where you can see more of the rim haha. I'll concede that that one isn't a problem
However, the first one is real damage. I'm assuming the chances of that getting wide is now much higher. I was always told that if the crack or break or puncture is in the sidewall, it's toast.
Isn't that the situation here?
Thanks

LOL, no worries , I could totally see what you were seeing also...
Would love to see in person, but from that angle and pic it looks very minor shallow. Definitely point it out to the seller and try to use as a concession, however that really looks to be in the top 10% of the surface of the tread.

 

[davemsc]

I'm in a weird position with this car. I'm buying a 2013 Mazda 3 (I know, this is a protg 5 forum, but since I still have my p5 for one more day, it's OK haha). The original rims on it are 16 inch. However the actual tires were close to 6years old. I don't think I want to buy a car that has six year old tires on it before I even drive it off the lot. Mind you there was a lot of tread left. But again, 6 years old.
Since this is a used car dealership and not mazda, their solution was to just take tires and rims off another mazda 3 that they had there..
These are 215 45 17 tires and rims and the tires I am showing you. The rims are from a 2007-2009 production year, but the tires are brand new this year, except they have the potential issues I'm showing you. They will not buy new tires for the smaller 16 inch rims, so I either take the car with these rims and tires or walk away from the deal.
So I'm trying to find out if these things I just happen to see are safety issues. I am now going to have to go over them very carefully now.

Hence my need for quick help since potentially get the car tomorrow.
Also I drove the car and liked it with 205 55 16 tires. Maybe I'll find these new ones to harsh. Or roads are far from smooth. If I don't like the way it feels, I can walk away as well.
So that's the story.
I just want safe tires on my new car.

 

[mazdadude]

Ok I see your situation now.

Any way you can get the stock 16s and you put the tires you want on it? It will drive different with the 17

 

[davemsc]

Yeah i can.. But that is gonna cost me a set of tires right out of the gate, which I shouldn't have to really do
I think I'm right on not accepting tires that are already 6 years old and not knowing the history of them. Chemical breakdown, hardening, brittleness, etc

If I walk away, I gotta dump $1000 into the p5 and then get winter tires

 

[MrGiggles]

If it's not leaking, I really wouldn't worry about it. Provided that they don't shake going down the road.

The bead would probably never seal if that was really a hole.

205/55-16 will be cheaper than a 215/45-17. I never noticed much of a difference on ride quality between the two.

 

[davemsc]

If I do decide to keep them, next time around, I'd get 205 50 17, which is the size of the Mazda 3GT tires on those rims normally

So both of you think it's not a big deal? That's good to know. of course, I'm really going to have to look at the tires tomorrow.
Any chance that can be patched that close to the sidewall?

 

[MrGiggles]

If it starts leaking, it's not repairable. A plug might hold for a while.

I'm sure that car has a TPMS, so you will know pretty quickly if it decides to let loose.

I'd want the bigger wheels, even if you need to buy a pair of tires.

 

[mazdadude]

Looking at the pic again, I think what you are seeing is the shadow from the rubber FLASHING from when the tire is made... little thin piece of excess rubber...

Notice how that line continues horizontally across the tread of the tire?

 

[davemsc]

Man I hope so. Looks pretty irregular though. But I was fooled by a sticker.....

 

[Jackie chan]

You're fine. If there was any damage to the structure of the tire, it would start to bulge. Just watch for leaks and bulging in that area.

 

[davemsc]

Looking at the pic again, I think what you are seeing is the shadow from the rubber FLASHING from when the tire is made... little thin piece of excess rubber...

Notice how that line continues horizontally across the tread of the tire?

You win. 100% right. I went over those tires for 20 minutes.. Couldn't find a thing wrong lol.
Just bought the car.
Thanks man for your help. Greatly appreciated. And to the others as well

 

[mazdadude]

You win. 100% right. I went over those tires for 20 minutes.. Couldn't find a thing wrong lol.
Just bought the car.
Thanks man for your help. Greatly appreciated. And to the others as well

Woo Hoo! That is great to hear! (crazy)

Looking forward to a picture of the whole car now... (popcorn)