Tire bead damage? Is this safe to drive on?

[corleykj]

I just removed a tire and made a mistake with the machine and damaged the bead. Here is a pic of the damage. I have someone wanting my old tires (including this one) and I don't want to sell them if they are unsafe. Thanks mud.

 

[TheForger]

That is called a damaged tire and would not fly in my book. I'm not going to testify to how big of a difference it would make, but there is significant structural material that has been removed from a very crucial area of the tire. Seems like you would have a higher chance of busting the bead when offroading at lower psi.

 

[corleykj]

Do you think it would be a safety issue at high pressure? I will check with the guy wanting to purchase them and see his intent. If it is going to be for an old truck or SUV and used around town hat is one thing. If he was wanting to do highway trips or low pressure off-road it might be a concern.

 

[Mudder]

Would you let your wife drive on it? If not you've got your answer as to if you should sell it.

The legal stand point is if you sold it and it blew because of your negligence then you'd be liable. The only way out would be a written form that was signed by you and the buyer stating it's for off road use only.

 

[AWhelan]

That prob. wouldn't fail catastrophically rite away, but it's gonna leak for sure. If you could get it to hold air the next issue would be water entering the bead and causing rust, which can cause a catastrophic failure.
Next time use some soap, even dish soap will work.

 

[corleykj]

Thanks for the feedback. I will not recommend it be used. I will look for a fourth used match to complete the set or just keep the good ones for things down the road.