Driving with Tire Bulge: Is it Safe?

What if you’re driving with a tire bulge? Is it safe? It would be much more hazardous than it looks! But can we fix it? Let’s find out!

Tire bulge in the sidewall

There are many issues, such as cracks or irregular damage that we always encounter. Another issue like a bulge in the sidewall of a tire is also a big concern. Driving with tire bulge has never been a good thing after all!

We should solve it without delay. If not, the bulging tire could experience explosions that might trigger the loss of your control of the car. Before thinking of how to address the problem, it’s essential to learn the causes of a tire bubble.

Causes of bulges in tires

Potholes easily wreck your vehicles

A tire bulge usually shows up on one of the sides of a tire. So you need to check out the inner and outer sidewalls to ensure them to be the best on the surface. Why is there a bubble on the tire? It’s due to the impact damage. If so, then how many types of impact are there? Here are some of the most popular reasons:

• Railroad or train crossings
• Car accidents
• Manufacturing mistakes
• Kerb during the parking
• Potholes
• Damaged streets
• Debris from broken trees and houses
• Speed bump
• Construction areas

How is the process going?

As your tire hits any sharp item in the street, this might compress the tire and the sidewall to get pinched.

Such a thing creates a small hole into the layer of the tire. This gap occurs between the sidewall layers and a little bulge will appear. More air and moisture start to seep in, the bigger the bulge becomes.

How to recognize a tire bulge?

Car’s shock absorbers get damaged due to a tire bubble

There’s a particular amount of vibration you experience while you’re driving. It happens as you drive on the badly paved streets. But when you’re an expert, it’s not a big deal to realize this kind of vibration that indicates something going wrong.

More than that, you might know many reasons causing vibration. It’s when your tires get unbalanced, or your shock absorbers go wrong. But the vibration can be the consequence of a bubble in the tire.

Another way to recognize a bulge is by finding grooves or cuts which are visible to the eyes. If they show up, there are higher chances that there’s a tire bulge.

Is it safe to drive with tire bulge?

As soon as finding out a bubble in a tire, you probably wonder whether it’s safe to drive on them or not. Sure enough, professionals don’t recommend it at all. When you drive at a low speed, issues won’t arise. However, if doing it at high speed, unwanted outcomes appear. 

Aside from danger, driving on tire bubbles causes the wear of wheel bearings. Worse than this, it leads to substantial damage to the car’s shock absorbers. As the impact raises, the tire will burst.

The blowouts cause over 78,000 crashes every year, which results in more deaths. You can prevent a lot of these accidents to enhance your safety.

Although it’s impossible to dodge the impacts, you still can prevent the tire bulge from forming. For example, examine the tires periodically and surely be aware of what to look for. Apart from working out tread depth, seek any anomaly in the rubber.

How to prevent tire bulge

You’re recommended to inspect all tires and pay more attention to minor changes in structure. Avail a pressure gauge to test the pressures of the tire, and check out for any bulge on the sidewalls.

Besides, try to change the tire position on the car at intervals for the even wear in the tire. In other words, simply turn those positions around. Or the wheels need to get rotated from the powered to the non-powered axle.

In case you find yourself in a circumstance where you by chance hit over an object in the road, do it slowly. After that, inspect the tires for exterior damage like cracks or bubbles. Importantly, try to dodge driving aggressively on unpaved streets.

What to do if you’ve got tire bulge?

Unluckily, if you’re unable to take further action when it comes to bubbles. Instead of worrying so much, let’s bring your vehicle to the store instantly. Once detecting a bulge, you will see it as a sign of a problem that should be addressed as fast as possible.

Note that the bulge can’t be fixed. It’s because the region flexes while the patch won’t standstill. The bubble signifies the structural damage to the tire, and it’s impossible to repair it.

Unless you find any replacement, let’s use a spare tire instead. As said above, take all preventative measures if you can. Prevention is more cost-effective and easier than tire replacement.

When your tires need replacement, they should be done as a 4 wheel drive. And these four tires must own the same amounts of tread depth.

Recommendations for a bulge in the tire

Feel free to keep driving if you’ve got to do it, but make sure to consider the following factors:

– You’re highly recommended to drive with caution, at a speed of 70 km/h with no extreme set of movement or braking. If not, this can lead to tire bursting.

– Unload your car, like making your passengers move from it to other means of public transportation.

– Lower the tire inflation by 10 – 15%.

– It’s necessary to observe the entire condition of the street during the drive to dodge hitting potholes and debris.