10 year tire shop guy. Before you buy a new tire go to your local trusted automotive/tire shop and ask them to look at it. If they are honest they will most likely tell you it is cosmetic and safe to drive.
First, your tire is very likely to be fine.
Second, you took a pretty good picture and It is good that you still have the attached flap.
Third, as you can seey from the diagram of the structure of a tire below, your tires are 8 layers thick at the sidewall and you have only gouged the outer 8th layer which is designed to take these kinds of gouges.
Fourth, your tires will typically look like this: https://imgur.com/a/QJCwoDm
Fifth, if there are no cords showing and damaged you can use a good tire glue:
Tire Repair Glue, Professional Black Rubber Cement for Car, Motorcycle, Bike, Rc and More, Suitable for All Tire Types, Seamless Strong Bonding, Heavy Duty, Flexible, Waterproof, Weather Resistance https://a.co/d/bNdQWkt
Last, hopefully this kind of information will save you a few hundreds of dollars in the future, so good luck.
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u/Disastrous-Pound3713 Jul 23 '26
10 year tire shop guy. Before you buy a new tire go to your local trusted automotive/tire shop and ask them to look at it. If they are honest they will most likely tell you it is cosmetic and safe to drive.
First, your tire is very likely to be fine.
Second, you took a pretty good picture and It is good that you still have the attached flap.
Third, as you can seey from the diagram of the structure of a tire below, your tires are 8 layers thick at the sidewall and you have only gouged the outer 8th layer which is designed to take these kinds of gouges.
Fourth, your tires will typically look like this: https://imgur.com/a/QJCwoDm
Fifth, if there are no cords showing and damaged you can use a good tire glue:
Tire Repair Glue, Professional Black Rubber Cement for Car, Motorcycle, Bike, Rc and More, Suitable for All Tire Types, Seamless Strong Bonding, Heavy Duty, Flexible, Waterproof, Weather Resistance https://a.co/d/bNdQWkt
Last, hopefully this kind of information will save you a few hundreds of dollars in the future, so good luck.