Can you see all the way through to the belt material, or is your fingernail still touching rubber? If it is all the way through to the belt, replace for sure.
+1 My grandmother on my dad's side suffered a head injury resulting in brain damage that ruined her quality of life for half her life because of an unsafe tyre. Although she survived the crash, my grandmother lost her independence, her personality, and her whole self. When my dad was 17, my dad effectively lost his mother, my grandfather lost his wife as he knew her, and I never really "knew" my grandmother at all. A bad tyre can wreak terrible damage to a family. If you have even the smallest modicum of doubt about the tyre's road-worthiness, please do yourself and your family a favour by replacing it immediately. Sincerely, Andrew.
I replace all Michelins........with Goodyears. I'd say yes.....sidewall damage can lead to a sudden blow out and it's usually at the WORST moment!! Looks like you are only a hair above the Wear Bars, anyway, from tread depth......
Also, how old is the tire? You can usually decode the production date numbers you will find somewhere on the sidewall At 7 yrs the tire is done regardless of any other factors.
Depends who drives the car and how much you like them. Generally sidewall damage is not something to fool around with.
Howd you know that, Al??!!! hehe Replace that tire for sure. Unless you want to limit your velocity around town to say, 25mph. I didnt heed advice and blew out an old (apparently good looking tire) at 70mph in an Alfa. Streched the front fender bad. swirved inna ditch in the boondocks of Florida paper mill country. Good thing I wasnt in an SUV....
The sidewall on a tire typically sees the most flexing. The damage that is shown in the picture has many sharp, irregular edges. Every edge is a potential spot for a high stress concentration to develop when the sidewall flexes. Continually subjecting these same areas to flexing will eventually result in tearing at the highest stessed edges. That tearing can potentially result in catastrophic failure. Please replace the tire for safety sake.
