Pothole season in Michigan and what it does to your tires
Every spring the roads come apart and the phone starts ringing. Here is what a bad pothole actually does, and how to tell whether you got away with it.
Ryan Grubbs · 2 min read
Michigan roads take a beating. Water gets into cracks, freezes, expands, thaws, and repeats that cycle all winter. By March the surface is failing and the potholes arrive all at once.
What actually happens when you hit one
At speed, the tire gets pinched hard between the edge of the hole and the rim. Three things can result:
- An instant flat. Obvious, and in some ways the best outcome, because you know immediately.
- A pinch cut or a bubble in the sidewall. The internal cords break but the tire holds air. A bulge appears in the sidewall, sometimes days later. That tire is on borrowed time and needs replacing.
- A bent rim. The tire survives but the wheel does not seal properly any more, and you get a slow leak that nobody can find.
The one to watch for
The sidewall bubble is the dangerous one, because the car drives normally and most people never look. Walk around the car after a hard hit and look at the sidewalls from the side, low down. A bulge the size of a golf ball means that tire can let go at speed. It is not repairable. Replace it.
Low profile tires suffer worst
If you are running 35 or 40 series tires, there is very little sidewall between the road and your wheel. That is why performance cars and a lot of newer SUVs come off worst in March. There is nothing wrong with the tires; there is just less cushion.
Pressure matters more than people think
An underinflated tire has less structure to resist a pinch. Cold weather drops your pressure by roughly one PSI for every ten degrees the temperature falls, so a tire set correctly in October is genuinely low by January. Check it monthly through winter. It is the cheapest protection there is.
If it happens to you
If the tire is flat and you are somewhere you would rather not be, call us and we will come out. If you have a bubble or a slow leak you noticed at home, book a scheduled visit and we will look at it in your driveway. Either way you are not driving anywhere on a damaged tire.
We cover Detroit, Troy, Flint and the rest of Southeast Michigan, and pothole season is our busiest time of year.
Questions
While we are on the subject
Can a bubble in the sidewall be repaired?
No. A bubble means the internal cords have broken and the only thing holding that spot is the rubber. It cannot be repaired safely and the tire needs replacing.
Should I claim on insurance for pothole damage?
It depends on your deductible against the cost of a tire and possibly a wheel. For a single tire it is usually not worth it. For two tires and two bent rims it can be. Get the quote first, then decide.
Keep reading
More from the blog
When do tires actually need replacing?
Tread depth is the number everyone quotes, but age, cracking and uneven wear send tires to the bin just as often. Four checks you can do in your own driveway.
Can you drive on a plugged tire?
Short answer: a proper repair is safe for the life of the tire. A roadside plug on its own is not. The difference matters more than most people realise.
What the numbers on your tire actually mean
245/40R19 95W looks like a serial number. It is really five separate pieces of information, and once you can read them you will never order the wrong tire again.