Bulge and dent. What is the difference?

Rather often, irregularities can be found on the sidewall of a tire. There's nothing surprising about it, since the sidewall is essentially the thinnest and most elastic part of the tire. A completely different matter is how to properly distinguish between potentially hazardous bulging and harmless bulging.

In most cases, bulging on the sidewall is a result of the breakage of carcass threads and the bulging of the rubber layer due to internal pressure. The size of such local bulging depends on how many threads were damaged. It's essential to note that despite even minor bulging, the tire should be repaired.

Also, a lateral constriction in the form of a depression on the sidewall, visually resembling the bulging we mentioned above, is often encountered. This occurs when the tire carcass has a greater overlap. As a result of the higher density of the carcass at this point, a depression forms on the sidewall. Meanwhile, it is completely safe to use.

This sidewall irregularity is not a defect or a manufacturing defect and does not affect either the tire's characteristics or the smoothness of the ride or noise.

Such irregularities are often found on original equipment tires, which once again confirms the safety of having such an irregularity.