Possible for a shop to bubble a sidewall?

[loxxrider]

Sooo..

I traded my wheels this weekend and swapped tires...needed a tire shop's help.



The only bad thing that came out of it was that I noticed a bubble in my sidewall. The fronts from the Porsche wheels were mounted on these S4 wheels. I think the shop may be responsible for this. Maybe they mounted them dry? Does anyone even know if its possible to get a bubble from the shop?

I just took pictures of everything thursday night...so I figured I would have seen the bubble then if it was from me. Its not like I've hit anything lately.

[Dirty D]

the tire on the inside is coming apart. i deff wouldnt drive on it because theres a good chance it could blow. back to ur question, im not to sure if its something on their end or not. sorry to hear that

[loxxrider]

Yeah, I know why they bubble...I just don't want to have to buy a new damn tire. I know it will have to be replaced, I just don't know who's fault it is. Before I confront them, I want to know if its even possible that they did it. I hadn't seen anything before today, so its just weird...I was inspecting the tires before the trade and didn't see anything of the sort.

[wheelfetish]

I guess if the shop didn't lube them up when mounting them it could mess up the inside of the tire. Are you stretching them? More likely the tires were dry rotted, but still the shop should have said something if there was a bubble.

[loxxrider]

They aren't stretched...225 40's on a stock Audi S4 wheel which is 7.5" wide.

and they aren't dry rotted as I put them on the Porsche wheels just this summer. They were previously on 8.5" wide wheels.

[wheelfetish]

and they aren't dry rotted as I put them on the Porsche wheels just this summer. They were previously on 8.5" wide wheels.

Not 100% sure on this, but going from stretch to non stretch just throws red flags in my head. Still the shop should have mentioned something to you if there was a bubble.

[loxxrider]

I agree. I'll definitely be talking to them about it. Just want to see if anyone has some experience. Thanks for your input! At the very least it gives me something to tell them.

[Kielan]

Don't drive on it, I had a bubble thought "eh I'll be fine," it blew out on me thankfully I was only going 15 mph and I was like 1/4 mile from my house.

[loxxrider]

thanks for the advice. I'll just drive it to the tire shop

[slideonKais]

ive never heard of a case of sidewall bubble from the mounting process.

the only way i know of a tire to have a bubble on the sidewall is to either hit a pothole, or a curb. something to cause the sidewall material to suddenly expand. pretty sure the only cause would be impact, not dry mounting.

ive stretched tires onto rims dry with no ill-effect. either its your fault, or the previous owners fault and they dicked you over.

[phillygs3]

It could have happened when they were dismounted, It happened to me once

[loxxrider]

Its not from a previous owner. The previous owner is me...and they are fresh tires from this summer. Probably 4k miles on them at most.

[loxxrider]

any more opinions before I call?

[Morbid]

Just try to get them to pay for it who cares if it's not their fault. If they pay for it they pay for it. Worth a try.

[loneStar22]

it can happen while dismounting tires. certain wheel designs make it hard not to. ive done it on my own tire once