The bulge appeared after a Stratford roundabout kerb, or the cut sidewall was found in a Warwick University car park; we give an honest drive-or-not answer and replace the damaged tyre where it sits.
Tyre damage along the A46 corridor is often discovered after the fact. Tight kerbs at the Stratford bypass roundabouts and around Maybird catch alloys and pinch sidewalls; lorry debris on the Coventry bypass leaves cuts that only show when the car is washed; a pothole on a Leamington side street off Stanks Island raises a bulge overnight. Students at Warwick University and visitors parking near Cannon Park often find it on a walk back to the car.
Photograph the Leamington or Stratford damage with the sidewall size in frame. A bubble, torn rubber that opens to reveal cord, or a split near the rim each mean the car should not move, and we will say that plainly rather than suggest a risky drive round the Kenilworth bypass. Minor scuffs sometimes pass. When a new tyre is needed, it is brought to the car, fitted and balanced, with the cost agreed before arrival.
Related help from the same Brent Cross team covers emergency tyre replacement on the A46 and burst tyre replacement on the A46.
The parked car is where the job happens: a Leamington or Warwick side street, Warwick University visitor parking, a Stratford drive, Alcester's town car parks, if permitted. A damaged tyre should never be driven onto the A46 to meet us. Stopped dead on the bypass? That is a 999 call.
| Road | A46 Warwick, Coventry and Stratford-upon-Avon |
|---|---|
| Operator | National Highways |
Damaged tyres: drive on it or replace it? →Broken tyre replacement on the A46 page
A tyre wrecked by a pothole on the Kenilworth side of Coventry usually needs replacing. Leave the A46 at St Martin's Roundabout, park in a road around Styvechale Grange or Finham, and send us a picture showing the tear and the size string. The fitter swaps the tyre where the car stands and balances the wheel before refitting.
Four warning signs settle whether a damaged tyre is safe: a raised bubble, a slice exposing cord, a crack hugging the rim, or a flat area scrubbed into the tread. Any one of them, or tread worn past the 1.6 mm legal floor, means the car stays parked in Warwick or Stratford. A weakened tyre at bypass speed between Longbridge and Thickthorn is a blowout waiting to happen. Stratford's roundabout kerbs and debris on the Coventry eastern bypass are the main hazards.
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Damaged tyre found near the A46? Photo and size, and we give you a straight answer.
