Tire safety question...

I've got a 57 Ranch Wagon (only been on the road a couple of months), my rear right tire sometimes scrubs the lip of the wheelwell. It sucks huge, but there are scrapes in the tire sidewall (wide whites), some are slight grooves just in the surface.

Does this affect the integrity of the tire? is it still safe?

....yes I will fix the lip in the sheetmetal so it doesn't scrub.
....what tire pressure should I be running in these? P215/75R15

 

i got the same problem on my 56 chevy, years without a problem but it only does it if i got passengers in the back or stuff in the trunk. depend on the size of the grooves i guess. mine are real small

 

the body on my '41 shifts when i make a left turn and scrubs the fatties, i just don't turn in real sharp.

 

A friend of mine had the same problem several years ago....One night the tire blew and killed him...I guess if your life isnt worth much go ahead and run it that way...Why take a stupid chance??

 

The front tires on my El Camino rub a bit during full steering lock like at low speed when parking.Doesn't leave marks on the tire however.Never happens during normal driving even at full suspension travel.
If it were my car and the tire rub was happening on the sidewall during normal driving I would massage the fender lip or liner ,or maybe think about changing the wheel or or tire combination to eliminate the problem.

 

No one can give a definitive answer without seeing the damage done to the tires in your case. I've seen lots of wide whites that started life as 1" whites but scrubbed way too many curbs. The tire companies have to be aware of this happening and I believe that they engineer some safety into the sidewalls just for that reason but that is just speculation on my part. The safety police will scream bloody murder about endangering the entire population. The practical guy will look at it and assess the damage. If it has deep gouges then I'd worry. Anything less and I'd just be pissed about the scuff.