Got a killer deal on 5x slightly used STT Pros but noticed 1 has some issues on the inside lip (see pics). Is this tire trash or might be Ok to mount (maybe the spare?). Or am I over thinking it? got all 5 for $650, so even if it’s bad i still feel like it was a good buy.

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I would say the one in the first picture is not good to use. That missing section is right near/on the bead. It may cause a very slow leak(if not a faster one), and probably would debead if you air down on them. Even the tear on the inside of the bead is a concern. Usually I would consider a tire in that condition trash as its risky to use.

Those look like tears from install by an inexperienced tire guy. That happens when the machine catches and rips the tire bead.

Aww shucks, that's what they make bead sealer for! Just slather that baby up and let her rip!

Joking aside, from a technical standpoint those tires are damaged and should be replaced. From a real world perspective? Up to you? We do a lot of tire change overs and I see a lot of tires with tears, nicks, missing bits around the beads that run fine. Does that mean it's okay? No, probably not and I don't know if I would run that first tire on my own off-road rig that I'm going to air down and up a lot. So at the end of the day this falls under the "how cautious/conservative" are you and how willing are you to roll the dice? Tire might be fine until she goes bald or she may blow out in 500miles, no one can really say unfortunately.

Post Note- it could also just be from the tires sticking to the rim (some of the older steel wheels seemed to like fuse with tires breaking the bead sometimes tore them!) and/or a poorly maintained tire machine or one not designed for those types of tires. It took forever to get our old one replaced years ago, even the Hunter guy said it wasn't designed for the low profile and big heavy offroad tires we do from time to time. Damn thing was so clapped out that some days you do everything right and it still decided to burrow into a rim and **** your afternoon over.

Easy solution - get some beadlocks!

I agree with that others that the first one may be hard to seal well. The second one I would mount up and not think twice about. I don't think either of them are structurally compromised. At least not based on what I see there.

The beads on my super swampers look like that. Maybe worse. And that's just from the original mounting. They've never been taken off the rims. I just seen the bead areas when I've broken the bead to add a bunch of golf balls to help balance them. Partially because interco tires are just kinda trash quality. And they're really hard to get on and off without damaging the beads. But they still hold air And they don't seem to burp or leak much even when I air down too 5 PSI. I did install them with a pretty heavy dose of bead sealer.

thanks for the insight everyone. Since the first one is “iffy”, and it’s one of the used ones, can i mount the 5th which was a spare that’s at full tread alongside the other 3 used ones? So 1 with 17/32 and 3 with 15/32? or should i buy a new one and have 2 new and 2 used total, with the 5th (used) as a spare?l while tossing the “iffy” one? Not sure if having 1 tire a tiny bit larger than the others is a big deal on our part-time 4wd systems

That tire should bead up and hold air just fine. The rubber isn't damaged down to the structural part of the bead and it doesn't cross the entire width of the critical sealing area of the tire. Throw it on a wheel and monitor it for leakage from the spare location if you're really concerned about it.

If you put the "old spare" in service, put it on the right rear. 2/32" is not going to be an issue but that position will allow it to wear faster since it's the primary drive tire and travels further overall compared to the left side tires.