Strange object between tire and rim

Hello everyone,

"About 6 weeks ago, I had new Conti PremiumContact tires installed on my car's original 15-inch alloy wheels by a local tire dealer."

Yesterday, I noticed something very strange – a small piece of plastic between the rim and the tire (see picture). It's yellowish when you wipe it, and it's stuck on very firmly when you pull it (it comes off with slight pressure – I haven't tried pulling harder yet, until I know what it is).

It's highly unlikely that it got in here by chance; my guess is that it's a leftover from when the mechanism was being wound.

The question is whether this is critical or not. Since the entire system is tubeless, I would consider it quite important, as this is the sealing surface, and the area underneath could even be affected by its presence.

I don't know how long it's been there – it wasn't there after the tire change, that's for sure. It's equally certain that it couldn't have come from the outside, because it's quite soft, so you could never have pushed it in there.

What do you think?

Best regards,

Jan would like to do some research before visiting the tire dealer.

It looks like a sticker with a barcode.
It should be made of paper.
I would just pull it out or rip it off.
...or wet it, let it soften, and then tear it off.

Hello Jan,

This part is there so that the nice lady at the checkout can process your payment more easily. It might sound strange, but that's how it is...

Okay, no, I've never seen anything like that before. I also think it doesn't belong there. It was probably stuck there when the tire was put on.

Hi Yankee, I think it's probably not what you described, especially since Jan is talking about a very sturdy plastic part.
Okay, I wouldn't try to pry it out myself, but rather go to a dealer. Could it be a part of a tire lever, maybe some kind of rim protector? But what would that be doing on a newly mounted tire rim?

Going there is definitely the best option.

I could only guess what it is, so I'll just leave it alone...

One thing is certain, that doesn't belong there . I wouldn't just cut it off as much as possible, but have it completely removed; it probably doesn't contribute to the tire's airtightness. So, go to the dealer where you had the tires mounted.

Hi,

It's not a sticker... the pattern is just a result of driving over 100 km in bad weather. As I mentioned, it's quite sturdy plastic, maybe about half as thick and rigid as a credit card.

The issue with the sealing is also the main reason for my question - but if none of you have seen anything like this before, then I will definitely go there tomorrow.

What surprises me is that this likely became apparent due to the flexing of the tire during the mounting process, because it certainly wasn't there when I put the tire on; I examined it very carefully at that point.

Best regards,

Jan.

I'm definitely very curious to see the solution to the puzzle...

Hi,

The solution to the riddle:

Yankee was right, it is indeed a kind of sticker, but probably made of a more durable material than typical stickers. There's also a barcode, but it's very smudged, so I initially thought it was dirt.

The tire dealer said these were markings on the tire bead for mounting purposes, which are normally impossible to remove by hand, but sometimes migrate outwards due to the tire's internal pressure. They had seen this happen several times before (though apparently not often). In any case, it's located outside the sealing edge, so it's absolutely not critical. He then pulled it out with some force, and there wasn't much more than what's visible in the photo.

Best regards, and thank you again to everyone who contributed.

Jan.

At least now you can continue your journey with peace of mind.