Bent Rim
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 780
Likes: 3
From: br00klynnn.
C204
Bent Rim
Driving to dinner tonight, I managed to bend my rear stock rim on a highway that passes for Jurrasic Park standards.
My question is whether or not it's worth having the rim repaired, or just buying a completely new rim. I drove on aftermarket rims for 2 years throughout the city and have never had a single bend, but I guess tonight my luck ran to an end.
Has anyone had similar problems? I am surprised an OEM rim could bend so easily . .
My question is whether or not it's worth having the rim repaired, or just buying a completely new rim. I drove on aftermarket rims for 2 years throughout the city and have never had a single bend, but I guess tonight my luck ran to an end.
Has anyone had similar problems? I am surprised an OEM rim could bend so easily . .
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 780
Likes: 3
From: br00klynnn.
C204
But yeah, I am not looking for new wheels until spring comes around.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 19,942
Likes: 192
From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Our wheel repair shops here all do crack detection because there are insurance implications & liability if a repaired wheel fails.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 473
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, New York
2019 GLA 250 - I am in purgatory right now...
I just went through this, still have the recipt on my desk! 398 for the rim and 190 for the tire. I wish I had a picture, it was really nasty. interesting though, my bend was on the inside too. That must be a really weak part of the rim...
RP
RP
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 780
Likes: 3
From: br00klynnn.
C204
Go and watch them do the job or do as Jim suggests & buy a new wheel. It does not look as though your wheel is badly damaged - if it was I would have recommended replacement.
Our wheel repair shops here all do crack detection because there are insurance implications & liability if a repaired wheel fails.
Our wheel repair shops here all do crack detection because there are insurance implications & liability if a repaired wheel fails.
Where did you bend the rim? I was driving on the Belt Pkwy towards the Southern State Pkwy when this happened. The highway is a complete mess and I ended up driving right over a pothole.
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Dubai Tuner Gives the Mercedes G-Class An Entirely New Look
Verdad Gallardo
Six Gift Ideas Your AMG Loving Dad or Grad Will Cherish
7 Craziest Things AMG Gas Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
New Electric Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe Unveiled: 10 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)
Verdad Gallardo
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 6,024
Likes: 532
From: Alexandria, VA
07 E63 AMG, 10 C63 AMG, 07 E63 Designo, 07 E350, 09 C300, 07 C230
Gentlemen, I understand your dilema. Their a several outstanding wheel repair shops out there. One is Nationwide Wheel Repair. But there are others in your respective, just doa search, and I'm sure you'll find one. I know that a bent rim can be repair for about $100, that is allot cheaper then buying a one wheel. And never buy one from the stealership unless you want OEM, OER is just as good in my opinion. Try www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com or www.detroitwheelandtire.com they offer reproductions at cheaper prices typically $150 per wheel. I hope that this helps out.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 19,942
Likes: 192
From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Beware of Lakeshore Wheel & Tire. They have a poor reputation that extends as far as South Africa.
Beware of replicas as they are seldom a perfect match in style & colour
In a litigious society like the US I can understand the reluctance to guarantee
Beware of replicas as they are seldom a perfect match in style & colour
In a litigious society like the US I can understand the reluctance to guarantee
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles, CA
2009 C350
nah i got new wheels already, but i did drive on the bent rim for a couple months. but really, it was absolutely unnoticeable.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,700
Likes: 0
From: Bergen Co,NJ
14' CLS550
It doesn't look that bad, if it holds air and doesn't shake when you drive I wouldn't even worry about it! Especially if there just your winter wheels..
Driving to dinner tonight, I managed to bend my rear stock rim on a highway that passes for Jurrasic Park standards.
My question is whether or not it's worth having the rim repaired, or just buying a completely new rim. I drove on aftermarket rims for 2 years throughout the city and have never had a single bend, but I guess tonight my luck ran to an end.
Has anyone had similar problems? I am surprised an OEM rim could bend so easily . .
My question is whether or not it's worth having the rim repaired, or just buying a completely new rim. I drove on aftermarket rims for 2 years throughout the city and have never had a single bend, but I guess tonight my luck ran to an end.
Has anyone had similar problems? I am surprised an OEM rim could bend so easily . .
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,113
Likes: 57
From: Southwest USA
Another round of ICE
I spoke with a rim shop about an hour ago and he said he does crack detection but there is absolutely no guarantee . . The only guarantee is that the rim won't leak air. They take a day to fix the rim so I have to drop it off and then pick it up the next morning.
Where did you bend the rim? I was driving on the Belt Pkwy towards the Southern State Pkwy when this happened. The highway is a complete mess and I ended up driving right over a pothole.
Where did you bend the rim? I was driving on the Belt Pkwy towards the Southern State Pkwy when this happened. The highway is a complete mess and I ended up driving right over a pothole.
You call that a pothole-damaged wheel!?!? Now, THIS is a pothole damaged wheel. The BQE, maybe, but the Belt has nothing on roads in Oakland County, Michigan
And, this was too damaged to fix...which my wife was sorry to learn when she brought this home on her E.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 360
Likes: 2
From: Philippines/California, USA
W204 C280
Sportstick: Actually, now these are damaged wheels! hhahaha The result of my rims (yes, more than one, front and rear on the right side) after an encounter with a pothole. The pothole not only put a bend on the rim but completely deformed them totally! The roads where I'm at are absolute crap.
These are too far gone to repair as well so I had to get the two pieces replaced. Cost an arm and a leg!
Alexlev: Your rims don't look that bad. I had the same kind of bend on my other car before and I was still able to drive the car around with no problems. As long as there is still a good seal for your tires so the air doesn't come out and you can still balance the tires properly, you should be ok. Though for peace of mind, I would still suggest to have it replaced and keep the bent rim as a spare, just in case. The last thing you want is for the tires to pop when you're driving on the highway. You never know and it's not worth it if you ask me. Hope this helps!
These are too far gone to repair as well so I had to get the two pieces replaced. Cost an arm and a leg!
Alexlev: Your rims don't look that bad. I had the same kind of bend on my other car before and I was still able to drive the car around with no problems. As long as there is still a good seal for your tires so the air doesn't come out and you can still balance the tires properly, you should be ok. Though for peace of mind, I would still suggest to have it replaced and keep the bent rim as a spare, just in case. The last thing you want is for the tires to pop when you're driving on the highway. You never know and it's not worth it if you ask me. Hope this helps!
Last edited by albert101; Dec 29, 2009 at 09:27 PM.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 780
Likes: 3
From: br00klynnn.
C204
Alexlev: Your rims don't look that bad. I had the same kind of bend on my other car before and I was still able to drive the car around with no problems. As long as there is still a good seal for your tires so the air doesn't come out and you can still balance the tires properly, you should be ok. Though for peace of mind, I would still suggest to have it replaced and keep the bent rim as a spare, just in case. The last thing you want is for the tires to pop when you're driving on the highway. You never know and it's not worth it if you ask me. Hope this helps!
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 360
Likes: 2
From: Philippines/California, USA
W204 C280
Within a minute of hitting the pothole the odometer screen read "Tire Malfunction / Low Tire Pressure". After pulling over and getting out the car I could hear the tire still losing air so I jacked up the car and threw on the spare donut. The bend caused air to leak out so I need to get it either repaired or replaced.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 19,942
Likes: 192
From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Ouch Albert - Philippines roads!!! Castor bushes & sway links are usually finished after one knock like that. I bent a Toyota Landcruiser Prado wheel one day going to see Magellan Power on your roads travelling a little too fast!
Wide wheels with low profile tyres give MB rims very little protection. If I lived in the Philippines I would fit 16" wheels with 55 profile tyres. There is so much traffic you never really travel fast.
Wide wheels with low profile tyres give MB rims very little protection. If I lived in the Philippines I would fit 16" wheels with 55 profile tyres. There is so much traffic you never really travel fast.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Dec 30, 2009 at 05:43 AM.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 312
Likes: 2
C350 Elegance
Alexiev:
Take a look and think. There are six weights right under where it got damaged. This means the section cast at that point is thinner than the rest.
I'd change the donought spare for this full size wheel, and buy a new wheel to replace the installation.
Cheers,
JV
Take a look and think. There are six weights right under where it got damaged. This means the section cast at that point is thinner than the rest.
I'd change the donought spare for this full size wheel, and buy a new wheel to replace the installation.
Cheers,
JV
Super Moderator
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 19,942
Likes: 192
From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Unlikely - It means the tyre is out of balance or not rotated to the correct valve position at fitment. Benz OE wheels are pressure moulded - they do not have thin spots.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Dec 30, 2009 at 09:17 AM.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 473
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, New York
2019 GLA 250 - I am in purgatory right now...
Hello,
I was on the interchange between the LIE and William Floyd Expressway. Exit 68. It's as dark as can be at night and there is a nasty edge on the inside with a 8-12" drop off. I was nearly on two wheels WOT and I guess I got too close to the inside so i wouldn't drift into the traffic lane in the William Floyd when BaBoom!!
RP
I was on the interchange between the LIE and William Floyd Expressway. Exit 68. It's as dark as can be at night and there is a nasty edge on the inside with a 8-12" drop off. I was nearly on two wheels WOT and I guess I got too close to the inside so i wouldn't drift into the traffic lane in the William Floyd when BaBoom!!
RP
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 6,024
Likes: 532
From: Alexandria, VA
07 E63 AMG, 10 C63 AMG, 07 E63 Designo, 07 E350, 09 C300, 07 C230
Gentlemen, there are places out there that can still repair a bent wheel. I know of one in Maryland called Nationwide Wheel Repair. Just google wheel repair for places in your area. Mercedes does indeed us compression moulding to make the wheels. They take a engot of aluminum, heat in up a a furnace then place it on a press that squeezes and presses into the desired shape there look for, then the wheel goes throught the tempuring process to strengthen it, then is milled on a CNC machine, then paint to prepped. I watched a video of it sometime ago.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 19,942
Likes: 192
From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Yes - If you could prove a thin spot you would have a perfect claim under warranty - It's not going to happen. There are basically 3 methods of producing alloy wheels - low pressure casting, high pressure casting & forging.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 360
Likes: 2
From: Philippines/California, USA
W204 C280
Ouch Albert - Philippines roads!!! Castor bushes & sway links are usually finished after one knock like that. I bent a Toyota Landcruiser Prado wheel one day going to see Magellan Power on your roads travelling a little too fast!
Wide wheels with low profile tyres give MB rims very little protection. If I lived in the Philippines I would fit 16" wheels with 55 profile tyres. There is so much traffic you never really travel fast.
Wide wheels with low profile tyres give MB rims very little protection. If I lived in the Philippines I would fit 16" wheels with 55 profile tyres. There is so much traffic you never really travel fast.
Newbie
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: castro valley ca
s500
most of these wheels with pictures being shown can be fixed. http://www.wheelrepairsanjose.com
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 681
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey/ Aviano Air Base, Italy
'08 c300 sport
Damn man. Where were you driving? Same thing happened to me on BQE right before the Queens Blvd exit... except it was both of my right rims. Not worth repairing honestly because my bend was pretty small but yet even after they bent it back into "shape," there was always a rumble coming from the right side and I would also have to fill my tires with air every week or two -_-
NEW RIMS!!!
NEW RIMS!!!
