ngerstman

I was heading into NYC on Saturday night to have dinner at the Gramercy Tavern(one of the best restaurants in NYC) and to see a play. I was on the helix heading for the Lincoln Tunnel, which puts you in midtown Manhattan, when I hit a nasty pothole with my right side tire about 1/4 mile from the toll booths. Sure enough, the tire pressure warning system goes on, the display turning red showing 1 lb. of pressure in the tire. Oh ****. I go through the toll booths and pull into the service area zone between the right and center tubes before you enter the tunnel. In front of me is a Mercedes s550 having his front right tire changed by Mercedes roadside assistance. Being a cold rainy night, I think that this is my lucky day, considering the circumstances. I get out of my car and the roadside assistant says that he will change my flat as soon as he is done. I get back into my car and gaze into the red tire warning display and much to my dismay, notice that there is 2 lbs. of pressure in my right rear tire!! A double blow out. What are the odds. An hour and a half later, I was towed to Morristown Mercedes, my night up in flames. I'm seriously considering moving down to 17 inch rims. Will the forum mock me? Will I become a forum outcast? Will I be forced to watch "Glee"? Regards. Ned.

bobbert9449

I am not even kidding, but this just happened to me on thursday night. Except I couldn't wait for mb road side assistance to get there so I called a local towing service. My front right tire was 0 and my passenger side rear tire had a bubble in it so it was eventually going to pop. I couldn't change it myself as I was on an exit ramp. 1 pot hole= 2 bad tires. Jeez. Hope all went well.

aeggroup

For those cases I bought tire and rim insurance and it works fine. I damaged 2 wheels last winter - one was repaired and another was changed. If you don't have insurance - I think it's a good idea to have 17" wheels for winter driving in NY Metro area. BTW...we always think NY roads are bad, but I actually damaged all of my wheels in NJ )

Good Luck.

hyperion667

no mocking here........I think that just sux and I comiserate with you dude.....
sorry you had to go through that bs.......that is funny about an s550 already being there....

good luck.....

RNBRAD

Or you could invest is some RF's and a set of forged rims.

bobbert9449

+1... It paid for itself that night for me!

ngerstman

I have the tire and rim insurance!! It's the thought of this happening again and again and again..... And did you know that the forum bleeps the word "****". There are far worse things to write. Regards. Ned.

ngerstman

Do you have a sport with the 18 inch rims? And other than a ruined night and waiting to get my car back, no worse for wear. Thanks. Ned.

park423

Happened to me here in LA 3 months ago. My car was less than 3 weeks old and popped left front and rear tires on a pothole. I guess such a thing happens more often than I thought.

aeggroup

What word ??? )

bobbert9449

Yes. I have the 18" 6-spoke wheels. The ones included in the wheel package.

dmbordoni

Ned, no rim damage? The weather has destroyed the roads, I have never seen such terrible pot holes.

mikephotos

I live in Queens and deal with these craters everyday, it's really bad this year. Some could swallow a Mini they're so big. Sorry to hear of your ruined night!

K-A

Small is becoming the new big. I would never go over 18's on these CRAP roads. I was thinking today, after I hit another rough road section that made my car sound like it was going to shatter, how much extra rigidity we might sacrifice (long term) throughout the cars frames/chassis/etc. as big wheels/small tires/stiff suspensions really do little to absorb roughness. Even in my Chevy Malibu, I feel less cabin intrusion when hitting a rough surface, and that's over a BENZ!!

But yes, the things we do for vanity, and for some spirited sportiness in balancing our suspensions/drives out. I also wouldn't go smaller than 18's (for vanity sake), but that's just me. If 17's look good to you, then go for it!

MBBobby

Ned-I've spent the last few years in an A6 4.2 with 18" wheels. My E550 on order is luxury with 17" wheels. I've spent wwaaayyy too much time on the side of the road changing tires. **** vanity. I'm not going to spend the next few years going through the same ****. I'm going practicality over vanity.
Don't worry about what other people think unless they're the ones to volunteer to change you tires in the middle of a cold night.
Having the rim insurance is not the answer. Did the rim insurance cover your ruined night? At the Gramerct fricken' Tavern no less!!
Best of luck to you.

BTW- the first **** and second **** above are not the same words!

LaicepsYdobon

I feel your pain. Saturday night my wife and I are heading to Tabor Road Taven for dinner (in Mt. Tabor) and on Eisenhower, in the dead of darkness, I overtake someone and hit pot hole that would have stopped an M1 Abrams tank. It sounded like a gunshot went off in the car. We were running late so I keep accelerating and felt that the back of the car is slipping ever so slightly; I thought it was just ice on the road. About a minute later my dash turns red and the TPMS shows I have 0 lbs in the passenger side rear wheel. I turn off into a shopping center parking lot and see I have a 4 inch tear in the sidewall of the tire. I didn't call MBrace figuring they would take too long to show up. I decided to switch the damaged tire out and put the spare on myself and got it done in ten minutes. When I got home I examined the rim and I got some scratches and scuffs on it from the impact. When I dropped my car off on Monday at my dealer first thing in the morning I saw about 6 or 7 other cars with spare doughnuts on them. My SA said tire and rim damage from potholes has been really bad this winter. We truely have third world roads here in Jersey...

clmulli

No outkast here my friend. Everytime I hit a pothole I quinch. However, there aren't to many here where I live but I feel your pain. Living in NY, 17's may be a better option for you.

But we will strap you down and force you to watch "Glee". lol

FEGELEIN

I hear ya, I am tired of dodging the dam holes myself!! Did you damage the wheels? The 18" AMG wheels are like butter. I have bent a couple and my friend who fixes them, says they are a joke.

peeta123

i now regret buying the 18" AMG wheels

the regular 18" wheel seems to be much easier to wash than the AMG wheels

ngerstman

When I dropped the car off at Mercedes they looked fine to me and the dealer says that they are undamaged. We will see. A slight amount of unseeable damage can cause balance issues. Regards. Ned.

LaicepsYdobon

I'm not sure if dealers do this by default or not but remind your SA to check for hairline fractures on the wheel itself. They can be a serious pain in the butt when you tire keep deflating over the days and you keep on refilling them just so they can deflate again over the days. A vicious circle...

danlnyc

Have you tried filing a claim against the city of LA? They will reimburse you for those damages (half, I believe) if you file the proper paperwork. I know what you mean though, after that freak storm we had last month potholes around LA became unbearable. I hardly take my car out anymore...and especially avoid Wilshire and Western...

Good thing I get my tires for free

park423

I did with the city of West Hollywood. Their ins. adjuster is claiming it is a DWP fault and need to file claim with them. The pothole was half filled with water from a leaking pipe somewhere so I had no idea how deep the pothole was. Anyway, my dealer covered half the cost of 2 new tires/towing/install as a courtesy.

Thanks for the suggestion but may not get covered

EmE247

Roads suck in Los Angeles as well. I do my best as speed racer to view the roads ahead so I can swerve around the craters.

Unfortunately I hit a pothole when it was raining and pretty much **** my pants as I thought I damaged the car from the jarring thud x 2. Ended up bending the lips of my wheels on front and back of the driver's side. No tire pressure loss after 3 weeks and fortunately all seems fine except for the slight bends in the lips of the 2 wheels.

Funny **** that danlnyclhoe posted that intersection of Wilshire and Western as this is exactly where it happened. Avoid Wilshire Blvd. like a plague when driving in LA.

Was thinking of buying spare 18's, but maybe I gotta rethink and buy some spare 17's instead as it seems those rolling 18's are having the same issue.

Heard that in Germany, the government takes full responsibility for the damage done to cars because of their roads. Wouldn't that be nice... Then maybe we can pay even more taxes.

ngerstman

Fate will not **** with me again this winter!! I am buying a set of 17's for the e550 and putting the Michelin Primacys on as well. I will report back to the forum with my assessment of the handling/ride trade-offs. And I'll also be back with a synopsis of next week's "Glee". Regards. Ned.