When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
.... It also makes sense why the inner rim tends to bend, most of the time the inner part of the tire tends to wear out first. Maybe an alignment might help and also driving slower, the faster you go, the more energy in the system.
MB makes their cars with negative chamber for better handling and that makes inner sides to come with more contact than outer.
Also bear in mind about the rims - outer side has all the cast with bolt holes, when inner is just plain ring.
In my long years of driving - I bent only 1 rim in my life. That was in Los Angeles traffic, when being distracted - I had to do panic braking while going into shoulder. That's where pothole was and made big lip on my 16" rim. Funny that I did not notice any problem in driving, so did not see the lip till I come to my destination 150 miles later. Good tire did not bubble.
This is one of the largest in my area, about 1/2 mile from my home. It's deeper than the picture appears, and it jars the car quite a bit when hit.
At least I know where it is and mostly avoid it. This road was recently repaved and they missed this one entirely.
Here's a good one on Mockingbird Lane, downtown Dallas. Mockingbird is the main drag leading to Love Field Airport. Not a place to expect potholes, but there are dozens on this road.
Can't avoid this one without changing lanes, or tip-toeing through it. This is where allowing plenty of distance ahead to spot these helps.
This is pretty much what every road looks like around here. Sad part is I wish I could get away with "summer wheels" and "winter wheels but it's not like they just snap their fingers in March and they disappear. It's really just what it looks like year-round, they just move around a bit.
I've officially had it with bent rims on this car.
In 3 years of ownership I have replaced 13 rims. I am tired of driving like I am in a slalom around every single bump and dip in the road.
Bought several OEM rims. Bent them all.
Bought aftermarket "like OEM" replacements thinking they'd be cheaper and possibly stronger. They weren't bad, but instead of bending they just cracked. And some still bent.
A month ago I bought a set of "semi-forged" aftermarket rims. Didn't want to do it but I had to bite the bullet so to speak, and everything I'd read told me they'd be stronger. Within two weeks two more of them were bent.
I'm getting tired of a $300 monthly expense on rims. It's almost like having a car payment.
So last ditch thought, has anyone put a tire on with a taller sidewall, to maybe insulate the rims from the road a little? I'm stuck with these aftermarket rims, since I made the investment. Would a 245/50R18 fit?
And before you say it's my driving, I'd like to point out my '09 Audi is on 19" rims with 35 series tires and still has every single one of its' original 11-year-old rims without a wobble or shimmy at all. And if I google the curb weights, they're nearly identical (the Audi is actually slightly heavier!) The mechanic in me tells me it's impossible that it's something with the car itself, but it's something with the car itself.
Thoughts?
Sorry to hear of your problems. I think going to 18" wheels with the correct aspect ratio so that the outside rolling circumference is correct is a fine idea. I am running 18's. They look and hanle just fine.
Nothing like the Poconos for potholes. Lived there for years before moving to California
Last edited by Alandf; 03-02-2020 at 06:18 PM.
Reason: added fact
Just got back from having 2 wheels straightened yesterday and car still has a shimmy.....so one or both of the other 2 rims is a little out of round as well (that will be #18 and possibly #19). So the whole semi-forged-rims are stronger is total BS. And of course 305Forged isn't standing by their claim either. Appointment Saturday for a set of 255/40s. Fingers crossed.
Well, my wifey once sideswiped a curb in an SUV, busting both right-side tires. After abandoning the vehicle on a side road on jack stands for 4-hours so I could take both wheels to Discount tire for replacements, she got the (diplomatic) talk about keeping her eyes on the road, and she hasn't done anything like that since.
I'd wager we've all done that at some point. No reason to disparage someone's wife you don't even know. Twice I blew a tire (once it was less than a day old) cutting a parking spot too close.
I'd wager we've all done that at some point. No reason to disparage someone's wife you don't even know. Twice I blew a tire (once it was less than a day old) cutting a parking spot too close.
Didn't mean to disparage the wife... All of us sometimes need to be reminded to keep our eyes on the road.
Wife drives a 2019 jeep Cherokee. The wheels are 17x7 with 245/65 tires and you can ram every pothole you find in that thing if your body can take it. It just illustrates the problem we put ourselves in with these damn MB cars and their quirks.
Although admittedly, when we come upon a section of road like this, we either detour or creep through at 2mph.
What drivers on gravel roads do- they drive > 40 mph. That makes the wheels flying over small holes.
The phenomena even made a scene in old movie about carrying nitrogliceryna to remote mine.
What drivers on gravel roads do- they drive > 40 mph. That makes the wheels flying over small holes.
The phenomena even made a scene in old movie about carrying nitrogliceryna to remote mine.
2016 E350 Sport; Mom Wrecked the 2008 E350; sold the 2002 C320
Originally Posted by KEY08
It seems like your shocks are not rebounding properly. Have you ever had any work done on the suspension or replaced shocks?
Originally Posted by Darel
Im pretty sure my kidneys would have noticed if that were the issue.
There's something to be said here. I've already heard of several cases where the strut mounts are blowing out and none of them complained of kidney abuse. IIRC, if not in all of the cases, definitely in most it was a faulty strut where the strut piston was not rebounding back to full extension.
Since you are getting some rebound, your kidneys may never feel it but when the travel locks up before fully extending, I can see this exerting immense impact on a wheel if it happens when you're going over a pothole. This is just my theory but given that it has caused numerous strut mount blowouts, I think it's a viable one.