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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.
I did a 245/40/18 and never had issues. 13 wheels is INSANE!! Hope you find what you're looking for. I have a three sets of 18's to sell and shipping wouldn't be that bad to PA from NC
Good luck to ya!
What rims are you using?
The Czech-made AMG 18" rims have material issue.
I am driving on 25 years old 18" Lorinsers with no issues.
Check my thread "Monoblocks rulezzz"
Doesn’t matter how strong the front looks with multiple spokes, etc. it’s the barrel that gets bent/deformed when bashing a large pothole. 39/41 psi is mandatory on these cars with 18-19” wheels. Going to a smaller diameter wheel is usually an issue with the large calipers found in these sport sedans. Your pothole adventures are extreme and not much else to add. The roads here in Chicago are some of the worst in the country, but I don’t have or know anyone with your kind of terrible luck.
Doesn’t matter how strong the front looks with multiple spokes, etc. it’s the barrel that gets bent/deformed when bashing a large pothole. 39/41 psi is mandatory on these cars with 18-19” wheels. Going to a smaller diameter wheel is usually an issue with the large calipers found in these sport sedans. Your pothole adventures are extreme and not much else to add. The roads here in Chicago are some of the worst in the country, but I don’t have or know anyone with your kind of terrible luck.
Yeah that's why I thought the barrels on the semi-forged rims would be stronger but if anything they're worse. And 305Forged isn't standing behind their product either. Oh! And better yet they're not planning on stocking these rims (despite the fact that I just bought them a month or so ago) until this summer. And my wheel repair guy is two hours away so even to get them fixed puts the car out of commission for a couple days, so I need spare rims to swap on when I get repairs done. Guess our kidneys will just take a beating for a few months.
Oh! And I also forgot about when we bought the car, CPO in the spring of '17, the dealer had to replace all four rims! So that's actually 17 rims in 3 years.
How the hell is that happening? I have the 18" AMG split spokes and at 32000 miles it has all its originals. I also run 35-36psi. A bump or dip will not bend one of these.. I can't imagine what the roads must be like for this to be an issue.
2016 E350 Sport; Mom Wrecked the 2008 E350; sold the 2002 C320
I know bent/cracked rims have been something that has plagued the E-series for a long time but with your degree of frequency with different wheels, I'm wondering if it's something your tire installer is doing
I run 34 psi in front, what is more than recommendation. Higher in the rear as even we don't carry passengers, occasionally I will load 300-400 lb of concrete in the trunk.
When as drivers - we have no way to test wheels quality, fact that my 25 monoblocks, who run on 4 cars with me and who knows how many before, are in good shape makes me thinking.
Additionally in other thread a member ask about the weight and turn out - Lorinser makes 18" about 3 lb lighter than AMG in Czech plant.
When Las Vegas generally has good roads, the main street we are taking to our house is due for repaving and about every year we visit San Francisco area, who is famous for bad roads.
I forgot to add that I just had my bubbled tire (Contiprocontact) replaced and my twin spoke Czech wheel was just fine. I felt that pothole when I crashed into it, but the wheel held up. The tire did not.
This is the wheel I run in the winter 18” AMG
Unbelievable bad luck with rims.
I assume this is all related to the bad road conditions during winter time? For that, I would get another set of smaller rims for the winter months. I actually drive on 17" rims and it is not for winter, just thought it would soften the ride but it really did not, but I'm sure the extra 1/2" rubber gives some more protection for the rims. My 17" very decent looking rims cost about $650. Another option would be to use steel rims at winter time. Those should be very low cost to buy if available for your car.
What comes to 245/50-R18 these may have a problem to fit especially in front. The tire is almost an inch bigger in radius and it would have a serious issue to fit in my car below the front strut spring bottom bracket. I don't know how your car is as mine is an AirMatic but I think the problem could be the same. Also this tire would be 7.5% bigger so your speed would be that much faster than the meter shows.
245/45-R18 tire size would be about 1/2" bigger in radius and this could fit. You can check for this by turning your steering wheel all the way to the left and then looking front left tire space between the top inside corner of the tire and the strut. Speed difference with this size would be 3.7%.
I bend wheels year round. Has nothing to do with the season. I tried 17s and couldn't get them over the brakes. A guy had some on CL and I drove over to his house and test fit. That's why I thought maybe go with a taller tire.
I bend wheels year round. Has nothing to do with the season. I tried 17s and couldn't get them over the brakes. A guy had some on CL and I drove over to his house and test fit. That's why I thought maybe go with a taller tire.
My car it a 2010 E550 with the big brakes in front and my 17"rims fit fine. Guess it depends on the rim design.
Are you sure it was not a problem with the wheel balance weights? They need to use very low profile weights to fit.
I bend wheels year round. Has nothing to do with the season. I tried 17s and couldn't get them over the brakes. A guy had some on CL and I drove over to his house and test fit. That's why I thought maybe go with a taller tire.
Strange as I tried 16" wheels from W211 on my 2014 E250 Bluetec and they fit.
I heard before that bigger engines come with bigger brakes, but not by 2"
245/50R18 are 27.6" diameter and will not fit. 245/45R18 might fit, but are near the limit where you may get rubbing. 255/40R18 are a little taller than stock and could be a good option.
Failing that, you may want to move! Sounds like you've had horrible luck with wheels...
245/50R18 are 27.6" diameter and will not fit. 245/45R18 might fit, but are near the limit where you may get rubbing. 255/40R18 are a little taller than stock and could be a good option.
Failing that, you may want to move! Sounds like you've had horrible luck with wheels...
Huh, I was thinking I'd have more room if I went taller than wider. But that might work. I really just think it's this car. Never bent a single rim on any other car, ever, and like I said my 11-year-old Audi has an even more rubber-bandy setup and still on all four OEM rims.
Yeah the brakes changed for the 2014 facelift and they don't fit.
Do you know what changed? The 2014 E350 has 12.6" rotors vs a 2010 E550 having 13.5" rotors. Approximately. Based on that I don't see how wheels would fit a pre-facelift E550 but not a facelift E350?
Edit: Assumed you had an E350.. 2014 E550 brakes are 14.2" up front so they are larger than pre-facelift by a bit.
Last edited by LILBENZ230; 02-29-2020 at 05:23 PM.
02-29-2020, 09:13 AM
