Risk of being in a country where some PAID Highway are built by crooks and then they went Chapter 11 and then sold to other company.
Too late, the base foundation of the highway is poor. Every year it has the same zone with potholes. 99% are at where bridges starts and end.
Come rainy season and in a matter of 1 week, holes started to pop out


The local BBS dealer told me soonest I can get a replacement is March 2022.
I am going to order 2 units, so will have 1 spare

 

That is a major blow to a very stout wheel. Unbelievable. And I thought we (Chicago) had the lock on ridiculously huge potholes. I hope you can get the replacement sooner.

 

Ouch. Sorry to read this S-Prihadi. I've read your comments before on Indonesian "paid" roads.

It's difficult to maintain anything nice on such roads.

 

Those BBS are forged I believe, WOW. Very sorry for your luck, I think it would take a true artisan to repair that, if it's even possible, I grimaced at the sound of the hit and concur with the bleep outs! Maybe you could post exact specs on the wheel and we here at the forum could look around and see if we could find one in stock and send it, my sister -in-law can help with the shipping issues?

 

Thanks guys
Thank you so much Pierre....

This is not the forged series of BBS. It is the Flow Forming one, which is basically a bit better than normal casting... I guess.
https://bbs.com/en/product-details/CH-R
Nurg Edition, that is all.

I dare not repair bent wheels, not at the rate I do high speed often and corner hard.
Micro cracking can occur during the re-bending proses.

Take this wheel like a hopefully consumable items ONLY once per 2.5 years or longer, wondering where Uncle Murphy will be lurking.


The mistake I did was, I should have started off earlier at 7AM from the 1 day/night transit location called Mount Bromo, as such the Pot-Hole-Infested 400-200KM part of this highway ( Jakarta is the zero KM ) is done in daylight.
I would have spotted pot holes in daylight, at least the risk would be much reduced. So my route home Bali >> Jakarta this year is 1 day transit at Mount Bromo. Nice 18C at night and 20C daytime ( rainy season ).
https://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/t...-bromo-volcano

I could not enter the caldera ( now a National Park ), it was locked due to Covid, but this Mount Bromo overall is still a very nice place to rest, albeit without exploring the caldera.
I took off at 10:30AM, hence 3:30 hours too late. Raining too in some areas, so much slower travel speed.

I also took my sweet time at the rest area for late lunch, that is 1 extra hour lost.

I got hit at 6:14 PM at 322KM from Jakarta as zero, decent daylight still available up to 5:15PM
If I had 3.5 hours ahead, I would have easy be at SAFER ZONE 50 - 100KM from Jakarta ( rush hour traffic included ) and the worst of pot holes in day light.

The Michelin is also damaged, its has a minor swell at the side wall. Common for a low profile tire to have this if the impact is severe enough.

I still have the AMG OE wheel by Ronald.
The front ones ( 1 unit ) has a tiny wheeny damage too, but zero vibration at high speed and is only visible when during a wheel balance.
The damage was from Jakarta road, a bridge joint.
But I installed cheapo tyres for track use only, so I thought. https://www.gtradial.co.id/en/Tire/C...aPattern000171
https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre/GT-...AMPIRO-SX2.htm
60% of the price of the Mich Pilot Sport 4 those are. I never got to use it at the track though.... , have not fun drive at the track this 2021.
I am hoping I will skid more using them Champiro tires at the track and save some $$ while at it.

I can use these tyres and wheel for the time being. So no issue to wait till March 2022.
Come rain this Champiro SX2 won't be as good as Mic PS4, but in Jakarta, I don't drive much at all

NEXT..........

Need to lift up my car and inspect the under carriage scrubbing I got while Jakarta-Bali on the road and at the ferrry ramp and see if my left front arms/links suffer any damage ?

I been busy troubleshooting my friend's C200 W204 with the M271.860 EVO engine for like a week now.
He left it in my house while he rides with me in my car round trip Jakarta Bali.
I will share valuable tech info of this 1.8L M271 turbo engine when all done, short story is : 99% it will need a new engine ECM SIM271DE2.0 by Continental.

 

Are you running high tire pressures? (40+ psi) That helps protect the rims from potholes.

 

In 25 years of driving several MB sedans, I had only 1 factory wheel bend. I was distracted, when traffic on fast line come to the stop, so I went on shoulder while heavy braking and hit open concrete joint there.
Did not notice big lip on the rim till 150 miles later I come to my destination.
Just saying. The OE Czech-made rims on W212 was the only other wheel who come with trouble to me.

 

The set that came on my wagon have been discontinued for some time now. I wanted the same diameter and offset to minimize the number of different tire sizes that would inevitably stack up in my garage. After spending a year looking; I found a set in Europe.
Having said that; Craigslist is full of some of the ugliest OEM take offs I have ever seen and they are cheap.

 

my favorite of all the wheels made for the W212. This is also made by BBS for Mercedes.
Even these can be bent if you hit a pothole just right, as I am prone to do. Look closely between my painters tape.

 

at least that dent appears to be worth repairing.
Mine are 19in with 37/52 offset. This summer I found two badly curb gouged (un-repairable) in the $300-500 range and one NOS for $1600. Never found a style I liked better that this one.

 

Ouch! Sorry to see this S-Prihadi

According to the travelmath site, I think I see your problem

 

I find the car too bouncy using those tire pressures, do you not?

It seems to wave too much sideways above 100MPH. At least on stock tires.

 

No, I don't like 40 psi. I am on 34 front and max 36 psi rear if I have more than 1 passenger long distance.
This trip I was on 34 psi on all 4.

I doubt extra 6 psi can prevent the damage , air is too compressible to counter force that impact.

 

, indeed.....
It is way cheaper to fly, even without paying for new wheel + tyre.
Its the fun of driving and at 500-600th KM from Jakarta, that part of the highway is decently smooth and less traffic, so comfy 200KM/H+ high speed is possible.

I also wanted to explore other nice stop over destination in between Jakarta-Bali.
Some have back-roads with very narrow roads but with nice snake like corners. I like this kind of roads even more than high speed, as long as they are no village houses on the side of the road.

 

Oky doky.......... update time.

Done wheel alignment to make sure front left is allright. I lifted up the car, visual check few days ago, shows no damage.

So the LEFT toe got "open-up" from the impact. Basically my steering link got forced outward by 17 minutes or 17/60 of a degree or 0.28 of a degree.




No issue, toe can be set back to normal.
Amazing these suspension values, merely going back to OE rear tire size : 265/35-18" ( Champiro SX2) which is thinner 9mm from my own choosing of 255/40-18 ( Michelin PS4) , plus thicker because new front tires.... can change
the front caster value.



The wheel damage, closer look






Basically it is the left of the wheel assy getting the most impact.


Tire Damage, well ...kinda




Ignore the nice straight line running the width of the tire, it is tire construction thingy. My tire has 4 of those lamination lines ???





I don't have faith to re-use this front left Michelin PS4. Will need a new one and must buy in pair, if I want best wet performance.
But I think I can get away with just buying new left one only, the right side one is still thick enough.
The front left damaged one has served about 11,000KM but still is at 5.48mm thread depth, new is 7.1mm. Impressive the front tire wear is so low. Its like 1.5mm per 10,000KM.
I think 30,00KM is do-able while ending up still with 2.5 to 2.8mm thread depth to clear water. I read Continental and many authority use 1.6mm thread depth as minimum legal limit.
In the 80s, my MK2 Supra used to eat all 4 : Pirelli P7, BF Goodrich Comp T/A and Bridgestone RE91 at 25,000KM max with less than 2mm thread depth balance.
Front ones gone too, from too much hard cornering.

The rear tire set is a different story, my heavy leaded foot seems to consume it faster than twice the front tire set. I think 15,000KM is about as safe it can go for me.
Of course this is also due to W212 "natural-OE" rear camber setting.

 

The tire damage usually will show more inside, than outside, so check it there.
Most of Michelin are build for long-lasting thread, when hard rubber is lousy in wet condition. You need to choose your compromise.

 

Those photos are of the inside of the tire K

My friends used to run Yokohama A008 in the 80-90s. This tire sidewall is SOOOOO weak and easily torn.
This Mic PS4 is not bad.

 

Ops, I replied fast without good look at pictures.
Sidewall thickest changed a lot with tire weight/pressure ratings. Years ago I bought bus conversion, who had 22.5" wheels coming from semitrucks industry. Since bus was sitting for about 10 years before the purchase, few tires had radial cracks big enough to stick my small finger in them.
I was driving it 60 miles home pretty scared, but they hold. Later on I tested 1 of them with pressure and they hold rated 110psi just fine. Cut 1 of them out of curiosity and sidewall close to the rim had 3/4" of rubber with several layers of fabric, meaning 4 mm crack was just outer rubber.
Car wheels for comparison can have 2 mm sidewalls with single layer of fabric. Only the tire crown had steel mesh.

 

My car mileage is 175k miles 2013 E350 4matic and I had bent wheels 4 times each repair cost $150. I think the problem not weak alloy but more of because of low profile so tire became rubber band instead of tire. It didn't protect the car and rim because compromise look for better protection. That impact from pothole caused the front drive shaft broke and cost me $2400 to repair because it broke catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. It also broke u-joint of front drive shaft in transfer case 20 k miles later. This one almost cost me transmission around $8k plus labor cost if fix in MB dealer. Maybe around $2k for used trans plus labor cost around $1.5k. But near Dallas I could not find MB indy. So I fix it myself buy the front drive shaft gear around $650 and while I am fixed it, I also overhaul all wheel bearing using kit around $150. I did replace rear drive shaft flex disc and the middle mount and bearing, and also replaced bad CV boot on front wheel and replace front and rear diff oil.
Leason learned from low profile good looking rim. My solution is increasing tire wall around 17 mm by replacing tire/rim size from 245/40R18 to 235/50R17. and by cheap rim only $150 using Riel M10 made in Germany and it replica of AMG so it does look like AMG wheel without AMG logo on outside. So next time it bent just replace the rim because it cost only $150 not over $700 each. I performed alignment myself using Vevor Caster and Camber tool and this tool only $120 but as accurate as Longacre 52-78290 Digital Caster Camber Gauge which cost $212. Car drive better and smooth now using extra suspension from geometry bigger rubber and air than metal.


Changed to





I had Honda Pilot and drive it for 280k miles for 14 years hit so many pothole even one time curb around 3 inches height and never broke the rim except the engine mount but the tire size is 235/70-R16. So now my sedan tire wall height same as my SUV Ml350 using tire 235/50-R19. I think that low profile is like scam to make company sell more wheel instead of once life-time for car no very smart idea to have it but people have money they don't care and they just want car look cool.

 

Been there too, it sucks. Good idea on ordering a spare!

 

Perhaps that is looking at the problem backwards. Any car design makes some fundamental assumption that must exist to justify its "fit for purpose". For a luxury sedan, it will be obvious it is not meant to be driven "off-road", as well as its intended market is for those with some lust of speed and handling while enjoying some comfort as well.

There are some areas of the world where the everyday streets are more challenging than an off-road track; therefore, we cannot expect the vehicle to hit 6+" deep potholes @60+MPH, and come out unscathed. As you have probably noticed over the last 20 years the diameter of the wheels has increased considerably for all the segments. That is not because of the low-profile tires, but because nearly every engine is more powerful than its predecessors which requires a larger set of brakes to be accommodated within the wheels.

I would not increase the profile of the vehicle if I plan to drive 90+MPH, but I would not drive it at those speeds on a "pseudo-highway" with deep and wide potholes. Have I damaged low-profile tires? Definitely, when I was younger and had no clue about where and when to drive fast I damage my share of wheels. Did I blame the vendor? Not by chance, I looked at the mirror and found the problem. In fact, I even lowered the tire profile of other vehicles I used to drive, but I became more cautious about my driving habits to protect my life and my (not so deep) pocket.

 

I agree with mercyfan method for going to higher tire wall height to suit his purpose if he has sustained that kind of scarry damage.
"That impact from pothole caused the front drive shaft broke and cost me $2400 to repair because it broke catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. It also broke u-joint of front drive shaft in transfer case 20 k miles later."

However, it is always a trade off : better precision steering + better cornering from lower aspect ratio tires vs more comfort from higher aspect ratio tires but have to sacrifice some of the former.
The big brake rotor is also a factor. For car that comes with 344MM rotor for the front, I dont think 17" wheel can accomodate that brake caliper.

Being in Jakarta/Indonesia and the way I drive ( much worse in the past ) I have ruined wheels with 70 or 60 aspect ratio tires and much more, including front arms bent and damper shooting out of its top mount
The higher my car tire aspect ratio is, the faster I whack pot holes and rail road crossing. But never I got pot holes damage in a PAID highway....until this event

 

sounds to me like that Island is best navigated with true 4x4's such as a Jeep or Land Cruiser or small truck, with /70 or /75 series LT (light truck) all terrain tires. tall soft suspension designed to absorb the bumps.

my Toyota Tacoma 4x4 had like 265/70R16, I think, and I upgraded them from P XL to LT... BFG All Terrains that are great on the highway AND dirt. We took that truck 1000s of miles of road trips *and* did some decent offroading when we got there. Hit rocks and holes at speed, no problems. It also handled mountain roads surprisingly competently. 4.0L V6 6-speed manual, proper 4x4, electric locking rear axle. The TRD Off Road factory package, with upgraded shocks, and manual firestone riderite airbags. The simialr year 4Runners are an SUV version of basically the same. the US specific Tacoma/4Runners were based on the Land Cruiser Prado J120 chassis.


Prewitt Ridge, 3200 feet above the Big Sur Coast

 

or here's the lexus version, world market 1st gen Lexus GX460 (J120).

 

indeed