Growing up in New York, I experienced how bad the roads can be. I feel for those who have to drive and worry about pot holes.

 

Not to highjack the thread but the roads are a preamble to our economy--- third world. We are rivalling Greece as far as our economy --- we voted for change but not for this kind of change!!

 

You're preaching to the choir!

 

I have seven bubbles so far this season. The tire insurance has paid for itself a few times over already...

 

CA is in the same spot with awful roads getting worse and worse.

 

Two blown tires so far this winter. I almost got an E63 as my daily driver but happy I didn't. The wheels and tires on that thing are more delicate then on my current car. My dealership actually ran out of tires one time I was there because everyone was dropping their cars off. I have developed eagle eyes for pot holes when driving around now. I used to love to drive my cars, now its a game of dodging potholes.

 

Our roads are making it worse and worse to experience any car that doesn't have a pillow soft suspension. I've been complaining about an E-Class feeling harsh over even moderately bad roads, which says a lot. It's not easy to enjoy a car when you have to cringe over every messy road surface.

I don't have the ***** to go over 18"ers, and fortunately I think that size fits at least my car perfectly.

I wonder if in the coming years 15" will become the new 20".

 

This is a problem anytime the wheel diameter is larger then 17s, as this is less and less tire sidewall to absorb the impact from a pothole. Also the wheel are aluminum and not steel. The only answer is to slow down when you see one and avoid them as best you can. Hitting a pot hole at slow speed is less severe then hitting them at high speed. The roads here is VA are decent, as compared to DC. I will not even drive into DC period.

 

I recently cracked one of my stock 19's. Got them welded and cracked it again about 2 months later!

 

Bent the 19" on the S550 2x now. The second time it was a bubble and such a slight bend they didnt want to fix it. I just use my FJ Cruiser as my daily driver now, not just for going off-road on the weekends.

 

Just had a 2nd tire blown this season!
I had an appointment scheduled for today with my dealer due to a shimmy at 70+ MPH. Dealer had 3 rims 'fixed' so far this year but not to my satisfaction (high speed shimmy). I was in Manhattan yesterday and hit a pot hole that dented my LF and created a gash in the tire's sidewall. Interesting timing!
Curious to see what remedy the dealer has now. Insurance should cover it all, including new rims if they cannot remove the high speed shimmy.

We'll see...

 

I'm running stock 19's still on my car as I'm afraid to put on anything bigger due to the California roads! But then just a few weeks ago hit a pothole and blew my RF tire and bent the rim. $750 for replacement of rim and $350 for tire! Glad to see my tax $$$$ are going to good use.

 

Hello s class members. Visiting from 2011 e550 forum. I had a double blowout going into NYC in February. I have come to believe that the issue is not only the low profile tires, but the airmatic suspension as well. There just isn't enough travel in the airmatic suspension when you hit even a medium pothole. It is a flaw in the airmatic design. The lack of air shock travel makes the tire and rim absorb too much of the impact. While the airmatic does some things well, absorbing very rough roads and potholes is not one of them. Regards. Ned.

 

Three more bent rims. Going to be fixed next week.

SHEESH!

 

I've bent rims about 10 times on the FDR. I now avoid it like the plague and stick with the West Side Hwy.

 

Obama's stimulus plan to improve this country's infrastructure has not trickled pass his union pals. Roads are riddled with pot holes, our bridges are crumbling right before our eyes, but there always seems to be billions of dollars in foreign aid that leaves OUR pockets.

Enough of my soap box.

 

You're preaching to the choir! ..and what a classy guy, too. Did you see him continue his speach during the Brittish National Anthem? At the end he raised his glass in a toast and NO ONE ELSE MOVED until the band had stopped.

Can you say "oops" boys and girls?

(sorry 'bout the off topic reply)

 

Yes it is all Obama's fault. The roads were just wonderful before he came along.

So sick of all the gratuitous political BS

 

Thanks for sharing this on a CAR forum. Ironic for someone talking about the supposed lack of class...

 

Get over yourself!

 

WERD. It goes both ways, but Political BS is just that, BS! All of it, pointless drivel. I checked out long ago, it makes people act ridiculously immature and classless.