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52 years old and never in my life have I popped a tire in a pothole. Twice in the matter of two weeks I lost my front right then front left tire on my 2020 S560 (8,000 miles on it). When I took it in the first time to America's Tire, I ended up getting the insurance on all tires added which saved me like $500 the 2nd time around.
So, is this just dumb luck or is something else going on? I live in Los Angeles. We got hit with tons of rain in December. The first one really was a pretty big pothole so I get it. Tire pressure instantly went to "0". The 2nd one I didn't even remember hitting a significant pothole. In face didn't know until I got into my car leaving work.
I live in LA as well. I've seen some huge potholes after the heavy rain. I have to have a mental map in my head of all the potholes. Oh and I have 25 series tires.
You see, there are under-edumacated individuals that weigh looks above functionality.
These people prefer bigger wheel diameters and shorter tire profiles.
The rest of us pay higher maintenance bills (tire sidewall impacts with pot holes and curbs) and with a worse ride quality,
AND what many people fail to realize is that 18" wheels have more traction (in all directions) than larger wheel diameters,
There are also more tires available (of all forms) i 18" wheels than for larger wheels.
The ONLY sane reason for larger wheels (than 18") is when you want to fit larger brakes.
You see, there are under-edumacated individuals that weigh looks above functionality.
These people prefer bigger wheel diameters and shorter tire profiles.
The rest of us pay higher maintenance bills (tire sidewall impacts with pot holes and curbs) and with a worse ride quality,
AND what many people fail to realize is that 18" wheels have more traction (in all directions) than larger wheel diameters,
There are also more tires available (of all forms) i 18" wheels than for larger wheels.
The ONLY sane reason for larger wheels (than 18") is when you want to fit larger brakes.
Marketing over physics.......
I think this is a case of you assuming what you like is what everyone should like. I think the car looks terrible on 18" wheels, which is why I chose 19" wheels for the middle of the road between looks and ride quality, and I'm very happy with my choice.
This is why we have options...you choose the option you want, and let others choose the options they want. Simple.
Things like this happen in "threes". Same for broken windshields. I travel a lot and it seems that these type of incidences are stacked up as just bad luck. I learned I just have to get it fixed and move on. And don't expect Biden to use the infrastructure money to fix this.
Sorry to see what happened to your tires . The higher the size of the rims the riskier the tire damage due to low sidewall tires 19" wheels should be fine or Goldilocks to me because 18" wheels may sound comfier but in terms of styling they don't match the look of the 19"s at all .
There is a lot of debate over whether RF tires are more prone to injury than NRF tires. There is no hard proof. But the more you read on the internet (this forum and other European car forums), the more you will agree that NRF tires are where to put your money. People that switch from RFs to NRFs tend to end their tire woes.
Let me make a plug for MIchelin tires at this time. Michelin is a well-respected tire company that is very popular in the German car circles for their dry-weather performance and reputation for quality products. I have had several sets on different cars over the years, and I do agree they are a quality product (at a premium price point). What people don't often discuss about Michelins, is that their tires are almost always larger than competitor tires in the same size. Meaning their tires "run big". Generally I have noticed they are about 0.5-1cm taller (overall) than other brands, and consistently 1cm wider than other brands. Consequently when you put them on a large wheel (like our W222 20" wheels) they tend to make the wheel look smaller and the tire looks "chunky". Not ideal. But of course the great benefit is added grip and added protection. I have hit numerous large potholes (I live in the northeast) this year and I have had no issues, and my wheels are still true. With the previous RFs all 4 wheels were quite bent and had to be fixed.
AMG GTS (2016), GL63 (2016), SL63 (2022) -- Old Cars: E400, CLS 63s, ML 63, CL 600, S550 ...
Originally Posted by Moondogg
52 years old and never in my life have I popped a tire in a pothole. Twice in the matter of two weeks I lost my front right then front left tire on my 2020 S560 (8,000 miles on it). When I took it in the first time to America's Tire, I ended up getting the insurance on all tires added which saved me like $500 the 2nd time around.
So, is this just dumb luck or is something else going on? I live in Los Angeles. We got hit with tons of rain in December. The first one really was a pretty big pothole so I get it. Tire pressure instantly went to "0". The 2nd one I didn't even remember hitting a significant pothole. In face didn't know until I got into my car leaving work.
MoonDOG - OMG - I was driving my wife's ML North on Sepulveda on the way home from LAX Tuesday when I hit a massive pothole. Could not easily avoid due to cars left and right of me.
Anyway - I have run-flats as well, and did the same damage you did (see below) to the front right. The rear right seemed undamaged. But since I bought two new tires for the front, I had the installer place the old (1 year old) left front onto the right rear in case the pothole did some damage to it that could not easily be seen. I felt fortunate that there seemed to be no rim damage (the rim rash you see in the image is the reason my wife gets very nervous driving my cars - my rims are pristine).
These tires are hard to find now and are backordered at most places I called - but I managed to find two on line at Tire Rack.
Run flats are close to useless in sidewall damage - driving it just a couple miles home really opened up the tear. I do not believe I could have driven any more than a mile more.
Anyway - that little adventure cost me $1,000+.
Where did you manage to find your potholes? Sepulveda by chance? :-)
MoonDOG - OMG - I was driving my wife's ML North on Sepulveda on the way home from LAX Tuesday when I hit a massive pothole. Could not easily avoid due to cars left and right of me.
Anyway - I have run-flats as well, and did the same damage you did (see below) to the front right. The rear right seemed undamaged. But since I bought two new tires for the front, I had the installer place the old (1 year old) left front onto the right rear in case the pothole did some damage to it that could not easily be seen. I felt fortunate that there seemed to be no rim damage (the rim rash you see in the image is the reason my wife gets very nervous driving my cars - my rims are pristine).
These tires are hard to find now and are backordered at most places I called - but I managed to find two on line at Tire Rack.
Run flats are close to useless in sidewall damage - driving it just a couple miles home really opened up the tear. I do not believe I could have driven any more than a mile more.
Anyway - that little adventure cost me $1,000+.
Where did you manage to find your potholes? Sepulveda by chance? :-)
If that pothole is at the intersection of sepulveda and Centinela, I saw it a few days ago.
For those of you that live in LA, you can download the "MyLA311“ app and report the location of potholes. The few that I've reported have been fixed within a couple of weeks.
MoonDOG - OMG - I was driving my wife's ML North on Sepulveda on the way home from LAX Tuesday when I hit a massive pothole. Could not easily avoid due to cars left and right of me.
Anyway - I have run-flats as well, and did the same damage you did (see below) to the front right. The rear right seemed undamaged. But since I bought two new tires for the front, I had the installer place the old (1 year old) left front onto the right rear in case the pothole did some damage to it that could not easily be seen. I felt fortunate that there seemed to be no rim damage (the rim rash you see in the image is the reason my wife gets very nervous driving my cars - my rims are pristine).
These tires are hard to find now and are backordered at most places I called - but I managed to find two on line at Tire Rack.
Run flats are close to useless in sidewall damage - driving it just a couple miles home really opened up the tear. I do not believe I could have driven any more than a mile more.
Anyway - that little adventure cost me $1,000+.
Where did you manage to find your potholes? Sepulveda by chance? :-)
Not, not north of LAX (I know that area very well having worked next to LAX for over 20 years). It was in the South Bay on Crenshaw Blvd just north of the 405. There were a number of bad streets in this area.
There is a lot of debate over whether RF tires are more prone to injury than NRF tires. There is no hard proof. But the more you read on the internet (this forum and other European car forums), the more you will agree that NRF tires are where to put your money. People that switch from RFs to NRFs tend to end their tire woes.
Let me make a plug for MIchelin tires at this time. Michelin is a well-respected tire company that is very popular in the German car circles for their dry-weather performance and reputation for quality products. I have had several sets on different cars over the years, and I do agree they are a quality product (at a premium price point). What people don't often discuss about Michelins, is that their tires are almost always larger than competitor tires in the same size. Meaning their tires "run big". Generally I have noticed they are about 0.5-1cm taller (overall) than other brands, and consistently 1cm wider than other brands. Consequently when you put them on a large wheel (like our W222 20" wheels) they tend to make the wheel look smaller and the tire looks "chunky". Not ideal. But of course the great benefit is added grip and added protection. I have hit numerous large potholes (I live in the northeast) this year and I have had no issues, and my wheels are still true. With the previous RFs all 4 wheels were quite bent and had to be fixed.
My $0.02.
Thanks brother! Gives me something to think about. Do you have a pic of yours? What specific model do you have? I'm willing to give up some aesthetic just not sure how much.
Thanks brother! Gives me something to think about. Do you have a pic of yours? What specific model do you have? I'm willing to give up some aesthetic just not sure how much.
Sure.. the first two pictures are the old Continental DWS (RFTs). The second two are the new Michelin A/S 4 (NRFTs). Both are/were OE size. At first it may appear a subtle difference, but the more you look at your car the more the "chunkiness" stands out. Still a very worthwhile trade-off IMO.
