Another f-ing pothole blowout on 21s
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 711
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From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2023 S580
Another pothole blowout on 21s
I hit a pothole on Piedmont Avenue in Atlanta on the way home from work today and suffered my now third blowout with my 2022 S580 with 21" rims in three years. I love the way my car looks with those rims, but geezus, this will put me in the poor house at $500 a pop (pun intended) each time one fails. Luckily, I was 1/2 mile from Mercedes Benz of Buckhead, so I was able to crawl there. They had to order the tire, so I can pick it up tomorrow. They plan to do the outstanding recall while the car is there, so not a 100% complete total loss, I guess. I'm struggling to find the silver lining here, guys.
I know this topic will get this group fired up again, so my apologies for opening a sore wound for the many forum members who too have suffered with these 21" blowouts. But as the saying goes, misery loves company.
Mark
I know this topic will get this group fired up again, so my apologies for opening a sore wound for the many forum members who too have suffered with these 21" blowouts. But as the saying goes, misery loves company.
Mark
Last edited by Mem30306; Feb 25, 2025 at 03:35 PM.
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Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche
I try to stay with the "purpose built" theme:
Large wheels low profile tires on sports cars and smaller wheels higher profile tires on luxury cars. (even try to avoid staggered set up on luxury cars when possible)
If you can justify multiple vehicles, you can get your "large wheel low profile tire" fix from your weekend toy. (might save you some angst)
Trying to make one car be "all things" sometimes comes with compromises.
Large wheels low profile tires on sports cars and smaller wheels higher profile tires on luxury cars. (even try to avoid staggered set up on luxury cars when possible)
If you can justify multiple vehicles, you can get your "large wheel low profile tire" fix from your weekend toy. (might save you some angst)
Trying to make one car be "all things" sometimes comes with compromises.
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Current/Last 5-years:GLS;G70;Alpina B8;X7;Accord. Sold:X7,TeslaS;S560;S550,X5;530e;L.Navigator;LS460
21" are not the issue.... AMG wheels really suck!. That's it in my view, as someone who had the 20" on his first W222 too I know that very well. They are soooooooo fragile...
I've had a number of other cars with large wheels, never ever had any issue. My 1st S-class with 20" had all 4 wheels cracked at least twice each. My 2nd s-class had the 19", they don't look great but at least no issues. I've had mostly large wheel sized in all my BMWs, never had a single issue. AMG wheels are so fragile in my view.
I've had a number of other cars with large wheels, never ever had any issue. My 1st S-class with 20" had all 4 wheels cracked at least twice each. My 2nd s-class had the 19", they don't look great but at least no issues. I've had mostly large wheel sized in all my BMWs, never had a single issue. AMG wheels are so fragile in my view.
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2019 C63CS
^^ OP didn't crack a wheel. They blew out a tire. What we have here are 21" tires on a nearly 5000 lbs car mixed with bad roads. I hate to state the obvious, but avoid potholes. It won't end well. Anecdotal stories of past cars won't help anyone. Categorically dismissing certain wheels is also not helpful. There are different types of wheels. Cast, flow formed and forged. Most normal cars have cast wheels, because they are cheap, even if they say AMG on them. To make cast wheels strong you have to make them heavy. That comes with other downsides such as high unsprung weight and bad fuel economy. Forged wheels on the other hand can be made strong while still remaining light. But you won't find forged AMG wheels on a regular S Class. Forged wheels are also expensive. A good set easily costs $10k and up. It's all a matter of how much you are willing to pay. But back to the actual issue. We are talking about a blown tire, not a busted wheel. One way to make the tire stronger is to increase the tire pressure. More tire pressure allows it to handle more peak load, but that ultimately comes at a harsher ride. If you have pothole ridden roads where you live, 21" low profile tires isn't a good idea. Get taller sidewalls that can absorb more of an impact.
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From: DFW
SL63
As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I was almost certain we would be talking about New Jersey. I was surprised to find out it was Atlanta. It does get cold there, but not for long, and not below freezing to speak of. Road repair there must be a very low priority, because the climate there is not conducive to potholes forming, at least the traditional way of cycles of thaw and ice in rapid succession. Sorry to hear about the blowout. One of the only ways to avoid potholes, is allow more following space as you increase speed, giving you a chance to see them before it’s too late.
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From: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
2021 S 580
An update from the one who started the original thread on 21”wheels/Pirelli tires.
After three blowouts on the above combo, I bit the bullet and switched the Pirellis to Michelin. That was 18 months ago. No tire failures since.
This goes to prove the combination of 21” wheels, a very heavy car, and Pirelli’s extremely weak (flexing) sidewall were a recipe for failure. MBZ never acknowledged this even though there were hundreds of failures with that combination. I did move to Florida from San Diego’s third world roads which helped. However, one of my Pirelli blowouts was, in fact, from a pothole in Florida. I have hit others here with the Michelins, but their beefier sidewalls held up.
And I’m still P O’d at MBZ for never owning up to their choice of the 21”wheels/Pirelli combo as OEM. Cost me and many others several thousand dollars
After three blowouts on the above combo, I bit the bullet and switched the Pirellis to Michelin. That was 18 months ago. No tire failures since.
This goes to prove the combination of 21” wheels, a very heavy car, and Pirelli’s extremely weak (flexing) sidewall were a recipe for failure. MBZ never acknowledged this even though there were hundreds of failures with that combination. I did move to Florida from San Diego’s third world roads which helped. However, one of my Pirelli blowouts was, in fact, from a pothole in Florida. I have hit others here with the Michelins, but their beefier sidewalls held up.
And I’m still P O’d at MBZ for never owning up to their choice of the 21”wheels/Pirelli combo as OEM. Cost me and many others several thousand dollars
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Current/Last 5-years:GLS;G70;Alpina B8;X7;Accord. Sold:X7,TeslaS;S560;S550,X5;530e;L.Navigator;LS460
^^ OP didn't crack a wheel. They blew out a tire. What we have here are 21" tires on a nearly 5000 lbs car mixed with bad roads. I hate to state the obvious, but avoid potholes. It won't end well. Anecdotal stories of past cars won't help anyone. Categorically dismissing certain wheels is also not helpful. There are different types of wheels. Cast, flow formed and forged. Most normal cars have cast wheels, because they are cheap, even if they say AMG on them. To make cast wheels strong you have to make them heavy. That comes with other downsides such as high unsprung weight and bad fuel economy. Forged wheels on the other hand can be made strong while still remaining light. But you won't find forged AMG wheels on a regular S Class. Forged wheels are also expensive. A good set easily costs $10k and up. It's all a matter of how much you are willing to pay. But back to the actual issue. We are talking about a blown tire, not a busted wheel. One way to make the tire stronger is to increase the tire pressure. More tire pressure allows it to handle more peak load, but that ultimately comes at a harsher ride. If you have pothole ridden roads where you live, 21" low profile tires isn't a good idea. Get taller sidewalls that can absorb more of an impact.
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Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 711
Likes: 373
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2023 S580
An update from the one who started the original thread on 21”wheels/Pirelli tires.
After three blowouts on the above combo, I bit the bullet and switched the Pirellis to Michelin. That was 18 months ago. No tire failures since.
This goes to prove the combination of 21” wheels, a very heavy car, and Pirelli’s extremely weak (flexing) sidewall were a recipe for failure. MBZ never acknowledged this even though there were hundreds of failures with that combination. I did move to Florida from San Diego’s third world roads which helped. However, one of my Pirelli blowouts was, in fact, from a pothole in Florida. I have hit others here with the Michelins, but their beefier sidewalls held up.
And I’m still P O’d at MBZ for never owning up to their choice of the 21”wheels/Pirelli combo as OEM. Cost me and many others several thousand dollars
After three blowouts on the above combo, I bit the bullet and switched the Pirellis to Michelin. That was 18 months ago. No tire failures since.
This goes to prove the combination of 21” wheels, a very heavy car, and Pirelli’s extremely weak (flexing) sidewall were a recipe for failure. MBZ never acknowledged this even though there were hundreds of failures with that combination. I did move to Florida from San Diego’s third world roads which helped. However, one of my Pirelli blowouts was, in fact, from a pothole in Florida. I have hit others here with the Michelins, but their beefier sidewalls held up.
And I’m still P O’d at MBZ for never owning up to their choice of the 21”wheels/Pirelli combo as OEM. Cost me and many others several thousand dollars
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Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 711
Likes: 373
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2023 S580
^^ OP didn't crack a wheel. They blew out a tire. What we have here are 21" tires on a nearly 5000 lbs car mixed with bad roads. I hate to state the obvious, but avoid potholes. It won't end well. Anecdotal stories of past cars won't help anyone. Categorically dismissing certain wheels is also not helpful. There are different types of wheels. Cast, flow formed and forged. Most normal cars have cast wheels, because they are cheap, even if they say AMG on them. To make cast wheels strong you have to make them heavy. That comes with other downsides such as high unsprung weight and bad fuel economy. Forged wheels on the other hand can be made strong while still remaining light. But you won't find forged AMG wheels on a regular S Class. Forged wheels are also expensive. A good set easily costs $10k and up. It's all a matter of how much you are willing to pay. But back to the actual issue. We are talking about a blown tire, not a busted wheel. One way to make the tire stronger is to increase the tire pressure. More tire pressure allows it to handle more peak load, but that ultimately comes at a harsher ride. If you have pothole ridden roads where you live, 21" low profile tires isn't a good idea. Get taller sidewalls that can absorb more of an impact.
It would be easy for me rail against Atlanta for poor roads, but to their credit, they have fixed MANY of the most dangerous and deep potholes on I-285 (the ring highway that circles the city), but Piedmont Avenue is a minefield when it comes to potholes. To be completely transparent, we did have a pretty big (for Atlanta) snowstorm this winter, followed by a follow-up snowstorm a week later. There were a couple of days (almost a week) where temps never got above freezing, so that may have played a role. Also, Piedmont is heavily traveled not only by daily rush hour traffic, but also by our local transit busses (MARTA), and those busses notoriously destroy streets. Atlanta tries to do a good job of covering the worst potholes with steel plates, but this one was missed (by them - not me).
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 711
Likes: 373
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2023 S580
As a follow up, Mercedes Benz of Buckhead provided a video to show the issue and overall condition of my car when I brought it in. If you are interested to see where the blowout happened on the tire, swipe to the left to watch the second video where the tech shows the blowout area on the passenger's front right tire.
TruVideo - Repair Orders
TruVideo - Repair Orders
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From: San Diego, CA
2024 EQE 500
San Diego has miserable road conditions. The weather is great, the local government's ability to repair, not so much. I have 20" wheels/Pirelli on my very heavy EQE, fingers crossed each time I get in the car.
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S580
Happened to my S580 last weekend with my 20" wheels
Mark, sorry to hear about your blow outs with the 21" wheels. I grew up in Atlanta, and Piedmont Road has always been horrible.
Since getting my 2023 S580 two years ago and putting 30k miles on it, I've been reading about problems with ride quality and blowouts with the 21". Even though I initially wanted 21" wheels, I'm glad I got the 20", mainly for ride quality. I also got the Hankook run flat tires, which I had intended to replace with Michellin Pilot Sport 4s, since I love them on my other cars. Nevertheless, I've been surprised that the ride quality and noise of the run flats is good. They are not the the best around the corners, but I have a Boxster Spyder for that on the weekends. The S580 is for comfort during my weekday commutes (about 75 miles a day).
Long story short, I hit a major pothole last Sunday and it blew out the Hankook 20" runflat. Dallas roads are not good. I was about 2 miles from my house and even though it blew out the side wall, I was able to drive it home and then I got a mobile tire guy to come yesterday and replace the two front tires, since I always replace either 2 or 4 tires at a time. Now that I got the benefit of the runflats, it was a huge benefit to be able to drive on them to get home.
I thought it would make you feel better that even with the 20" wheels, if you hit a pothole, you can still blowout a tire. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the last 20 years and that's the first blow out I've had in my life.
One question for the group, other than getting an alignment or having a potential problem with the wheel, has anyone had problems with the air suspension or anything more serious from a blowout?
Since getting my 2023 S580 two years ago and putting 30k miles on it, I've been reading about problems with ride quality and blowouts with the 21". Even though I initially wanted 21" wheels, I'm glad I got the 20", mainly for ride quality. I also got the Hankook run flat tires, which I had intended to replace with Michellin Pilot Sport 4s, since I love them on my other cars. Nevertheless, I've been surprised that the ride quality and noise of the run flats is good. They are not the the best around the corners, but I have a Boxster Spyder for that on the weekends. The S580 is for comfort during my weekday commutes (about 75 miles a day).
Long story short, I hit a major pothole last Sunday and it blew out the Hankook 20" runflat. Dallas roads are not good. I was about 2 miles from my house and even though it blew out the side wall, I was able to drive it home and then I got a mobile tire guy to come yesterday and replace the two front tires, since I always replace either 2 or 4 tires at a time. Now that I got the benefit of the runflats, it was a huge benefit to be able to drive on them to get home.
I thought it would make you feel better that even with the 20" wheels, if you hit a pothole, you can still blowout a tire. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the last 20 years and that's the first blow out I've had in my life.
One question for the group, other than getting an alignment or having a potential problem with the wheel, has anyone had problems with the air suspension or anything more serious from a blowout?
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 711
Likes: 373
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2023 S580
Mark, sorry to hear about your blow outs with the 21" wheels. I grew up in Atlanta, and Piedmont Road has always been horrible.
Since getting my 2023 S580 two years ago and putting 30k miles on it, I've been reading about problems with ride quality and blowouts with the 21". Even though I initially wanted 21" wheels, I'm glad I got the 20", mainly for ride quality. I also got the Hankook run flat tires, which I had intended to replace with Michellin Pilot Sport 4s, since I love them on my other cars. Nevertheless, I've been surprised that the ride quality and noise of the run flats is good. They are not the the best around the corners, but I have a Boxster Spyder for that on the weekends. The S580 is for comfort during my weekday commutes (about 75 miles a day).
Long story short, I hit a major pothole last Sunday and it blew out the Hankook 20" runflat. Dallas roads are not good. I was about 2 miles from my house and even though it blew out the side wall, I was able to drive it home and then I got a mobile tire guy to come yesterday and replace the two front tires, since I always replace either 2 or 4 tires at a time. Now that I got the benefit of the runflats, it was a huge benefit to be able to drive on them to get home.
I thought it would make you feel better that even with the 20" wheels, if you hit a pothole, you can still blowout a tire. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the last 20 years and that's the first blow out I've had in my life.
One question for the group, other than getting an alignment or having a potential problem with the wheel, has anyone had problems with the air suspension or anything more serious from a blowout?
Since getting my 2023 S580 two years ago and putting 30k miles on it, I've been reading about problems with ride quality and blowouts with the 21". Even though I initially wanted 21" wheels, I'm glad I got the 20", mainly for ride quality. I also got the Hankook run flat tires, which I had intended to replace with Michellin Pilot Sport 4s, since I love them on my other cars. Nevertheless, I've been surprised that the ride quality and noise of the run flats is good. They are not the the best around the corners, but I have a Boxster Spyder for that on the weekends. The S580 is for comfort during my weekday commutes (about 75 miles a day).
Long story short, I hit a major pothole last Sunday and it blew out the Hankook 20" runflat. Dallas roads are not good. I was about 2 miles from my house and even though it blew out the side wall, I was able to drive it home and then I got a mobile tire guy to come yesterday and replace the two front tires, since I always replace either 2 or 4 tires at a time. Now that I got the benefit of the runflats, it was a huge benefit to be able to drive on them to get home.
I thought it would make you feel better that even with the 20" wheels, if you hit a pothole, you can still blowout a tire. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the last 20 years and that's the first blow out I've had in my life.
One question for the group, other than getting an alignment or having a potential problem with the wheel, has anyone had problems with the air suspension or anything more serious from a blowout?
As a data point, when I got my last set of rear tires, Butler tire mentioned that my rear-right wheel was slightly bent. Oddly, I can see that slight bent wheel in the video from MB or Buckhead. That clearly came from the second pothole I hit on Weiuca Road almost a year ago. I chose not to do anything about the bent wheel other than monitor it for ride quality, which I haven't observed.
Last edited by Mem30306; Feb 26, 2025 at 11:18 AM.
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From: Occupied Palestine
2025 Maserati Grecale Folgore and 2024 Jaguar F-PACE SVR
Pft! Back in the day I hit a man-eating sized pothole somewhere in Red Hook, Brooklyn in my Geo Metro. Being light as a feather with a 1000cc 3 cylinder and having 14 inch rims didn't matter much. Reminds me that Rudy Giuliani was actually called "the pothole mayor" before 9-11 anyways. Pretty sure filling those fookin' things is what got him re-elected.
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Mercedes-Benz CLK 550
FOR ALL THE TALK / MENTION RE “GETTING AN ALIGNMENT”....
“Throwing the car out of alignment on the second blowout”....”a $200 all - wheel alignment cost”. “We’ll see if another alignment is in order with this last pothole”.
STARK REALITY IS - OEM THERE IS “NO ALIGNMENT FACILITY” TO ADJUST TIRE CONTACT ANGLES / SPREAD LOAD MORE EVENLY - NEW CAR INDUSTRY’S BEST KEPT SECRET !!
Excess edge load can also lead to higher impact subsequent ruptured side walls and rim damage.
The often quoted re assuring “FULL FRONT & REAR ‘4’ WHEEL ALIGNMENT” is now only basic TOE “directional” adjustment !
Front Camber (& Caster) along with rear Camber has been deleted. All to do with cost cutting and ever increasing speed of new car assembly lines.
Now Camber and Caster is one only setting - “to suit showroom height conditions”.
Heavy vehicle yet no ongoing adjustment to cater for curb knock or pot hole damage. High cambered roads with excess passenger side edge wear. Altered height through load carrying or lowering and excess inner edge wear both sides. Spirited driving and excess outer edge wear !
Onus is now put back on owners to prematurely fund / purchase new tires.
WE SAW THE NEED THEREFORE AND MANUFACTURE BOLT-ON - Front and Rear kits. No special tools or time consuming need for control arm removal to install !
SEE SPOILER
AUDI to VOLVO - Experience Resolving OEM Suspension Shortcomings (and costs) Since 1964 !
“Throwing the car out of alignment on the second blowout”....”a $200 all - wheel alignment cost”. “We’ll see if another alignment is in order with this last pothole”.
STARK REALITY IS - OEM THERE IS “NO ALIGNMENT FACILITY” TO ADJUST TIRE CONTACT ANGLES / SPREAD LOAD MORE EVENLY - NEW CAR INDUSTRY’S BEST KEPT SECRET !!
Excess edge load can also lead to higher impact subsequent ruptured side walls and rim damage.
The often quoted re assuring “FULL FRONT & REAR ‘4’ WHEEL ALIGNMENT” is now only basic TOE “directional” adjustment !
Front Camber (& Caster) along with rear Camber has been deleted. All to do with cost cutting and ever increasing speed of new car assembly lines.
Now Camber and Caster is one only setting - “to suit showroom height conditions”.
Heavy vehicle yet no ongoing adjustment to cater for curb knock or pot hole damage. High cambered roads with excess passenger side edge wear. Altered height through load carrying or lowering and excess inner edge wear both sides. Spirited driving and excess outer edge wear !
Onus is now put back on owners to prematurely fund / purchase new tires.
WE SAW THE NEED THEREFORE AND MANUFACTURE BOLT-ON - Front and Rear kits. No special tools or time consuming need for control arm removal to install !
SEE SPOILER
Spoiler
AUDI to VOLVO - Experience Resolving OEM Suspension Shortcomings (and costs) Since 1964 !
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2020
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From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2023 S580
Got my car back yesterday - I had both front tires replaced as the front left was at 4 MM tread wear and the left one, of course, was blown out. Total cost out the door for two Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires was $1,098.95.
As I mentioned, while the car was there, they did the outstanding recall on the ECM Engine Control Module (software update) free of charge.
As another forum member mentioned, I too like to replace tires in pairs when needed - unless they are practically new. So, $500 of the 1k is on me.
As I mentioned, while the car was there, they did the outstanding recall on the ECM Engine Control Module (software update) free of charge.
As another forum member mentioned, I too like to replace tires in pairs when needed - unless they are practically new. So, $500 of the 1k is on me.
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From: South Florida
2023 S580
Got my car back yesterday - I had both front tires replaced as the front left was at 4 MM tread wear and the left one, of course, was blown out. Total cost out the door for two Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires was $1,098.95.
As I mentioned, while the car was there, they did the outstanding recall on the ECM Engine Control Module (software update) free of charge.
As another forum member mentioned, I too like to replace tires in pairs when needed - unless they are practically new. So, $500 of the 1k is on me.
As I mentioned, while the car was there, they did the outstanding recall on the ECM Engine Control Module (software update) free of charge.
As another forum member mentioned, I too like to replace tires in pairs when needed - unless they are practically new. So, $500 of the 1k is on me.
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Yeah, my engineer brother was driving with me and we spoke of the need to replace both tires to prevent drivetrain damage due to different circumference. I was surprised at his math revelation that only a slight difference in treadwear (sorry, don't recall the amount of miles we estimated) was damaging to the drivetrain. It was like 3-5k miles if I recall correctly. So, I will always swap out both tires unless one blows with 1k miles.
https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-gar...yVcEhhnHz0_aVs
Last edited by superswiss; Feb 27, 2025 at 05:06 PM.
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2023 Mercedes s580
21" are not the issue.... AMG wheels really suck!. That's it in my view, as someone who had the 20" on his first W222 too I know that very well. They are soooooooo fragile...
I've had a number of other cars with large wheels, never ever had any issue. My 1st S-class with 20" had all 4 wheels cracked at least twice each. My 2nd s-class had the 19", they don't look great but at least no issues. I've had mostly large wheel sized in all my BMWs, never had a single issue. AMG wheels are so fragile in my view.
I've had a number of other cars with large wheels, never ever had any issue. My 1st S-class with 20" had all 4 wheels cracked at least twice each. My 2nd s-class had the 19", they don't look great but at least no issues. I've had mostly large wheel sized in all my BMWs, never had a single issue. AMG wheels are so fragile in my view.
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'25 S63 AMG E Performance, '26 CLE 53 AMG
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2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
I often comment on how fabulous the roads are where I live, but it really does change city by city in California. Driving south to the San Diego area and the roads are so bad you think that you missed the border crossing and are actually driving in Mexico. Drive a bit north of me to Long Beach and it’s as if they have no street maintenance at all. The city of Los Angeles is pretty horrible as well.
Up north, around the San Francisco Bay Area, the pavement is so worn, for so many miles of highways, that the road noise is unlike anything I have experienced anywhere else. It really has a lot to do with where one drives most of the time.
Up north, around the San Francisco Bay Area, the pavement is so worn, for so many miles of highways, that the road noise is unlike anything I have experienced anywhere else. It really has a lot to do with where one drives most of the time.
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Just too many vehicles, especially heavy semis destroying the roads. Long Beach is a busy port, so lots of cargo getting trucked in and out. Same up here in the SF Bay Area with Oakland and then the Port of San Diego further south. In between, 5 and 101 are the trucking routes. On the East Coast and such you have the weather on top of it and the wide temperature swings between summer and winter. All the semis is one of the reasons I don't daily drive. I-80 and I-880 are just packed with 18 wheelers all day long. Too many cracked windshields.
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