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just bent all my 4 wheels... again. that's twice now, and concerned that there's a limit to its structural integrity if i do it for a 3rd time.
decided to move into taller profile tires. keeping the oem 20" cuz i think they look great.
any owners here change to 255/45 and 285/40 AS tires on their oem 20s, and which brand/model?
unfortunately i need to get all seasons due to northeast winters.
how was ride, suspension and RWS clearance? and any subsequent wheel bends with fatter tires?
What wheels did you have?
Was it the AMG-line 20" wheels?
I've seen feedbacks from mechanics saying that MB wheels tend to bend a lot more frequently than other brands.
Maybe switch to a stronger, forged wheel set?
that's right, the oem amg wave 20".
and right again, would be good to get a new set of aftermarket (actually picked one from vtforged) but would rather not spend the xtra $ at this time. wait for the current wave set to become unusable before moving on.
that said, I've also been eyeing this set off s63 oem 20". they run the taller profile 45/40 stock, so u can see how well they fill out the wells... looks quite proper and tough.
You can go with a slightly taller set if you want, but it must be within 3% of OEM. Be usre the wheels are actually forged. Not all "AMG" wheels are forged, but you can source the order guides for clarity. When deciding on tire sizes, you can use this site to see available sizes: https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.ph....5&offset2=35#
I would also suggest a set fo forged or flow-formed wheels. You can find a set for under $3K and keep your same tires.
Yeah, the AMG wheels on non-AMG models are not forged. Those are for cosmetic. Even on AMGs the standard wheels are usually not forged, but you can upgrade to forged optional wheels. Forged doesn't necessarily mean they are stronger, though. The main reason to go with forged wheels is that they are much lighter for the same strength. So it's about reducing unsprung weight more than making them stronger overall. Wheel strength is a compromise between weight and strength. You can make any wheel super strong, but they'll be super heavy as well.
The other thing to keep in mind is when it comes to hitting potholes hard enough that you are bending 4 wheels, something has to give. If it's not the wheels, then it's the suspension and that gets expensive to fix. So would you rather have the wheels take the hit, or the rest of the car? Solution to this is to not drive through potholes or realize that an S Class may not be the right car for the roads you are driving on. May need something with more suspension travel.
Last edited by superswiss; Mar 18, 2026 at 09:32 PM.
to add to this ^ point, i don't think the biggest culprit of the wheel bends is the strength of the wheel itself, rather the amount of (in this case not enough) rubber between the road and the wheel.
low profile is great for performance but it's totally crap for ride comfort and safety of wheels+suspension.
40/35 profiles on the 20" wheels just aren't enough....as been proven by many owners' experiences (twice so far for me!). I'm convinced that even if i had true AMG or other high strength forged wheels keeping 40/35 tires would still cause bends on bad road conditions.
i may decide to change wheels later on.... but fatter tires are an absolute requirement for my use case.
and it's not like I'm purposely driving on or looking for potholes. unfortunately, recent/prolonged icy snow conditions this winter in the northeast have damaged roads... and what may otherwise be nice roads, new wheel killers have popped up here and there...sh*t happens🤦♂️
but back to my original query...
any users here have swapped to 45/40 profiles on their 20"?
Last edited by tonupbklyn; Mar 18, 2026 at 09:46 PM.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
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