Blew tire and rim
 

Well with all this SoCal rain, this is the first time I've ever blown a tire or even gotten a flat. Ran over a huge pot hole at 70mph on the freeway at night with wet roads, didn't see it coming. Front driver side busted and bent. Pulled off the freeway as soon as I could and changed to spare tire in a parking lot, which was easy and painless. Took under 15 mins including time to slowly inflate the spare, then sped to hospital to do an emergency surgery.

Anyway, what should I do now? Buy new rim? From where to get best price? Reuse tpms? Do I need to replace both front wheels (stock Perelli P Zero)? I think the wheels are original, car has 12k miles.

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Ouch, that looks like a nasty pothole. I always thought we had bad roads in Europe until I went to California.

1] Buy a new rim (dealer or new from ebay/craigslist)
2] Get both new tires so you have a pair (at 12k miles you def want that)
3] Reuse TPMS
4] Get your alignment/geometry done
5] Claim this damage from the county if you won't be using your insurance .. not sure how it works in the US

Alignment and a careful inspection of suspension arms etc is in order.

That must have been some pothole. This is where I think the upgraded forged rims offer a little more strength vs the cast wheel. I'd price out new replacement rim with tire or look for someone selling a set of rims and tires - might work out a little more but new tires and a then you can look for a replacement rim over time and keep the set as one.

Wow, that's about as bad as I've seen from a pothole. I definitely wouldn't try to repair it. These cars are very sensitive to wheels that are slightly out of round, even with the best repair, I would expect some vibration from that wheel.

+1 that looks like it will do more that wheel damage.

Dang, that wheel and tire are toasted. I would certainly think that an alignment and getting it on a lift is called to say the least.

Thanks for the advice. Went to the dealer today and ordered a new rim and one tire. I think the car has new tires from CPO purchase 3K miles ago, as all 4 treads are still thick. Bill including tax and installation/balance is just under $1700. At this point a functional and safe car is more important to me than saving a few hundred bucks.

Then I got home and inspected the rear driver tire. It looks like it got bent too, and the tire sidewall is bulging out, but is holding pressure. Do you guys think it's fixable? There's a shop nearby with good Yelp reviews that I'll take it to. With the spare tire on, the car surprisingly quieter and just as smooth than before all this happened.

Also, as luck would have it, I drove the same route this afternoon to go to work. The lanes where the massive potholes were were shut down and repairs were being made. I passed by two other cars with flats along this route. One was a regular Honda with no tire left rims scraped to the ground. Bad luck and timing for us all.

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I can't believe the dealer didn't check the rear rim for damage , they let you drive home like that , that's not cool that tire can blowout and cause an accident!

Oh sorry, the price was estimate and prepay charge. I haven't driven the E63 since I got home after the accident. I used old car to go to dealer just to order new rim (they wanted me to bring wheel to them to make sure they're ordering the right one and prepay), and will bring E63 to dealer install in a few days when it arrives.

Like it was mentioned above, these cars are soooo sensitive to vibration from even a slight bend. The rear bend looks like it could be repairable. I would give that a shot first for less than a couple hundred. As far as the bubble goes... I would replace the tire if it were my car. Probably not susceptible to any further damage, but a new tire is better than another blow out.

My last benz had one slight bent front wheel, and it was never the same again. Had it roadforce balanced multiple times, aligned it, new tires and the highway vibration always came back after a few thousand miles. Put my factory wheels and michelin's back on, it was like driving a brand new car. GL, sorry for the headache

I would have the car towed to dealer and have them to inspect the car geometry. if both wheels are bent that is a major hit.


I saw an E63 here in Seattle totaled due to multiple failed attempts to get the car true again, but this woman just had one wheel bent.


Also I believe that if you get in an accident because your rear blows up, you will be liable.


I hope I am completely wrong and a couple of wheels with tires is all you need.


Good luck mate and keep us posted.

rear rim can be repaired but
 

if you were to get a new rear wheel I would get a full set of aftermarket forged wheels and tires for the same $.
You can sell one front and one rear that is good.....
Here in NYC they limit our speed with potholes...

I personally wouldn't drive over 25mph on that rear wheel/tire combo. Get the car towed in and have the dealer go through everything wheel/tire/suspension related.

This may add up to being worthwhile to file an insurance claim. Let them pusue the city/county/state for the damages.

For safety, get your car repaired properly. :y

I'd cancel the order for the 1 rim and just put a new set of aftermarket rims on the car (forged) or buy a set forged AMG rims.

What do you mean by "a set of forged AMG rims"? Please post an example.

Thanks again for all the advise. I'm going to order a new rear rim and tire, get the car inspected, and hopefully that'll be it. I crawled down to look underneath the car and it looks pristine. The car also drives well with the spare after the accident, went up to 60mph (flow of street traffic) and I couldn't tell the difference. Will keep bent rear rim and repair it if needed in the future.

This is my first incident/accident in 17 years of driving since age 15.5. I'll just call it bad luck. I really want repair done asap. Driving my old 2001 E430 now, which has been the most reliable and dirt cheap to maintain car I've ever had. But it feels unsteady and slippery in the rain so I want to get back into the E63. Especially now, it's pouring again.

If this happens again I'll get all new better rims and wheels.

Hi Jan,
Mercedes offered an upgraded Forged rim for extra money. This was the rim...(picture). Slightly stronger rim than cast.

Based on the damage and hitting the massive pothole at highway speed, I would wonder if any forged wheel could have survived the impact. :eek:

Agree Chappy
 

Our cars are Elephants... only thing that will save us is more sidewall...
If I were the OP I would get a full set of aftermarket forged wheels of choice.. I have the same stocker he as and why not upgrade....

Forged wouldn't have helped the front but maybe the. Back

tires were gunna be toast regardless

Those are some serious damage. Having forged wheels would do nothing except increasing the replacement cost. Indeed, having more sidewall is the only way. I have heard there are companies that will custom build smaller diameter wheels if you really have that much potholes near your locality. That might be the only option given the large heat shields on the front end of 4matic cars. I'm just sick of the trend of increasing rim size for nothing but cosmetic purpose.

True about the cosmetic factor to an extent.. a 19" wheel is going to far outperform a 17" wheel with a bigger sidewall for daily driving. Once you reach the 20"+ realm, yes, you have reached the point where it is purely for looks and you loose all performance, comfort and reliability. I find myself liking the look and ride of the 19 better than both the 18 and 20. Tires a pain in the ass though.. so much more expensive than either of the other sizes.

this makes me wonder why f10 m5 and the new w213 e63 are coming with 20" wheels. So stupid.

I would say the sweet spot for wheel size vs performance is around 17"-18". This is definitely an area with plenty of hot debates. Here is an interesting article for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...d-tires-tested