Mercedes Cracked Wheels.

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WDB124066

MB Enthusiast
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1996 E320 Sportline Cabriolet x 2
Another charge of attempted murder Dr Z, this time 38 000 kms on an E55 AMG less then 10 000 after your nice engine seals let bucket loads of water into the oil.

The nice spare in the AMG isn't, so it's alright, we'll just rent a trailer and get the trusty Holden to haul it.
 

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They are made of some sort of overly brittle alloy. All of my cls55 19"s have cracks that have had to be welded
 
Common issue unfortunately.
 
Is that a Statesman?

Top of the Range Grange HSV, better than an S-Class - Everytime.

And FWIW this isn't brittle fracture, this is a classic fatigue failure, Materials Science 101.

I wonder if Lewis Hamilton is allowed to drive on these wheels.
 
Common issue unfortunately.

I know and I'd like to see the German Government bail Daimler out because of it. They certainly deserve it for trying to kill me.

Bet Dr Z wouldn't have the guts to let pretty boy Lewis on his wheels through here, now would you Dr Z.

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Yep - did exactly that two weeks ago on my 18" alloy. Blew the tyre in the same way and on closer inspection found the same size crack. £30 tig weld on the wheel and new tyre. I think its the third or fourth wheel I've cracked in 200k miles on that car.
 
Same thing happened to me with my CLS 19s which are made of Balsa wood. I bought a spare for when it happens next time :(

Those bloody humps in the centre of the road, the wheel hits the edge which is its weakist point.
 
I guess the questions would be,

Anybody had a similar crack in these Merc wheels that didn't repair weld successfully?

How many locations will this tend to occur on per wheel...? Are there typical locations that should be periodically checked?
 
The poor state of our public roads doesn't help...

This is a constant in an equation that heavily disadvantages Mercedes-AMG & Daimler. Though, I'd be really interested in anybody successfully gaining recompense from road custodians for damages.
 
It's hardly as if Mercedes are alone in this phenomenon. RS4 wheels used to bend if you so much as looked at them, and I've lost count of the number of cracked M-Sports I've come to hear of.

Large, high offset wheels with minimal sidewalls on a road surface that makes the Somme look smooth is always going to be risky.
 
One of my AMG 19s also suffered a crack but was repaired when I had the the wheels refurbed.

Worrying though as I was unaware of it until the wheels went in for a refurb !
 
Mercedes cracked alloys are quite common. Cracked all four at least once on my B Class, always inside edge never the outside. Surely a bit more metal on the inside edge would cure that. Replaced them about a years ago as I was unsure of safety and have had no problems since.
 
Weight of the car may have an influence because the large, low profile alloys I had on my Boxster never cracked and I didn't hear of others owners having an issue. I had broken springs on both ends so it wasn't as if I was only driving on super smooth roads.
That or Porsche wheels are much better than Mercedes ones.
What about non Mercedes wheels? Do they crack as much?
 
The weight might have some affect on this but let’s be honest all cars are heavy enough. I think it’s probably down to cheaply made/badly designed cast alloy wheels with large offsets and rubber band tyres. Porsche wheels perhaps better quality or higher spec? Or maybe driven with more sympathy - eg weekend cars and not city hacks?
 
The weight might have some affect on this but let’s be honest all cars are heavy enough. I think it’s probably down to cheaply made/badly designed cast alloy wheels with large offsets and rubber band tyres. Porsche wheels perhaps better quality or higher spec? Or maybe driven with more sympathy - eg weekend cars and not city hacks?

Mine was my daily drive, about 9k miles a year.
I had a set of winter wheels but they were Porsche as well.
I don't remember talk on that forum of cracked wheels. It certainly wasn't common.
They are possibly better quality because the expectation is that they wouldn't be driven with sympathy.
We are told that replicas are a bad idea because they do not get the development that oem wheels get and they are likely to deform and crack.
If the originals crack what is the disadvantage of buying good quality replicas?
 

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