A few years back, my neighbor leased a BMW 3 Series for his daughter’s daily commute to her nearby college. I think she located every pothole in NJ with her car. The guy had to replace 5 wheels during the 3 years of the car lease. He also had to replace a few of the tires due to sidewall blowout. The large wheels and low profile tires look nice, but they produce a very hard ride and the are fragile.
A car that has extra large wheels these days that are super pricey along with super pricey tires to replace (as long as they are in excellent condition, especially if new) certainly deserves a look at the Volvo wheel and tire extended warranty. I think it was around $1200 or so and that can easily pay for itself if you mash one wheel up and its tire. Also gives you peace of mind to drive it like you stole it and never really worry.
I hate to be “that guy”, but curb rash, sidewall damage, and repeated cracked rims, all point to harsher-than-average driving style and / or road conditions. If the OP is unwilling to downsize the rims (at least for winter) then they will have to live with the fragility of the bigger rims. It’s definitely a shame, because the XC90 was seemingly designed for 21s.
You are not “that guy” I 100% agree with you. I’m a wheel whore, also have owned several BMWs, and I can tell you the exact 2 times I have ever come close to a curb or hit a pothole. The curb action was 2 times, a total and complete accident and it sent flippin chills down my spine when I heard it and I was embarassed and disappointed for myself. I hit a massive pothole last year on an off ramp that opened up and was GAPING. Bent one of my front wheels on the BMW so badly on both sides, it would no longer hold air. These wheels had a custom finish, which was difficult to match, so this meant all 4 had to be refinshed AGAIN. You can see where this is going… Stay far the F away from curbs as much as possible, do not tailgate other cars and give yourself enough room to dart around the potholes and you should be good to go.
I lived in and around the city of boston for many years, never scratched a single curb, so if you learn how to parallel park properly and are adamant about protecting your wheels, you can avoid them, it’s not that hard. Maybe if you have upgraded wheels it makes you all the more paranoid so you are extra careful, could be that too.
#1 we still have no pics of this damage, to show the approximate location of where these cracks are occurring so we can provide feedback.
#2 Tires do not just “create bubbles on the sidewall” on their own, unless the tire is absolute **** to begin with. This is distinctly from hitting a pothole which compromises the sidewall and can cause an expansion which leads to the bubble, or a compromised sidewall from rubbing a curb, which then leads that area to bubble over time due to the compromised rubber.
#3 I’ve been in and seen cars destroy a track, putting so much stress on the tires you wouldn’t believe they could handle it, and zero sidewall bubbles or cracked wheels. There were even some ruts on the track and the tires hit them HARD, and at speed, still no sidewall issues.
#4 I may have missed this, but what was the brand of tires you are using? what brand did you change to? If these are LingLong tires or some other no-name brand I will just stop responding now, not that they can’t be good, but may not have nearly as good QC as leading brand tire manufacturers.
^^^ all of this.