ExPo: G-Wagen Registry

[mk216v]

I too have heard about how hard beadlocks are to balance, but have also read somewhere that the key is road force balancing so I didn't even bother with a regular balance, just paid a few bucks extra for the road force balance the first time and it worked great. Had it doing 90mph on the highway yesterday (accidentally, slowed down when I realized) and no wheel hop.

The balance issue with the Hutchinson beadlocks is due to Hutchinson having designed/spec'd the centerbore of their wheels a few mm larger than the hub nose of the G, causing vibrations thru the steering wheel at 58mph+. Tony at Motorsports (Hutchinson dealer, G nut) in Portland, OR and I went round and round with Hutchinson on this, providing hub nose measurements from multiple different years of G's--all had the same diameter. Hutchinson came back and told us our info was false, their engineers were correct. BS. No idea why a huge entity like Hutchinson, a gov't/military contractor, can't make the centerbore of a wheel true to the vehicle.

We tried adding different thicknesses of tapes to the center bore of the Hutchies to take up the gap, as well as Counteract beads inside the tire, and these worked overall, however at random times I'd still get ghost vibes (mostly when going up a steep pass, under moderate throttle).

I believe Tony is just now finalizing an insert to make up this difference. Would I buy Hutchinson's again? Doubtful.

 

[Speedkills]

Thanks for the explanation, that is unfortunate. My Tibus balanced easily but I would hesitate to buy them again or recommend them as well, six months later I still don't have my spare wheel or center caps from them.

 

[mk216v]

Thanks for the explanation, that is unfortunate. My Tibus balanced easily but I would hesitate to buy them again or recommend them as well, six months later I still don't have my spare wheel or center caps from them.

Unfortunate indeed.
Ugh, sounds like really poor service. Unfortunately that's typical anymore from a lot of companies.

 

[Eric Edwards]

My 2012 G-550 is almost complete. It’s been a five year process and I have loved every minute of it. A special thanks to to the following people for all your advice and help!!
Paul May- Equipt 1
Jack - Jackwagon Overland
Patricia- G-Wagon Accessories
Steve Hayes- Frontrunner
Jim Markel - Redoxx Manufacturing

Which fridge slide is that? I have the FR drawer system and was thinking of doing something similar!

 

[smeiman]

Hi Eric it’s a Front runner

 

[driftaholic]

Here's my 2nd G a 2004, I posted earlier in this thread (years ago) my first a 2002. I also experience ghost vibrations and have Hutchinson's but so far I think it's a slightly notchy U-Joint in the rear driveshaft. We were able to balance my Hutchinson's with about 2OZ per wheel though the tires despite being K02's were slightly out of round. I'll check my hub bore diameters and compare but I don't recall any play when mounting the wheels. I'll gladly buy any hubcentric adapters when offered.

 

[Speedkills]

Top of the World!

 

[harto]

Here's my new-to-me 2019 G550 at home in Brooklyn, Imogene pass, top of the Golconda mining site, and Lockhart Basin, respectively. Definitely picked up some new scratches on the first few miles of lockhart basin coming out of Moab.

A couple notes for posterity:
- 50mm letech springs + 285/65-18 don't rub
- The g-wagenaccessories.com frontrunner roof rack brackets are a better fit than FRO brackets, you can't align the roof rack properly with the FRO brackets.
- the iKamper mounts with no noise or rattles using https://www.mcmaster.com/47065T721/ and https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/hard-shell-tent-mount-brackets.html *without* the W-shaped bars.
- Lockhart basin is really hard. don't go alone like I did.

 

[nomada1]

awesome looking G! Which FrontRunner wind fairing did you install? Does it help with highway noise? I really want to install one but wasn’t sure on the correct one to order that would fit the gwagon FrontRunner rack (tall version).

 

[harto]

awesome looking G! Which FrontRunner wind fairing did you install? Does it help with highway noise? I really want to install one but wasn’t sure on the correct one to order that would fit the gwagon FrontRunner rack (tall version).

I bought the fairing through jackwagonoverlanding: https://jackwagonoverlanding.com/collections/roof-racks/products/front-runner-wind-fairing

I'm 99.5% sure it's this: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/wind-fairing-1475mm.html

I've never tried to run the rack without the fairing, so hard to say on highway noise. Generally, my experience is that the new Gs are pretty sound-proof with the windows up, and noisy as hell with the windows down - whether or not you have a pile of gear on a roof rack above you.

 

[nomada1]

I bought the fairing through jackwagonoverlanding: https://jackwagonoverlanding.com/collections/roof-racks/products/front-runner-wind-fairing

I'm 99.5% sure it's this: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/wind-fairing-1475mm.html

I've never tried to run the rack without the fairing, so hard to say on highway noise. Generally, my experience is that the new Gs are pretty sound-proof with the windows up, and noisy as hell with the windows down - whether or not you have a pile of gear on a roof rack above you.

Thanks for the info!
I will give jackwagonoverlanding a shout.

 

[hornbeck]

Got my 2017 G550 in January of 2022, was completely stock when purchased and had been babied by the Nurse Practitioner who owned it before. Now spending more of it's time off pavement than on, while keeping a giant smile on my face the entire time

Been upgrading pieces monthly, with a few more items being added on real soon. The newest item is the Roofnest Falcon XL, which was added last week(purchased used from a Dr who had used it 3 times, and kept in his garage on a lift most of its life).

Almost all parts sourced via Jack Wagon Overlanding(can't even begin to express how much I appreciate the help he has provided)

Current upgrades include:

Alpha Equipt 18" Grenade 18" - Light Grey
275/65r18 BFG KO2 tires
911 Motorsports Spare Tire Reverse Mount
2" ORC/Eibach Heavy Duty Springs
Koni Raid Shocks
Fox 2.0 Steering Stabilizer
Front Runner Slimline II Standard Rack - Regular Length
Front Runner Wind Fairing
Front Runner Ladder
Front Runner Spade Mount
Krazy Beaver Shovel
Roofnest Falcon XL Tent
Front Runner Tall Tent Mount Kit
Midland MXT275VP4 GMRS radio
Maxtrax MKII

 

[Ozjourney]

I’ve recently built up a long range touring vehicle based on the 461 ute that was sold here in Australia for a short time. Having owned a couple of the older SWB 460’s for the last 20 years most of my touring was done in a Mitsubishi Delica.

Just completed my first long solo trip of 3 months across the western deserts and getting use to driving a heavy vehicle and a G that finally has some power.
Steve

 

[hornbeck]

My 2012 G-550 is almost complete. It’s been a five year process and I have loved every minute of it. A special thanks to to the following people for all your advice and help!!
Paul May- Equipt 1
Jack - Jackwagon Overland
Patricia- G-Wagon Accessories
Steve Hayes- Frontrunner
Jim Markel - Redoxx Manufacturing

Did you remove your back seats?

 

[Former Maine-iac]

Still working on the G55 build but it's pretty capable at this point...