Overland Journal: G-Wagen

[RMP&O]

Congrats Scott!

Perhaps a DC shaft would solve the vibe issue 100%?

Cheers

 

[Scott Brady]

Just arrived back at headquarters. She drives perfect. Could not be more happy.

Look for more updates as the restoration continues.

 

[mk216v]

It currently has factory Mercedes purple springs. I do not have enough seat time to make a performance comment, but they take the weight of the winch and provide about 1" of lift.

I am fighting the intense desire for Hutchinsons

Heavy for a 16" setup, albeit cast vs mil-spec forged; my WA-1207's and 285/75/16 BFG AT's weigh in at 104lbs/ea.
Unfortunately hub OD is ~54mm, Hutchinson centerbore ID is ~55mm(don't ask why, they've been called on it and said that their engineers nailed the dimensions....umm, no they didn't, at least on all the G's in Oregon with Hutchinson's, must be some sort of beadlock vortex??? :ylsmoke, so OR G's have been taping the center bore and installing the wheel/tire perfectly dead-on-straight using a GoJak. Seems to have helped reduce vibrations, although my truck still has phantom vibes at 61mph(was about 58mph before).

All in all, being able to air down without worrying about losing a bead is satisfying. Plus they look cool and factory tough.

Tony at Motorsports in Oregon is THE Hutchinson guy for G's; sold more than anyone else I believe. 503.244.9010

-Jeremy

 

[Scott Brady]

Thanks Jeremy. I am leaning pretty hard towards getting the Hutchinsons and keeping the factory 18s for daily use.

 

[chris505]

Not worrying about loosing a bead in the bush is very nice.

I'm compelled to relate my experiance, Ive been regularly taking my 35" BFGs down to 6 and 8 psi in the rough stuff for nearly 7 years on my stock 16" atics and never even burped a tire let alone lost a bead, and definitely not through lack of trying (I chauffeured MBUSA/I execs. Heinz and Matthias through Pritchett Canyon in Moab in the G500, you should have seen the terrified look on their faces)!

Every tire guy I've used comments on how difficult it is to break the bead on these things.

By now I honestly think loosing a bead with the Atics is a moot point, its the sidewall punctures that you gotta be weary of.
Hutchies do look super tough though!

I have heard about variations in bead shape/size between tire manufacturers, tires from Pitbull, Nitto, Maxxis and some sizes of Interco are known to have poor bead retention, so a bead-lock wheel would be smart if running low pressures with these tires.

The two key advantage of the non bead-lock 16" G wheel is:

a) The weight, each atic/285 wheel/tire is 20% lighter (83lbs) than the Hutch/285 equivalent (104lbs). In other words, a set of 5 hutch/285s weigh 22lbs more than a set of 6 atic/285s.

b) Any tire shop in the world can mount and dismount the tire from the wheel.

I can only see positive affects coming from using a normal wheel.

 

[mk216v]

You're very welcome Scott!!

Not worrying about loosing a bead in the bush is very nice.

I'm compelled to relate my experiance, Ive been regularly taking my 35" BFGs down to 6 and 8 psi in the rough stuff for nearly 7 years on my stock 16" atics and never even burped a tire let alone lost a bead, and definitely not through lack of trying (I chauffeured MBUSA/I execs. Heinz and Matthias through Pritchett Canyon in Moab in the G500, you should have seen the terrified look on their faces)!

Every tire guy I've used comments on how difficult it is to break the bead on these things.

By now I honestly think loosing a bead with the Atics is a moot point, its the sidewall punctures that you gotta be weary of.
Hutchies do look super tough though!

I have heard about variations in bead shape/size between tire manufacturers, tires from Pitbull, Nitto, Maxxis and some sizes of Interco are known to have poor bead retention, so a bead-lock wheel would be smart if running low pressures with these tires.

The two key advantage of the non bead-lock 16" G wheel is:

a) The weight, each atic/285 wheel/tire is 20% lighter (83lbs) than the Hutch/285 equivalent (104lbs). In other words, a set of 5 hutch/285s weigh 22lbs more than a set of 6 atic/285s.

b) Any tire shop in the world can mount and dismount the tire from the wheel.

I can only see positive affects coming from using a normal wheel.

Good points Chris. Another option I looked at was a set of steel W460 wheels widened to my specs, but by the time I did that I was into Hutchinson money(which really wasn't ALL that ridiculous, because they're cast....Hutchinson forged, which according to Bill at Hutchinson are no longer available to the lay person for Mercedes, are silly money).

And you said it best; "Hutchies do look super tough though!" :elkgrin:

 

[DiscoDino]

I will be fitting these to my challenge truck running 2.5T rockwell axles with 54s and 42.5s (depending on type of challenge): http://centramatic.com/Home.aspx

I checked: they don't do anything for us...I think if we are able to get a group buy they can produce sets for several people. What do ya'll think?

 

[4Rescue]

Great to see the G back on the road. I'm not sure why I had it in my mind that this was a V6 truck, but that I6 Long-Block pic confused me for a minute till I went back and re-read and solved the "duh" issue I was having :sombrero: . Trucks looking great, glad she's back with a healthy heart in her.

I will be fitting these to my challenge truck running 2.5T rockwell axles with 54s and 42.5s (depending on type of challenge): ...

Um, maybe start a new thread on the subject...

Unless you're talking about them in regards to Running the Hutchinson Bead-Locks that they're discussing w/them, you're not asking in the best place to get responses being that this is a specific build thread for the OJ Glandewagen.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Scott Brady]

The first test on the dirt, including a full diff lock function check and articulation/tire clearance check. The 33.2 x 10.5" tires are about perfect on this truck with the 40MM lift and allow full compression without rubbing. I swear these Falken tires have the best adhesion on dry rock of anything we have used.

I flipped the lights over, which dropped the profile of the rack and understated the lights slightly. I like the change. It also protects those HIDs from whacks.

 

[Scott Brady]

 

[Scott Brady]

Great to see the G back on the road. I'm not sure why I had it in my mind that this was a V6 truck, but that I6 Long-Block pic confused me for a minute till I went back and re-read and solved the "duh" issue I was having :sombrero: .

You are not far off. There was a G320 introduced at the end of the 90s with a 3.2L V6.

 

[mk216v]

I like the lights that way Scott, ala No Limit X.
Great articulation! Remind us what susp you have on it again.

 

[Scott Brady]

They are ORC/Eibach 40mm "purple" springs.

 

[trump]

Glad you finally flipped the lights. I was seriously thinking about flipping them for you at OVX.

 

[Scott Brady]

Glad you finally flipped the lights. I was seriously thinking about flipping them for you at OVX.

HA