Covid has sure been a strange time, however, very grateful for the opportunities and how life is able to continue forwards. Hopefully all of you are coping well and soon we’ll be out of this fingers crossed!
Some updates that’s been going on for the W463
We’ll be running this set up for a while to get some testing in. We have some more updates coming... Slight hint is 37 Trepadors and stock fenders. Soup bowl is calling….
- Sliders prototypes are being currently tested.
- We’ll be able to give the green light once we get through Rubicon without failure.
- The design is going though design patent pending in three countries. On local trails they’re working really well, however our trails here aren’t severe enough. It needs to pass rock squeezes and drops.
- It’s passed hi-lift test at all points (which isn’t saying much).
- There are two options for installation: bolt on or bolt on and weld tabs to bolt on for added strength.
- Custom exhaust system allows it to be tucked up and out of the way of the slider arms. Still sounds AMG.
- Bumper brackets were fabricated to use the 70 Series ARB bumper. We have our own bumper under design which will not be a plate or a tube bumper.
- Used the TJM 10k Australian spec winch from my 4Runner
- Factor 55 Fairlead
- Factor 55 Flat Link Gen 1 Thimble (old one from the Tacoma)
- Adding the front bumper and winch crushed the front coils by almost 25mm.
- STEDI LED spotties up front wired into the fog light switch. Keeps it simple and clean inside.
- These punch with a focused beam. For the dollar the distance is very good. Spec say 1lux at 1.15KM.
- Downside is the light throws so bright on the road it can reduce vision for distance at high speed.
- Replaced the rear coils with Thor prototype coils.
- They are shorter by 15mm but is carrying the weight better. Still not satisfactory fully loaded (which isn’t heavy by “overlanders”)
- We have the biggest ORC coils in the rear with Thor coils up front of a G550 and it also isn’t carrying the weight as well as we’d like.
- Changed TE37’s to BRAID WinRace T Beadlock 16x8 with biggest offset they make.
- Gold is a nod to Talaria of Mercury eventually led to Hermes ability to fly.
- Rebuilt rear Ohlins with custom length for additional droop.
Richard and Ashley from Desk to Glory (power couple!) put together a fun article in the latest TREAD Magazine on the W463 and the shop. Please forgive the Covid stash on the upper lip… haha. That’s gone now but the article still remains. Ashely’s writing skills and Richard‘s photography skills made for a nice read.
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- Photo: Richard Giordano @DeskToGlory
I did chat with one guy who had swapped out his Raptor suspension controller from OEM to the E-Clik and he did agree that he thought it was much smarter about it but I have no first hand experience. In brief conversation with them it's much more individual wheel level control though, interfacing with your vehicle's sensor network to get input on what you are wanting to do, so if it sees you turning into a corner based on the steering wheel angle changing it can stiffen the shocks on the outside of the corner to reduce body roll, of if it senses you are trying to slowly roll off of a rock based on your brake pressure and feels the suspension drop away from the chassis, it will stiffen the suspension on the axle that dropped only to reduce the amount you compress the suspension on the way down, reducing the chance you compress so far you scrape something.
Yeah, KW can actually add the hydraulic height control to any of their shocks if you send them back to them and have versions to work with or without factory electronic control.
The Falcon's in my mind are a little closer to something like Fox's IQS, sort of a dumb we let you change a setting for all shocks, between two or three settings. The eAdapt goes a small step further by having a sensor that will auto hit that switch for you, but it's not doing anything intelligent.
E-Clik is more like the Raptor and TRX systems, where they are trying to build a profile of how you are driving and adapt in real time based on that. The Raptor has the famous jump mode, where it senses you leaving the round, dials the compression damping up to full stiff and also relaxes the transmission clutches all before you hit the ground to lessen the impact on you and the vehicle.
The E-Clik is trying to do that, but of course like every programmer they think their algorithms are smarter
I'm about 90% sure I'll try it out on my truck in a few months, if I do I will report back and share my experiences. They make a universal reservoir kit that bolts onto your existing reservoir shocks, fox, icon, king, whatever, but I'm more interested in the vehicle specific kits that have greater knowledge of what you are doing while driving so it will take me a bit as I won't order them until I confirm I can emulate a Jeep's sensors from my G-Wagen to a sufficient level to work with the Jeep version of the E-Clik shocks.
