2011 AMG G55 Build

[jayson44]

nice work, Shane!

J.

[speedkills]

I've done the shocks and springs before on my G but they were stock length so I didn't have too much to worry about. This time I'm going a bit beyond what I have seen other G-Wagen owners do by fitting longer softer springs, and Jeep shocks so I decided to turn it over to a 4x4 shop (John's 4x4 in Boulder) as I just didn't feel I was setup to properly check all clearances and didn't want to end up with rubbing, or worse a coil or driveshaft falling out.

I stopped by the shop today to drop off some limit straps I forgot to give them when I dropped my G off and they were just finishing up the front springs and shocks which were a bolt on affair and everything just barely clears. The difference in articulation is huge, I was pretty surprised by it actually. Can't wait to see the flex after the rear shocks and springs are fitted.

https://i.imgur.com/HRb40zq.jpg

[jayson44]

DANG!

J.

[The StRanger]

Very nice !!!

[TjMike]

NSFW.

Nice.

[open_circuit]

But can it handle the infamous "Target parking rock"?

https://denverite.com/2017/02/21/the-rock-that-stranded/

[speedkills]

Is it taller than a Saab?

https://i.imgur.com/DfNzXSj.jpg

[open_circuit]

Probably it is now that you've parked on top of the Saab. Only way to be sure is to go parking rock hunting.

[speedkills]

Throw up a run on the calendar for this weekend at the Target Off-Road Center and I'll be there.

[speedkills]

Picked my G up today and checked out the flex. The limit of picking up the rear wasn’t a second tire lifting, it was stuffing my front wheel too far into the fender. Wouldn’t be an issue with 37” tires. The rear fenders cleared just fine.


40” under the tire front and rear, pretty sure that’s about the same as the unimog.


https://i.imgur.com/8CVkL6d.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/ZgKCo79.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/Q61H3h0.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/GlOJoOr.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/4CuwX21.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/cADFtoq.jpg

[Jim]

Impressive.

I don't think any more mods are needed for general Colorado trails ;-)

[speedkills]

You might be right but I still have some fun ideas for the electronics.

[Jim]

You bet - my mind was at - I think with where it's at - the obstacles encountered on the fast majority of our trails - you're set.

Now, the buggy class trails, where many you could handle, you might say no thanks simply for body damage concerns.

[speedkills]

Well that or anything with a mild off-camber where I'll just roll over.

[open_circuit]

Shane's in good shape if he has to drive over any parked cars or fork lifts.

[Java]

I see very few needed mods in this thread, just a whole lot of cool ones. :thumb:

[Jim]

Hmmm - off camber. Can you reduce tire pressure on only one side of the G? (you mentioned electronic 'upgrades'...)

[speedkills]

I can, but that's only about 4" of height diff max.

Also, just to prove you wrong Jim I sent it into some snow drifts trying to open up a local trail that hasn't been run this winter tonight. Had to winch out of waist deep snow twice. There is still plenty of challenge left for me :thumb:

[Jim]

:thumb:


I'm seeing some precip listed for next Wed. I'm toying with a Thursday snow run... (or maybe saturday) We could find some good snow...

[speedkills]

I'm almost always up for it. Thursday is a hard day for me, usually the day I have the most meetings, but weekends are easy. Not like we'll find the trails too busy this time of year.

Nobody out tonight but me and the snowcats.

https://i.imgur.com/h1uUm87.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/bsF6L7v.jpg

[speedkills]

No fun pictures today. Had a larger crank pulley to spin the supercharger faster installed today, along with an Kleeman (in Colorado Springs) ECU tune to compensate for the headers, exhaust, and additional boost. I asked them to soften up initial throttle tip in while they were in there and although I have only driven it a couple of hours I am pleased with it already. Gives me that sea level power I was missing and removes the touchy initial throttle response.

[TDash]

how is the heat coming off those headers now? hopefully no more red bull incidents

[speedkills]

It's warm. I put the soundproofing and carpet back in so it's not quite as bad, but it's still a little warmer than I would like.

[speedkills]

I did the initial hookup of the electronics on the E-Click shocks I am running now. Finally, shocks I like right out of the gate. They are super easy to adjust, and the adjustments are very noticeable. The front feel pretty perfect right out of the box, the rear I may end up having re-valved or swap to a heavier shock oil to add a little more rebound damping, too early to be sure.

As time allows over the next few weeks I am going to find a good place to mount their sensor used to detect movement and tilt of the truck, then I'll try out the automatic shock adjustment but it was nice to put some hours with it on the pavement as well as on the trail and see that even without the automatic adjustments, the core shock is well tuned.

[speedkills]

Made some very important modifications today.


https://i.imgur.com/0Fj6dOb.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/x8ad8ul.jpg

[speedkills]

Stage 2 of the E-Clik install, I hooked up the accelerometer unit they provide to sense bumps and tilting. This let me run the shocks in automatic mode for the past few days to test them out this way. It's a nice improvement on the trail, in some areas I felt safe I turned on the screen on the shock controller that shows real time adjustments as they are being made and overall it responds about exactly as you would hope it would. Does a great job detecting tilting, up and down hills, acceleration, braking, and g-outs. The only thing missing at this point is firming up with speed and firming up in corners before the body roll kicks in, but those will need more data from my ECU before that will work.


Here is a short video, 20s I think of the controller firming up the left side shocks as I drive onto an off-camber section of the trial.



https://youtu.be/Hcir1CQx5TE


For the final stage where I have it fully hooked up I will need to finish emulating the Jeep can bus outputs the controller depends on. Tonight I finished reversing the data I need, steering angle, brake pressure, speed, and throttle position. Hopefully in the next week or two I will find time to output that data in Jeep format and be able to report back on my final experience. Very happy so far but I may have to make some small changes once everything is done to account for the increased weight of my G over the Gladiator these shocks were designed for. The ride at this point is floaty, but controlled. Reminds me of what I imagine a baja truck suspension is like, where it uses a lot of travel and moves around a lot, but isn't sending me sharp jolts and harsh bottom outs, or making me feel like I am out of control even when I tested some pretty high speeds in rough terrain.

[Jim]

cool - fun to see electronic mods happen.

[speedkills]

I broke my left front CV I believe. Too much power combined with the front locker engaged and too much steering angle. I was able to easily drive home with the center locker engaged but it reminded me that I had been meaning to wire them up so I could engage the lockers without dropping into low range as it would have been a slow drive home had I been far away in low range.


Turned out to be super easy once I had figured out what pins were used for which signals, long story short, jumper pin 1 to pin 2 and I was good to go.


This white wire running to pin 2 on my locker switch box is hot when the transfer case is in low range.
https://i.imgur.com/nTnTwbG.jpg


There is a convenient jumper wire going to pin 1 that supplies 12v+ when the truck is running
https://i.imgur.com/J1DWUlj.jpg


I pulled the loop out of the wire bundle, connected it to pin 2 as well, then stuffed it back in the wire bundle.


https://i.imgur.com/5vrKqEx.jpg


And now I have the ability to engage my lockers in high range. It still disables the abs and traction control as you would expect too.


https://i.imgur.com/XQumurE.jpg

[Jim]

Sweet!

Simple - done!

[speedkills]

I've never been a fan of burl wood, finally started down the road to getting rid of a little more of it today by wrapping some of the trip in vinyl wrap. I started with gloss black but I'm still considering something a little more matte/gray to better match the existing plastic. I figured either way it's only a few bucks and an hour of time to do it so might as well get some practice under my belt. Overall it went fine, but I think next time I may get another set of hands to help out. I'm also still considering whether I want to trim the vinyl back to show the little chrome edge on the trim or not, but decided to start with it covered as it's easier to trim it back later than re-wrap it.


Before to after shots below


https://i.imgur.com/2p3k7uo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/t2SjCSX.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/McbcnLG.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/K8GJdNp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NDwKnts.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aJS9xzg.jpg

[jayson44]

looks good. I waved at ya last night as you drove by the gas station. looks like you got into a little mud!

J.

[speedkills]

Found some snow to play in up in the Caribou neighborhood. Pulled out an FJ and a Jeep playing in the same area. It's dense up there right now, no pushing it out of the way, if you are dragging even a small amount it just stops you.

[JandDGreens]

Shane, finally got the chance to check out you new rig. Amazing! Fun rig!