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Is anyone in this forum familiar with the GL450 w/enhanced offroad pkg, and how well it works offroad? I was impressed to see the specs in my standard GL450 manual:
Approach angle: 36 degrees
Departure angle: 30 degrees
max slope: 100% grade or 45 degrees
Fording depth: 23.6 inches
Ground Clearance: 12.1 inches
Just wanted to get the opinion of someone who has actually put their GL through the paces off road...
2013 GL450 (traded for 2015 Escalade), 2012 Corvette, 2014 Ford Fusion, Previous: 2007 GL450, 2011
Originally Posted by Big4x4
Is anyone in this forum familiar with the GL450 w/enhanced offroad pkg, and how well it works offroad? I was impressed to see the specs in my standard GL450 manual:
Approach angle: 36 degrees
Departure angle: 30 degrees
max slope: 100% grade or 45 degrees
Fording depth: 23.6 inches
Ground Clearance: 12.1 inches
Just wanted to get the opinion of someone who has actually put their GL through the paces off road...
OK....here ya go.....
I regularly take my 450 on a pretty rugged road in Vermont......Spring and Fall through some nasty mud and this time of year I deal with unplowed snow and ice. The system works very well.......I had a Grand Cherokee with the top level 4wd system prior to the GL, and I have had a 4wd Yukon and a Suburban and a 4 runner ..... the 450 handles the best of any of them in the above condtions.......the 450 is one of only a few vehicles that will let you lock both the center AND the rear diffs. With the computer controlled traction and the the ability to raise the vehicle up the max of 12in. in three separate steps.....it is really a nice package for snow, mud/dirt roads. Rocks, etc.....I don't do that! Picture attached.......
2013 GL450 (traded for 2015 Escalade), 2012 Corvette, 2014 Ford Fusion, Previous: 2007 GL450, 2011
Originally Posted by kenfried
blittle - is your experience with the stock tires that came with the OFP, and what tires came with your 450 with the ORP?
The tires that came with my vehicle were the Continental 18in 4x4 Contacts.
I have had experience with that tire on a previous vehicle and I knew that they were NOT going to be what I wanted. They were very quiet and rode well BUT did very poorly in the snow/ice/mud...........I put a set of Yokohama Geolanders on ....... for me, they are the best compromise between normal driving comfort and backroad snow/mud capability. They have worked great!
Have you noticed much of a ride comfort penalty or significant increase in tire noise with the Geolanders compared to the stock Contis? I agree about the stock Conti 4x4s - I replaced them on my M class with Goodyear Fortera Triple Treds (great tire but a bit more tire noise at highway speed than the Contis)
2013 GL450 (traded for 2015 Escalade), 2012 Corvette, 2014 Ford Fusion, Previous: 2007 GL450, 2011
Originally Posted by kenfried
Have you noticed much of a ride comfort penalty or significant increase in tire noise with the Geolanders compared to the stock Contis? I agree about the stock Conti 4x4s - I replaced them on my M class with Goodyear Fortera Triple Treds (great tire but a bit more tire noise at highway speed than the Contis)
There is a bit more noise at 65+ but I have not noticed any difference in handling or comfort.
I just took a two day off road clinic in Anza Borrego, Ca. My GL almost couldn't be worse equipped, as it has summer type road tires and no enhanced off-road package.
Before dropping tire pressures to 18psi, I was able to get 11 inches of ground clearance. The underbody is relatively smooth, too, with few items hanging down. I rubbed the bottom a couple of times, with no issues.
I think the vehicle's saving grace - why it doesn't seem to really need a low range transmission - is the 7-speed tranny has a low first gear, and the motor has good low rpm torque. When I put it in the offroad program, it spent most of its time in first gear.
Front and rear clearance is good. I went through several ditches without scraping the front, and only dragged the rear a couple of times.
Visibility is decent, except out the back. I'm tempted to buy a few dash cams and connect them via bluetooth to a notebook or pad computer so I can see what's going on outside.
The traction control is a pretty effective substitute for limited slip. There were a number of occasions in which spotters pointed out I had a wheel clear of the ground; I never even knew it.
The on-road tires definitely handicapped the beast, but still it was able to keep up with well-equipped Jeep Rubicons for the most part. its biggest shortfall was in hilly sand: I took several attempts to get up out of a wash with a sand bank on the exit, while the Jeeps pretty much just crawled right out. Still, the instructors, and my fellow students, and I, were all impressed by just what the thing was capable of.
The limitation of traction control versus limited slip really shows itself in the sand. I actually got worried that the tranny fluid would boil; I was struggling in the sand, the rpms were barely getting up, and my foot was to the floor. If the electronic throttle wasn't backing off, there was a hell of a lot of power being dumped into that transmission fluid.
The DSR was hard to use, at least on steep slippery stuff with lots of sand. On one hill, I dropped over the lip with the DSR set to 3mph, and chaos erupted, with the different wheels chattering all over the place. People watching from the bottom were wondering why I was going so damn fast. Again, reasonable tires would have made a big difference. With street tires, you just don't have enough traction and bad things happen.
The other bummer is there's no front recovery point. I put in the tow loop, but the instructors (reasonably) refused to use it for a recovery exercise.
So if you've ever contemplated running your GL off road, go for it. You'll probably be surprised just how much you can get through. Get a 12 volt air compressor at Pep Boys, air down to 18 psi, pack a picnic lunch, and have some fun.
Thanks Eric. I know how my GLs are in the snow and ice, but I always wondered how they do off-road. I would love to see more pics and videos if you or others make a regular go at off road adventures in your GL! There's not much out there on YouTube or the forums.
Thanks Eric. I know how my GLs are in the snow and ice, but I always wondered how they do off-road. I would love to see more pics and videos if you or others make a regular go at off road adventures in your GL! There's not much out there on YouTube or the forums.
For sure. I'm probably going to do a trail this weekend, so I'll take a picture or two and post.
A lot of the stuff on Youtube is promo type footage from Mercedes. It's more interesting when it's real people taking real chances with their vehicles.
The windshields are not even cracked. They are totally reparable from what I can see. Then again, it's often the damage you can't see that's bad. There are far too many cases of cars being repaired and sold as new. I wouldn't be surprised if these make it back on the market with clean titles.
The windshields are not even cracked. They are totally reparable from what I can see. Then again, it's often the damage you can't see that's bad. There are far too many cases of cars being repaired and sold as new. I wouldn't be surprised if these make it back on the market with clean titles.
It does not work that way.
First, any bodywork that touched anything (truck or ground) will need to be straightened. That alone is too much to sell as new.
Plus, you have to consider the warranty costs. If they writethem off, that is returned to the bottom line, else they have to carry it.
Written off cars are relatively cheap.
There are far too many examples of wrecked cars sold as new However, if they are sold in Kentucky, it is state law that anything over $1,000 has to be disclosed. Other states may or may not have such laws and, of course, there are ways you can wash a salvage title and make it clean.
Kind of funny that a thread about offroading ended up with a bunch of discussion of trashing nearly new cars, but whatever - I'm game.
I went out today and did a little bit of trail exploring in my GL. I was still pretty tentative, as I'm still on my street tires. I ordered some all-terrain tires (Dick Cepek Trail Country) and five wheels and within a week, I will have them ready to go. Meantime, it was my son's first experience going off road, and when he was feel a bit of motion sickness, he got out and took a picture. Not that dramatic, mostly cos I'm being cautious about puncturing the tires, but we had fun and there's more to come.
The GL is most fun when crawling. Slow to almost a standstill and then creep forward, feeling each wheel find its place. it's a hoot.
If you haven't tried your GL off road, I encourage it: You'll be surprised just how much it's capable of. Raise the suspension, turn on the off-road transmission program, drop the tires to 18 psi, and go wander around.
Oh yeah - and turn off the parking sensors. It is annoying when they freak out that you're too close to a bush.
Looks like fun Eric! I would have considered trying some off-roading in my GL450 with stock 19" wheels, but now that we have a GL550 with 21's, she feels too much like a beauty queen to beat her up off-road. If you keep posting, I might need to look for a high miles 450 to modify...
One of your links does not even touch on the subject.
2 of your links are about the same event.
AND Zero of your links even mention significant damage (greater than the 3 to 6% of value allowed) prior to the DEALER getting the car!
It is CHEAPER for them to write-off the cars pre-delivery than to try to repair and sell as new. (It would also be illegal)
OK, let's look at this logically. These are $100k assets and look to have relatively minor damage - probably less than $10k. When an insurance company "writes them off" do you think they will go to a cusher? He'll no, someone will buy these and fix them. Even when the damages are much more extreme, an insurance company will still repair the vehicles. Maybe the dealer will not sell sell as new but they will be on the market.
OK, let's look at this logically. These are $100k assets and look to have relatively minor damage - probably less than $10k. When an insurance company "writes them off" do you think they will go to a cusher? He'll no, someone will buy these and fix them. Even when the damages are much more extreme, an insurance company will still repair the vehicles. Maybe the dealer will not sell sell as new but they will be on the market.
They are NOT 100K assets.
Deduct all of the dealer markup, all per-unit dealer support costs (marketing co-op program costs, etc), warranty set-aside, per-unit engineering allocations, per-unit corporate marketing allocations, etc.
Additionally, the loss (inflated, don't worry) is included as a business expense, so reduces taxes paid.
If it is an imported vehicle, (or has significant imported content) many tariffs and import taxes will be refunded upon certification of loss as a sellable product.
I would bet that the corporate bottom line loss is less than 50% of the retail value.
The "Insurance company" does not write them off, the corporation does (I am very sure they self insure for this type of loss)
Some go to the crusher, others go back to the plant as "engineering vehicles")
As of your 10K estimate.
Try this little trick.
Take your car and a 5lb hammer. Give each panel down one side a good hit. Make sure you scratch any trim in the process.
Now drive to a (good) body shop and ask what it will cost to make that car look as good as new.
Looks like fun Eric! I would have considered trying some off-roading in my GL450 with stock 19" wheels, but now that we have a GL550 with 21's, she feels too much like a beauty queen to beat her up off-road. If you keep posting, I might need to look for a high miles 450 to modify...
If you have room to store them, just get a set of 18" wheels and put appropriate tires on them ... but make no mistakes, off road is hard on vehicles.
01-24-2008, 03:05 PM
