ELW? Once you “ tune” it, buh-bye any Mercedes warranty. Even if you reset it to factory, Mercedes computer can read it’s been tampered with, so good luck when you blow it up! Might be a lot of fun seeing those rods come shootin’ through your front fenders, though!😁

I’m really enjoying the information and opinions in this thread....many thanks for chiming in.

Go anywhere? Like climbing over gigantic bolders, with a $200,000 G63? I think not! For me, off road stuff with a G63 is purely reservation demand territory. My G63 is strictly for Starbucks runs on weekends, and some short trips to the country side for picnics, and the like. I have other cars for things like off-roading fun, and for long road trips.The G63 tranny is a much different animal than the tranny found in the g550. There is a great YouTube video featuring the head Mercedes guru of the G-wagon product line, and he explains the many, many various performance and engineering deltas of the G63 vs/ g550. For instance, to name just one of many, he talks at length about the much faster up and down lightning fast shifting capabilities of the G63 tranny, and he specifically points out the shifting speed capabilities of the g550 are slower, whether it be in auto or manual paddle shift mode. He also goes into detail that the G63 has a much heavier duty version of the tranny than the one found in the g550.

Then there is the G63 engine, which is hand built (there’s a great video on this!), so it may in fact be a better long term reliability bet than the g550 mass produced motor.

Anyways, when I consider all of the engineering and much enhanced-performance differences between a g550 and a G63, IMHO the cost delta is oh, so well worth the extra coin!

BTW, I’m going with EFW 7/100, and will get a new G63 at that point, if not sooner (like when MBUX and touch screen arrives), so no worries.

It’s all good!😁

Going to Starbucks? Isn’t that what bicycles are for? :rofl:

Any chance you have a link for the 9 speed transmission comparison? Other than the torque plate, I’d like to see the hardware differences. I’d find it hard to believe the MB designed two completely different 9 speed transmissions. I believe they designed one transmission and then tweaked a couple of parts to handle higher loads, much like the M176-178 family of AMG engines. BTW, the M176 in the G550 was commandeered by MB to solve their V8 emissions challenges. As far as hand built vs. robot assembled engines, robots don’t have ever hangovers or are distracted thinking about the big game that night.

No biggie here, we are just seeing our G’s in completely different lights.

Yes, I will search for the link and post it.

I, too, was a bit surprised these 2 implementations of 9-Gtronic (G63 vs/ g550) were this much different, but the head Mercedes guy of the G product line launched into a whole spiel on this exact point. He emphasized how much more heavy duty the G63 tranny is compared to its g550 cousin, and he really brought home the idea that the G63’s tranny produces super fast shifting capabilities over the 550, including upshifts and downshifts, both in automatic shifting and manual paddle shifting modes.

The thing about the G63 is there are so darn many deltas over the g550 that are not necessarily apparent to us civilians out here. The engineers at Mercedes could likely school us for literally hours on end regarding all of the deltas that purposefully exist between the 63 and the 550. Keep in mind to shoot this much tonage down the road at 4.1 sec 0-60mph vs/ 5.9 secs, this requires nothing short of a night and day difference. So many factors are involved here, but besides sheer HP and torque ratings, obviously the shifting rates are also a key factor. They all come together in harmony.

The thing that blew my mind when watching the various car magazine driver test reviews re: G63 vs/ g550, was cosistently when the guy floored the G63 from a standing start, the test driver’s head literally snapped back, a huge smile instantly got plastered all over his face, and he exclaimed, “Wow, I can’t believe a car this heavy can accelerate forward this fast!” Then he’d also typically comment on the loud throaty roar of the side pipes, with their valves wide open. Mind you, these test drivers had also consistently just previously performed the same all-out acceleration test on the g550, where they sort of mumbled, “Well, the acceleration is pretty good.” Not at all impressed.

Sometimes I wonder if Mercedes intentionally withholds some of these enhanced performance engineering differences between the 63 and 550, as some g550 buyers might be turned-off at spending a pretty big hunk of coin, only to have Mercedes tell them about all of the hidden details of performance engineering feats they have passed up on by choosing a 550, vs/ going with the pricier G63. That’s a damn fine marketing line for Mercedes to tightrope on. Perhaps Mercedes figures G63 buyers are convinced by “The Kardashian Factor” all by itself, so no need to get into esoteric engineering discussions to convince these G63 buyers to part with the extra required coin over the 550. OTOH, if Mercedes were to tout the 63’s engineering deltas over the 550 too much, some 550 guys may think to just bag the whole silly mess, and buy a plush Range Rover. I get it. Until I watched the video, I didn’t even know about the new 2019 G63’s progressive steering rate as it increases its road speed, something the 550 doesn’t even have whatsoever. This was just one of numerous other performance and engineering design deltas between the 550 and 63 that the bigwig G-guy spoke about.

Similar to the different 63 vs/ 550 trannys, I still have no detailed specs on the differences between a std G63, and how I configured mine with the Z10 High Speed AMG Drivers Package. The only small item I know for sure is the computer’s governor allows for an increase in top speed from 133mph to 149 mph. For $2,200 extra dollars, my guess is there’s one helluvalot more going on with this Z10 package than a Mercedes clerk simply clacking option Z10 capability into the vehicle’s software, and nothing more occurs at all, other than a simple computer governor permissable top speed parameter change. I do know the 295R40 22 Goodyear Eagle F1 W112 SUV tires are rated for a sustained speed of 169 mph. I don’t know if these same tires are standard fare on all G63’s, even those that are sans Z10? I did check the delivered cost from Tire Rack, including shipping to my door: $1700 for a set of 4, not bad at all.

FWIW, I definitely plan to run this Z10 dilemma to ground, and when I find out the details, I will report out!��

Again, your source for 4.1 seconds, states the G550 is 5.4 seconds. It’s on the same chart. At this point it seems you purposely trying to make the G550 look bad, which really hurts you credibility in these matters.

Straight line acceleration is an easy gain for turbo motors. I’ve had tuned cars and extra horsepower is easy. I easily beat M5s with my tuned 550 at the drag strip over and over again. Software changes like progressive steering and traction modes basically cost nothing. Both of those capabilities were acknowledged by MB reps as being bad for a true off roader like the G550. Thus, they were withheld to let the G mode be about driver skills and not the electronics. G63 drivers are expected to need electronic nannies if they venture off the pavement.

As an engineer, I understand MB’s performance claims that they fully advertise in detail. I don’t think they aren’t holding anything back. I understand that a forged component may be 30% stronger, but if it is put under 50% more load, it will not have the same life expectancy. It comes down to design margins and my experience is that higher performance parts/products have lower design margins. The cost delta between the G550 and G63 is small because their differences are small. MB didn’t all of the sudden decided to price the G63 ultra low and take a loss. They added some performance AND they added some profit. There’s no magic here.

Sorry about the 5.9 vs/ 5.4 0-60 times for the 550 specs. My bad. So, it should be a delta of 5.4 vs/ 4.1. 10-4 on that. I promise to get it right next time!😁I remebered the 4.1 from the MT chart, but I had the Merc figure of 5.9 retained in my mind.

So, yeah, all this G63 vs 550 stuff is all relative. Also, I don’t necessarily believe the G63 will necessarily turn a 4.1. The MT data is the only 0-60 data I have seen to date, so perhaps the published Merc times are the best data points for now, until we can see a lot of actual legitimate testing.

FYI, I’m also an engineer by education (BSEE). Are you an ME? If so, you will know your torque stuff better than I!😁

Anyways, it’s all good. Now I just have to wait for maybe up to a full year. Arrrgggggh....

Ph.D. ESM, primarily focused on AE, but also did graduate coursework in ME, Mat E, EE, Chem E, Comp Sci, Math, and Physics to keep it broad. I’m a bit of a jack of all trades - that’s why I’m happy to take things apart to see how they are constructed. I took apart a 4wd transfer case just to see what was inside. The funny part was that it was my Jeep and I was visiting my brother’s house at the time. He was nervous to that if I couldn’t put it back together, then I wouldn’t ever leave.

If you’re going to wait a year, then why not consider the GLE63? It’s a direct route to getting MBUX in an AMG. Plus the dash looks pretty slick.

My off-roading will be limited to an occasional drive in a beach and NYC potholes. The latter is probably more of an issue.

the current GLE or the new one in 2020?