Ive been considering adding some 37s on my g55 (thread started with a few pics a few threads down) and am trying to find the tire/wheel setup I want to go for. There are a ton of options for 8x6.5 (dodge ram heavy duty) setup. I actually have a 1ton ram with a set of rims and 35s. I have seen some adapters to go from 5x130 to 8x6.5 (https://www.ebay.ca/itm/162914502203) and am curious if anyone has done this for a better wheel selection?

I think it would be nice to have a couple sets which I could swap between my truck (currently on 35s) and the gwagon for a different look once in awhile. Just curious if anyone has done this and has any photos of these on their Gs? Other option would be to go with the portal 4x4 squared setup but thats out of my price range haha.

Thanks and I look forward to playing with this

 

I think 37's would be difficult to fit without some modifications beyond the 'standard' 4" lift. Portal Axles will allow 37's to fit. Another member speedkills put portals on his G55 and was running 37's.

https://clubgwagen.com/forum/viewtop...lit=speedkills

Most people who lift their G's end up with a ~4" lift and run 35's without issues. In the lifted G's thread member "Texas E63 has some larger tires on his 4" lift also to give you some pointers.

https://mbworld.org/forums/g-class-w...ml#post8933476

And of course, in our G community, Jack @ JackWagonOverlanding is always a good resource to bounce ideas off of.

 

4" is sketch. It works for some (like Jack's own build) and it doesnt work for others (driveline vibrations etc.). 2" lift with another 1" through tires is tried and tested.

G is a hard vehicle to lift, takes a lot of work and money.

 

I was told my G had a custom 8" lift (Dyno-comp) but I cannot confirm. I just had the shocks rebuilt and will be reinstalling those when I get back first week of November and will take some pics of the suspension components and hopefully figure out exactly what I have.
Heres the link to the other thread with some photos. As you can see it does appear to be quite a bit more fender clearance vs the 4" lift kits I have seen (although I believe the tires installed currently are only 285/45r22 (just over 32"). I dont see any issue adding another 2.5" of rubber.
https://mbworld.org/forums/g-class-w...-2004-g55.html

I will look into the above threads as well.

Thanks

 

Adapters can be done for that....https://www.customwheeloffset.com/st...acers-adapters

I had those folks build a set for a track toy ( wide-bodied C63 ) - but there is always a bit of a question at the limits IMHO and they are really heavy ( 14lbs for the G wagon 31mm H & R setup for example).... so we went to custom offset for that, and most projects since.... but if you're looking for flexibility it might be a viable option.

it'll be interesting to see what in fact is on your G for suspension - what size tires are the ones in the pics ?

E

 

@Texas E63 I am not sure weight is of any relevance in a g wagon build - sprung weight or unsprung weight. The thing is a block of lead shaped like a refrigerator and will get the same mpg and go just as fast with weight, or without. The difference between unloaded passenger duty and pulling my 5k lbs trailer is 1mpg so weight doesn't matter.

 

Tires currently installed are just a bit over 32" 285/45r22.. My thought with the adapters would be that I could throw my current truck tires on (35s) and see how they look and if they would work (I am not sure of their offset or anything really. The more I think about it I may just hold off and get a custom set of 0 offset rims (this will be down the road for sure).

 

In an older G like yours, I dont think you had distronic? So bigger tires are not an issue. In newer 63s with distronic, at some point between 33" and 34" you will have issues and cruise will mal function.

Another thing you will have to address is transmission tune. I believe yours is the old 722.6 5 speed? With bigger tires, the effective gear ratio will be messed up. I heard in older Gs you could go in and reprogram the TCU to tell it wheel circumferance. But in newer cars you cannot do that. I had to get a Eurocharged TCU tune to cure that in my 722.9, which you may want to look into anyway (makes a HUGE difference).

Have you had the camber bushings done? I am not sure it will help you with 8" lift, but with normal sized lifts, it makes a ton of diffference to get back some lost camber.

Then comes rear swaybar. ORC. Makes a big difference to lifted Gs.

Like I said, G is hard to lift and takes a ton of money to do it right. Not like an American pickup (love my Fords) that you can throw on 35s stock and not miss a beat.

 

I will look at the TCU tune. I had a topdon phoenix delivered just before I left for my work trip but was unable to get it activated. I had a ticket opened with them and they appear to have this corrected now so I will check when I get back. I need to disable the teleaid system and also hopefully the command system so I can set the clock through the dash. I will also play around and see if there is much that can be adjusted in the TCU.

I was told that it had a tune and pulley change (which I still need to figure out if the engine is supercharged or not more photos will be added to my other thread when I get back home) and also had the TCU tuned. We will see I have a bunch to learn about this and being away from it has my mind racing to figure everything out and what direction I am going to go with it.

 

G55 is a 5.4L supercharged motor. Great motor in its day. Shared across many Mercs including the SLR.

 

Mine is a 2004 which I believe were supposed to be NA. In 05 was when the supercharged G55s came out. But I believe mine has an aftermarket blower on it. Read through my other thread for some info and photos relating to this.

 

Oh wow. The old SOHC M113. Good motor. I had it in my W210 E55 and liked it. I don't know how well that is going to push a 6k lb g wagon with huge lift and tires.

 

@xxaarraa agreed on the G and for what we are running for rims/ tires the extra weight of spacers is less of an issue.... on track toy it was...

Eaks - the Eurowise TCU tunes can be customized by Jerry typically.... he did the TCU and ECU tune when I had the tranny rebuilt by Southern. Really crisp, and manual shifting it is hard not to do....

I suspect you have a 4" lift, perhaps with some extra spring spacers given the wheel gap on 32's...

 

It sure isn't fast however it didn't have issues getting up to highway speeds in short order. I was told it was supercharged and from the photo I have of the engine bay I am leaning towards it actually being supercharged. I also test drove another 2003 G55 with the NA engine and I do feel like this one did have a good amount of additional power but that could have came down to many other factors as well. I need to dig into it and figure out exactly what it is engine wise as well as suspension wise and go from there.

 

When I was under the car pulling the struts to have them be rebuilt I did not notice any spring spacers and just seemed like a huge long spring. I will take some photos when I get home.

 

In one of the photos it looks like your diffs are hanging lower than expected for the amount of lift. Do you have a body lift of some kind perhaps>?

 

What is the measurement from the center of your wheel center caps to the bottom of your fender flares? This will give us a better gauge of the lift anmount and takes tires out of the equation.

 

I will grab these measurements when I am home and post them up along with the other photos of the suspension components and hopefully we can figure out exactly what I have. Looking forward to digging into this with you all.