G*L*K

Hey all,
So how many of us have taken the GLK offroad till date and if yes, to what extent?
Here attached are a few pictures of my GLK doin some beach drifting and splashing.

If you can, try to post some pictures as well. Would be a pleasure to view.

NYCGLK

I'd like to do some drifts in the sand like that.

Roads in parts of NJ is like offroading...other than that I don't think you can do much offroading on 20 inch rims/tires.

Duke_on

Dude, didn't anyone told you that salt water will kill your car? Even you gave it a good cleaning, that **** will get into your electrical...

I did some deep snow driving. But no off roading. I would have bought a Nissan pathfinder if I wanted to offroad.

Kamen

Awesome pics! You sir, are braver than I.

dwlovell

I thought the exact same thing when I saw the pics.

pipicyx

BEAUTIFUL!

G*L*K

Well, I have the off road engineering option on my vehicle, so doing beaches I feel is fine. Only thing i'm not comfortable about are the low profile wheels. I've done a bit of desert dune driving as well but had to reduce the tyre pressure down to 18psi after which the GLK had no problems.

Thanks kamen & dwlovell but the way everyones finding this suprising, im now feeling kinda fool-hardy. Doesnt anyone else off road this??

Duke On, if your refering to the paint, I had a paint protection sealant applied on the vehicle quite some time ago, so I wasnt worried about the salt water and I had the car professionally cleaned once I was back in the city.

I've seen videos of this vehicle being tested off road, and I feel what I've done isnt even a fraction of the risk these guys take: (think some of you may have already seen this video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGUvA...om=PL&index=47

.. Enjoy

dwlovell

Well, I dont think you are fool-hardy necessarily. I have never off-roaded anything and I still get unhappy when the lack of mud flaps causes road dirt to stick. I would be afraid that because of my lack of any offroading knowledge and no knowledge of this particular vehicle's limits, I would do something and get the thing stuck, high tide would come in and ruin my car.

Kamen

Nah it's not fool-hardy. If you know what you're doing and are comfortable doing it, have at it!

I just don't know much about offroading and wouldn't feel comfortable doing so. I'm more of a track kinda guy, in lower cars.

451/443=EW

Your pictures are fun, but I would hardly call that off roading. Personally I would not put my car in the salt water, that stuff will get into your axel and breaking system ect ect..I used to work at a detailer and in car washes. Trust me dont make a habit of driving on beaches and in the water. No detail shop will get in all the spots ocean water got into. If I had a GLK, I would do some offroading! But I dont have one..haha

Like I said...Nice pics but dont do it too much or ever again for that matter.

G*L*K

451/443=EW, I agree it is hardly off roading, which is why i asked the question on who all have done it and to what extent coz I am curious to know on the vehicles capability. I know this does pretty well on the hill sandy dunes where Ive seen some other bigger and rougher 4x4s have failed to perform, I've tested it and have had no problems (unfortunately no pics right now, when i do it the next time, Ill have pics clicked and post em up) but never have I taken it over Moguls (always seem to chicken out there, fearing that I may hit the underneath of the car really hard, although the offroad option provides for a reinforced base, so i read somewhere)

Beach driving really isnt a daily thing. Very occassional when were camping out and when we happen to be in the area.

Thanks again to ALL on your advice and supportive comments.

joe_yoh

Wow...Nice pics man...For me drifting in sand is very diffucult...lol

ciro

Why we need a GLK? just an S!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyTQtXkDOY

yualfred

Hi GLK, are you in Europe? I don't think the off-road package is available in US or Canada. What exactly is in it?

NYCGLK

I think the main things that comes with off road package are ESP with decending mode to crawl down the hills and skid plates.

G*L*K

The Offroad package adds on two additional switches: The "G' switch and the DSR.

Hitting the 'G' button taps into a low range driving program which varies the shift points of the transmission, softens the accelerator pedal characteristics and mates with ESP function thereby allowing the vehicle to operate with a higher degree of wheel slip while retaining directional stability and thereby improving traction off-road. There is also a manual transmission mode, in which the shift paddles on the steering wheel can be used to change between the gears but I think you have this option in U.S. models as well..

Other than this, the DSR (downhill speed regulator) works quite well allowing you to control descents down slippery hill slopes.

In addition, the vehicle has a reinforced bottom guard, is very slightly lifted when compared to U.S./Canadian GLK models and has front and rear bumper aprons.

I'm located in Dubai, UAE .. the pictures were taken during one of our camping trips in a neighbouring country called Muscat.

scottybdiving

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3F0B42vgiI&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi8BnKp54tc&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI6h8NTGjvg&NR=1

NYCGLK

one more to add
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewoD04aSlUQ

Jonathan Starr

I live on a ranch in remote East Maui. The road to town, along the rugged coast, is unpaved and quite rough for the last several miles, and subject to washouts, rocks, deep mud and stream crossings when it rains. I take the GLK around my orchards, and up some gnarly steep local driveways that challenge it's clearance and traction. When it get's really rough, I also have a lifted jeep with air lockers and a truck and a big John Deere that can haul any of them out of a ditch if need be.

The GLK has great traction and decent torque considering there is no low range, and is fun to drift around corners in dirt, mud and gravel. The 19" wheels and low profile tires are the weak point, and I'm cautious and concerned about rocks on the road. I received a set of ST3 17" wheels from Tire Rack, along with Bridgestone D693 II AT's, though I'm still awaiting the correct lug bolts. The ones shipped with the wheels were too long (28mm), and caused the front wheels to bind. The second set were longer (32mm), but the third set (25mm) which is on the way should be fine. I can't wait, and TireRack support has been positive and helpful through this. I'll report further, maybe add some pix.

G*L*K

Great Stuff...

Do add some pictures, would love to see the GLK playing in the dirt.

Jonathan Starr

Will get some more pix up when I get chance.

I got the new wheels and tires on yesterday. Haven't gotten out of town with them, yet. From the back, the Sport Edition wheels do look a bit flimsier than the stockers. There are segmented spacers moulded into the wheels, behind the center disc and through which the lug bolts pass, instead of a solid mass of metal. Time will tell whether they can take a battering.

Here's a pic of Nuanualoa ford on the main road below my property after a night of rain.

capp325

Off-roading an SUV is not necessarily foolhardy. After all, the GLK has been designed to handle light off-road duties. Driving in salt water, on the other hand, is downright idiotic. Don't get me wrong, it's your car and you're free to do whatever you please with it. I just hope that when you decide to sell your car, you are not going to dump it on some unknowing purchaser without disclosing that it was driven in salt water.

G*L*K

Yo Numb Nuts, I've driven 4x4s enough to understand whats right from wrong. My 9 year old nissan patrol which ive waded into sometimes even 600mm depth of salt water to launch our boat has till date never had any issues. I do know that salt water is bad but the GLK I've only splashed through once for the picture otherwise I've only driven it over sand at the beach. The car was throughly washed including under chasis once back in the city. No need to get all heroic .. I dont intend to sell my GLK .. its class.

hceptj

looks like fun... i might have missed it somewhere, but do you have a 4matic or 2wd?

We've only had our 4matic for a couple weeks now, so I haven't had a chance to play with it much...would have been nice to have it when it snowed a while back...

Juan h.

Guys:

I'm from Argentine and I wanted to ask everyone what do you think is I change the tyres of my GLK 2010 City.-

It comes with Continental 235-60-17 and I want to change to 255-65-17 , so I can have mi GLK a little bit more high up from the floor.-
I travel a lot in dust road with lost of holes and travel in average 80 km/h.-

The 255 will increase the wheel
The 65 will give more height of the dust
The 17 will not have to be change

I know that the authorized increase in a wheel is 5 % total but I'v had my GLK and had to fix 7 times in the last 2 months because it get flat after lots of km in dust.......it always get some little lik with some little hole.-