Benz Werd

A little while ago I saw a pic of somebody's new W166 with a nudge bar fitted to it. The ML was black too. Anyway I can't blooming well find the thread now. The bar was relatively thin compared to the one shown in the attached pic on a MB van. It was similar to other pic of the W164 but the bar wasn't black.

If anyone has got anything fitted to the front of your truck could you please share a pic?

Thanks!

DrFox1969

I think you may find what you are looking for in thread..... "W166 Picture THREAD !!!"

A few nudge bars shown and discussed here.

Benz Werd

Thank you DrFox1969

Oh yeah, I did look there but somehow missed it, silly me

However, there's only 1 pic of petermk's car which is the one I had seen previously.

Does anyone else have a nudge/push bar fitted, or perhaps even a full width bullbar? If so please share a pic if possible.

Thanks heaps

300DTurbo

Please do share, If there is enough DEMAND. I will fabricate one that mounts directly to the chassis.

Here in TX there is a 30% uninsured population so I was looking for a hitch mount for the rear and a bar for the front that attaches to chassis.

stas2007

That bull bar is ugly and looks completely out of place on a ML

You should fabricate one like in a G55 AMG for an ML, I am sure a lot of people would buy it:

Benz Werd

300DTurbo Thanks! Are you an engineer or something? Would it be airbag compatible, and set off the front parking sensors? It would need to be approved by MB too I imagine. If you do fabricate something please share it though. Cheers.
stas2007 each to their own! However, which 'bull' bar are you referring to? Here in Australia we call the small bars that only cover the middle/grille area of the vehicle 'nudge' bars. Bull bars are alot bigger, alot more solid & sturdy and cover the whole area across the front of the vehicle. I think the right nudge bar could look quite good, but a bull bar would most likely look just awful. The one you refer to on the G55 (and show a pic of) is nothing but a simple bar for cosmetic purposes under the standard bumper bar. I doubt it would do anything in the event of a collision with an animal. Thanks for your input though!

iankayem

You are right to show concern about the airbag sensors.

Bullbars need to be mounted on collapsible "crash cans" to prevent the jar of a collision with a shopping trolley blowing the airbags.

Nudgebars are okay providing they are made of such thin gauge that they will provide no protection.

My solution: Insure myself to get cover even if the guilty party has no cover at all. And stop of for dinner at "Roo O'clock" when in the bush.

petermk

I can take more pics for you if you want but basically it's this one http://www.auto-beauty.com/auto/prod...124607c1f40b8b

YYZ-E55

The airbags are triggered based on rapid deceleration. They are not triggered by a low speed impact against the bumper.

iankayem

They may not Trigger with low speed impact against your standard plastic bumper. But as soon as you mount steel direct to the solid body or chassis, a little jolt will set them off. I speak from experience with ARB who provide crash test data with all their bars to meet OE requirements.

Please google "arb bull bar" and you can find pictures of the crash can they use for this purpose. (Sorry I cannot copy the exact URL as I am only on the iPad at the mo.)

petermk

Insurance won't cover having your bumper dented by some idiot who doesn't know how to properly do parallel parking - that's the reason why people put bumper guards/bull bars on their SUVs here in NYC. I'd be making insurance claims every few weeks if I didn't have bumper guards installed.

ChristoFir

Hi,
I am also interested in a nudge bar - mainly to mount a UHF CB aerial.
I've had a good look for possible places to mount one without damage to the vehicle and currently think a nudge barmay be an easy option. Thanks for starting this thread.
Regards.

Benz Werd

No worries, but unfortunately seems like there's not alot of these bars, or any bars fitted to new W166s. Only the couple already shown on here. Unless someone's holding out on us haha ...

ChristoFir

Thanks.

In light of Ian's comments I think I'll see if I can use one of those small bars that attach to the number plate mountings - not really great but hopefully with an improved mounting it might suffice.

Benz Werd

ok, yeah, that makes total sense.

Please post some pics when you do though!!

cheers

Benz Werd

It's been 6 months since I opened this tread so I was wondering if there's anybody else who has fitted any type of nudge or bull-bar (or any bar for that matter) to the front of their W166 ML?

ChristoFir you were considering fitting one to hold your CB aerial, did you end up doing that?

If so, please post some pictures for us all to see guys ... thanks in advance!!

ChristoFir

Hi,
in the end I decided that the number plate bracket mount was not solid enough to mount a CB Aerial mount.
I have instead mounted the aerial from a bracket mounted onto a top metal member holding the grill. The member has small rectangular holes and I used these to mount a CB aerial bracket above and put a reinforcement plate under the member. I'm about halfway through my WA holiday and the mount is working well.
If you want further info drop me a private note. (I have also fitted the 18" rims and raised the rear floor to accommodate a full size spare).
Cheers, Chris

Tommyc168

Hi everyone,

I purchased my first 2013 ML350 back in May and I have order a full bull bar to be install. On the day I pick up the car, the technician told me that he had to remove my parking censor because the bull bar was interfering with the censors. In the end I have them removed the bull bar and install remote start instead. The MB dealership should have know there was issues. Totally wasted my time.

Benz Werd

Thanks for that info! No need to bother you with a PM, but if you wouldn't mind posing some pictures of your CB aerial bracket/mount, your 18" rims & your floor raise that would be great. Hope your trip is going well too. Cheers.

Benz Werd

Thanks for sharing your info. Surely they'd be able to remount the sensors to your new bull bar, I wouldn't have thought it would be that difficult. However, I realise Distronic would be an issue if you fitted any type of bars and mounted extra spot-lights or antennas. Cheers.

iankayem

Another option for the CB aeriel is to use a UHF "Rubber Ducky". These are about six inches long and are best mounted up high mid roof.
Plus side - excellent reception, and impossible to get damaged.
Downside - you have to drill a hole in the roof. If you do it over the interior light, its a simple job to manipulate the cable down via a suitable pillar, without removing the headlining.
That hole will still be there when you come to remove the aeriel at resale time. Although with some forethought, you could find an innocuous plug.

Benz Werd

Thanks for that information. I'm not sure how I'd go with a 'rubber ducky' though as I have a panoramic roof.

iankayem

Yes I guess you would be limited to the very front where it would be ugly, or the very rear where it could interfere with your GPS signal.

The hand held units generally work well, but on a recent Tassie trip, my CB transmission was absolutely woeful, so I suspect the UV glass or tint may have affected it.

If you do not have tint, consider these units, but test them before you spend a penny!

ChristoFir

Home from trip - all went very well.

Photo of Aerial attached. I used existing holes in the cross member and some large shaped washers underneath. The mount proved very sturdy with the aerial just clearing the bonnet as it closed. I used a GME 80 channel UHF unit with all the controls on the Mic. It worked well but the reception volume on the older 40 channel UHF unit in the other vehicle was low. This is a common feature of the 80 to 40 channel transmissions.

Photos of 18" rims and raised floor will follow.

For a bit of fun I've attached a photo of some of the better economy - and no I wasn't tail gating a road train but did have some tail wind.

Benz Werd

Thanks for posting those pics. That looks like a pretty good option. And what amazing fuel economy. How many kilometres was your trip in total? I also assume your ML didn't miss a beat the whole time! Yes, still curious to see how those 18" rims look and your raised floor. Cheers.