A lot of people think I'm nuts for taking a $100k+ car off roading on serious terrain, but this is what my 09 G550 is made for. I finally replaced a fog light I broke a while ago and took some photos of other damage to the truck while I was under there. You'd think it hurts to break a light that's $250 and a rear bumper that would cost me a couple grand to fix, but I look at these things as badges of honor.

I was honestly surprised how badly my front skid plate was banged up. There's some pretty good dents on there. And the pic of the front diff is pretty telling. The thick steel is mangled in quite a few places. I love it!

Some of these dings may not look like much unless you realize this is a serious skid plate and it takes thousands of pounds of force to create the more serious dents.

 

More photos including the rear bumper I broke on a slope that exceeded the max 38 degree incline the G-wagen manual says is possible. And somehow I put the bottom of the grill guard into something at a pretty good approach angle. Never realized it until I took photos today. And a photo of the massive ball joints. I've never seen ball joints that big on anything short of a dumptruck! Keep in mind those are 22" wheels behind that shot for perspective.

 

Even though it's made to take that kind of abuse, I still don't think I could do that to a G-Wagon... and this is coming from someone who's done several trips through the Rubicon, Fordice, and The Hammers. Your Ballsy lol

 

Anytime I'm ever seen a G not at a mall has been in Africa with Land Cruisers, Prado's, & Range Rovers. They all look like hell and their only care is "snorkel forward for rainy season... snorkel backwards for dry-season...."

G's are bought for their durability, not curb appeal.

Kudo's for driving it like it was intended........ even with, er, 22" rims.

 

Thanks, I've been driving off-road since I was 12 growing up on a farm and I was allowed to start driving my stepdad's 77 Ford. Also drove tractors through stuff any serious off-road machine would get stuck in within 5 feet.

It's an amazing durable car. I just keep looking at the picture of that front diff. That's pretty thick, hardened steel and I've put a lot of serious dents in it.

I would prefer to have stock rims with M/T tires on it, but the dealer had put the 22" rims on it when I bought it and the price was just too good. It's amazing what I've done with 22" ZR-rated tires on it. All of this damage was with those. I've since swapped to all season Yokohamas that are really great tires, but I'd prefer to have 17" stockers with M/T's. I just haven't been able to justify the money yet. For reference, I have a fully built 77 Ford short box stepside that's my serious off-road truck. It kicks the G-wagen's *** on every trail I've ever done in both of them, other than bombing down fire roads at 50 mph. The G is just amazing on roads like that. Even with the 22" wheels, it just soaks up everything. But the shorter wheelbase on the Ford rules the nasty trails.

 

I had a G500 for 4 years......probably one of the best vehicles I've ever owned.
I can't wait to get another one......but this time I'm going to step-up to the 55 AMG
I applaud you for using your G the way it was meant to be used....

 

They're great cars aren't they? I've had a ton of warranty issues, but I still love it. Because of the warranty issues I've considered dumping this one because I think I just got unlucky with the particular car. The G55 would be the vehicle of choice, but you lose over an inch of ground clearance and a huge amount on the approach/departure angles because of it. I think you go from 31 degrees front to 23, and 38 to 32 on the rear. From the photo of my grill guard, and my rear bumper, you can see I use the approach/departure angles pretty seriously and I don't like the idea of losing that much. I wonder if you can run the G550 springs on a G55 to keep the angles the same, but get the extra power. Hmmmm I might have to look into that....

 

Scott:

Do you have any pics of your G off road?

Cheers,

Paul.

 

Off-Road SUV's are rare these days.

I don't know why... but to me, dirty SUV's are a badge of Honor.


I just drool over every dirty SUV/Rally Car!

 

I know of a few guys over on MBworld who swapped out the springs on their 55's to the 500 springs to get the softer ride....the 55 rides like a rock.

 

Won't be able to do that anymore in your STi.
At least you got to enjoy it offroad before getting rid of it.

 

No really good pics, just the ones in this thread:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post2974153

Yup, I enjoyed the capabilities pretty well before I dumped it. I may buy another G-wagen again some time in the future. I figure this one was just a lemon. Or is Mercedes build quality just that bad these days?

 

^It seems like it is hit or miss with them nowadays. Some people no issues, others seem like they are in the shop every other day.

 

Used to do this weekly to my G. Plenty of "badges" of honor...had a few scars that reminded me of the SUVs out of Jurassic Park.

G's are meant to be FLOGGED. They can take anything ;-)

 

Yeah cyntaxx, the main mechanical components are pretty damn solid. I miss it already but I'm enjoying the brand new STI Limited. Maybe in a year or two I'll buy another one......