On my last offroad trip I skipped this slope, caused I was using only A/T tires. Those Willys Jeep and others are using M/Ts and winches to get up the hill.
Not sure if you can judge the steepnes of the slope, it's not awfully steep, but muddy and slippery. Just wondering how good our Gs can perform in this situation.
I'd say in that situation, it's mostly up to the tires and the driver's skill. The G's diff locks would give a very good advantage though, if you have the right tires in the first place.
If you had Mud Tires on your G, you'd show all of them up - no question about it. [:D]
id give it a try. if you dont make it they can winch you up or you can slide back down.
I have found that not locking the lockers in mud like that and just letting the ESP do its job works better for me. But that is in red clay and all mud is different. I just push the gas and keep my foot in the same spot it just keeps going. With the lockes ive found that once it strarts walking to the right or left on a up hill climb like that one is that it does not want to stop. Also as they said before tires are a huge factor.
Take your camera and get us some picture when you try it! [:D]
I could take it with my front-wheel drive VW, if only have enough run to gain the speed [:D]
Driving on slippery surface can be tricky. In the past I drove a lot on ice. It is strange feeling, when pressing the brakes makes the car actually going faster.
Than when you think about it, the rolling resistance is bigger, than blocked wheel on the ice.
In situation like that all comes to driver controlling the vehicle and not letting it stop.
Years of practice [8D]
Tires have a big factor and I agree with you that ATs are not much helpful in mud but still i believe that your 280 GE can make it .
I’d go on the GA 2nd gear full throttle and get me some sprint before hitting the slope with the back diff locked (since locking the front one may drift you sides ways on that curve ). If on top of the slop you start loosign power have the first gear in and just slip you foot fast on the clutch .
You may also try it with both diff locked if you don't succeed the first attempt .
My feelinG is that you can do it .
ReG ,
Shebl
__________________
Vehicle : 1980 280 GE
Nick Name : Blue Whale
Description : Long Slow and Heavy and can take me over any terrain
Thanks all for the helpful response. One of the reason I was reluctant to try was because my rear diff lock didn't work about 1/3 of the way into the muddy terrain. as it turned out, the front diff's master cylinder was leaking fluid (the rubber seal was weak), though the front locker still worked, the rear one was not getting enough fluid to actually push the locker in. This happened because both master cylinders share the same source of fluid reservoir (as you know).
So, anyways, I continued 'plowing' through the mud using only the front locker (felt like driving an FWD), which worked fine up and down the slope, but none was particularly that steep. The impression down here is that 'Mercedes Jeep' is not really for offroad use, due to the fact most owners use them for show only, obviously I tried to prove them wrong, but I gotta make it look good :-) So I guess my shopping list would be:
1. 33" M/T super swamper
2. 2-3" spring lift.
3. Mother of all Winch [:D]
id give it a try. if you dont make it they can winch you up or you can slide back down.
I have found that not locking the lockers in mud like that and just letting the ESP do its job works better for me. But that is in red clay and all mud is different. I just push the gas and keep my foot in the same spot it just keeps going. With the lockes ive found that once it strarts walking to the right or left on a up hill climb like that one is that it does not want to stop. Also as they said before tires are a huge factor.
Take your camera and get us some picture when you try it! [:D]
Oh sure, and I have the ESP on my '84 280GE at my disposal at any time :-)
Just wondering, does the ESP work using limited slip differential? If so, I just gotta have one of those :-) LSD and the lockers, a dream set up.
Don't worry, I've got my digital camera handy wherever I go.[8D]
why would somebody want a limited slip differential and then want manual lockers. I totally understand how lockers work and i briefly understand how limited slip or posi track work but i don't understand how the two would work together...
actually for that matter..i do not understand why one would need limited slip in a g wagen to begin with?
ESP is braking and has nothing to do with the differentials...(correct?).
The ESP works by indempendant control of each wheels brakes, so that any wheel starting to spin will be prevented from spinning by the ESP activating the brakes on the wheel in question.
If you're driving on slippery roads and loose traction in a curve, the ESP will selectively apply brakes, so that the skid is stopped - usually before you have managed to detect a slip is underway.
That said, ESP is not as good as locking diffs for climbing difficult terrain. The ESP eats up enormous amounts of engine power when preventing wheel spin, and you will generally grind to a halt sooner than a car using locking diffs.
ESP is a safety feature to add to the cars stability, more than it's intended as a help for going seriously offroad. The offroad capabilities are more of a bonus [:)]
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