G55 offroad capable???

4x4abc

Adventurer
so essentially the g500 is better for offroad use due to gearing? So its safe to say that for daily street use you would want the factory 18s and then swap to 16s with 33s for offroad use? How beneficial is a subtle lift of the suspension? I imagine any lift will help but do you see good improvements in offroad capability because of it?

Yes, the G500 is slightly better because of slower crawl speed.

If you drive very aggressively, 18's are your ticket for best performance on-road. Many G owners have converted to 16" wheels for every day driving - it is so much more comfortable (the tires provide extra suspension).

I run 295/75 R 16 (about 33.5") all year round - pavement and off-road. Could not be happier.

A suspension lift (taller OEM springs) will provide more clearance under the rocker panels (they are a bit low on the G).

Recommended white springs for the rear, red springs for the front. They will provide about 3' of lift.

rear springs

front springs

Spring spacers in combination with the stock springs will provide a subtle lift:
Karl's G stuff
 

hoser

Explorer
Harald, is the 2003 G55 diff ratio confirmed to be 4.11? I know the G55 estimated fuel mileage is supposed to be slightly better than the G500 and the different ratio could explain it. Is there a sticker on the door jamb that specifies which ratio it is equipped with?
 

4x4abc

Adventurer
both front and rear axles have a small tag on the outside with serial number and diff ratio (in the picture shown its a 460 series 5.3333:1 diff)
 

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AAA

New member
Thanks so much for the assistance. I love the very well built appearance of the g. I dont have experience with it but am anal about high quality and a vault like build. 99% of cars and trucks are plastic snap togethers these days so the g wagen definitely intrigued me. Is it really that incredible of a vehicle compared to its competitors at land rover etc?
 

mogwildRW1

Adventurer
Thanks so much for the assistance. I love the very well built appearance of the g. I dont have experience with it but am anal about high quality and a vault like build. 99% of cars and trucks are plastic snap togethers these days so the g wagen definitely intrigued me. Is it really that incredible of a vehicle compared to its competitors at land rover etc?

IMHO the Gwagon is in a class of its own. Still hand built: http://www.pbase.com/flydutch/gclass_assemby

(For the record, I stole that link from another forum, and it might even have been from 4x4abc :) )
 

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