Spinal
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2004
- Messages
- 4,806
- Location
- between Uxbridge and the Alps
- Car
- x254, G350, Duster, S320, Mach1, 900ss and a few more
So after 6-months in the field, I've made a return to the forum!
I want to do a few modifications to my W202... maybe some are needs; but mostly they are wants... but I need some advice...
These mods are due to my intention to drive the car through the Sahara...
- Raise suspension. Differently from most people who want to lower the suspension, I want to raise it. I'm thinking a 1" spacer all round would be enough... does anyone know if the driveshaft has enough play to cope with this or are mods there needed as well?
- New wheels. What are the widest/thickest wheels I can fit on? I don't mind cutting into the wheel arches... speaking of which, which tyres would you recomend for sand driving? I doubt I will be able to fit my Insa Turbo Sahara offroad tyres on the 202...
- Sump-guard and other under-body metals... I want to protect the underbody from stones and outcroppings... I seriously doubt there is a ready-made solution out there... is there? As such, I plan on welding my own... where would you anchor the various bits?
- Bull bar. Again, I doubt there's someone out there that makes them for a W202... Can I just weld it straigt onto the bumper? advice here? I'm thinking of buying a cheap one on eBay from another car and adapting it... (it's more than just for bulls, camels and the occasional gate.... it's also to anchor a set of big, bright lights to)
- Weight... I can dump the rear seats... what else can you think of that I can throw out that will reduce weight?
- Grill: OEM grill suplemented with a fine-mesh metal webbing (stop stones piercing the radiator).
- Fan. How do I disable the viscous coupling so that the engine cooling fan is always on? Araldite should do it, right? If I wanted to add extra cooling, what would you recomend?
Anything else you can think of?
TIA,
M.
I want to do a few modifications to my W202... maybe some are needs; but mostly they are wants... but I need some advice...
These mods are due to my intention to drive the car through the Sahara...
- Raise suspension. Differently from most people who want to lower the suspension, I want to raise it. I'm thinking a 1" spacer all round would be enough... does anyone know if the driveshaft has enough play to cope with this or are mods there needed as well?
- New wheels. What are the widest/thickest wheels I can fit on? I don't mind cutting into the wheel arches... speaking of which, which tyres would you recomend for sand driving? I doubt I will be able to fit my Insa Turbo Sahara offroad tyres on the 202...
- Sump-guard and other under-body metals... I want to protect the underbody from stones and outcroppings... I seriously doubt there is a ready-made solution out there... is there? As such, I plan on welding my own... where would you anchor the various bits?
- Bull bar. Again, I doubt there's someone out there that makes them for a W202... Can I just weld it straigt onto the bumper? advice here? I'm thinking of buying a cheap one on eBay from another car and adapting it... (it's more than just for bulls, camels and the occasional gate.... it's also to anchor a set of big, bright lights to)
- Weight... I can dump the rear seats... what else can you think of that I can throw out that will reduce weight?
- Grill: OEM grill suplemented with a fine-mesh metal webbing (stop stones piercing the radiator).
- Fan. How do I disable the viscous coupling so that the engine cooling fan is always on? Araldite should do it, right? If I wanted to add extra cooling, what would you recomend?
Anything else you can think of?
TIA,
M.