Installing a Lift Kit on Your G-class? Check Your Caster.
When installing a lift kit on your Mercedes G-class, you’re changing the suspension geometry. A lot of things happen that should be accounted for, but one of the most noticeable changes may be the caster.
Ideally, customers would have an alignment done prior to installation to get the stock specs, and then again after the kit is installed. That way, if there are any issues, we can narrow it down based on where the car was before installing the kit.
With that said, the only issue, or most common issue, is probably going to be caster.
Stock Height G-class:
I have to admit, it’s hard to look at the stock G-class now and not think of everything that’s missing, or how much better it would look with a lift kit, larger tires, and a few carbon pieces. The Mercedes G550 4×4 Squared changed everything. Although G-class owners have been lifting and using their W460, W461, and W463’s off-road for decades, it’s not something that translated to our customers. Our clients wanted us to install BRABUS, HAMANN, or LORINSER parts with 24″ wheels, and then lower their G-class! So, for us, this is all pretty new…and we love it! How did we not see it? The lifted trucks below are exactly how the G-Wagen should have looked in the first place!
2″ G-class Lift Kit:
Believe it or not, this truck has minimal upgrades, but it looks so different than stock. In our opinion, it looks way better than stock, and it only got a 2″ lift kit, 33″ tires, wheel spacers, roof rack, ladder, bushings for caster corrections, and some black paint/powder coating. Customers that opt for the 2″ lift kit want something simple. Either they still have a warranty, or just want a more rugged look, with minimal modification. With a 2″ lift, the suspension geometry changes of course, but you can get away with only minor changes (e.g., polyurethane bushings), no stainless steel brake lines, no adjustable panhard bar, and no radius arms. You will need wheel spacers, however, to keep the front tires from rubbing, but that’s about it.
For a 2″ Lift Kit, we have a bushing set designed to correct the caster.
4″ G-class Lift Kit:
With a 4″ lift kit and 35″ tires, the truck starts to look a lot different than stock. On this particular vehicle, the stock tires (265/60-18) had an overall diameter of 30.52″. So, the 35″ tires add another 2.24″ (4.48/2), on top of the 4″ lift. If you’ve never had a lifted truck, you’ll have to take our word for it…6″+ makes a big difference.
It’s much wider too.The stock tires are about 10.4″ wide. The 35″ tires are 12.5″ wide, plus the truck has 50mm wheel spacers. It will be getting 75mm wheels spacers in the rear. The fender flares are actually huge. They are 2″ wider per side than the G63 Fender Flares!
As you would expect, with the extra height, there are more parts that need to be replaced, and more things to consider. The 4″ Lift Kit requires longer Stainless Steel Brake Lines F/R (plus the locker line in the rear), adjustable track (aka panhard) bars, and new radius arms. With the DTD Radius Arms, we were able to get 4.2/4.4 degrees of caster. The DTD/Mercedes Adjustable Track Bar allowed us to re-center the axles from -0.38 degrees (which had the wheels sticking out about 1.5″ on the right side) to -0.01 degrees.
If you are installing a 4″ Lift Kit, we have new radius arms to correct the caster.
What is Caster?
The caster angle is the angular displacement of the steering axis from the vertical axis of a steered wheel, measured in the longitudinal direction. Looking at your front wheel straight on from the side, imagine a vertical line through the center of the wheel. As you lift the vehicle up, picture that wheel being rotated forward. As that happens, the caster angle moves toward 0 degrees. In turn, the vehicle will start to wander all over, or even hop to the side. It may feel like you don’t have control over the vehicle.
If you have any questions about lifting up your G-class, just give us a call (888-565-5357), or shoot us an email (in**@Gw*********.com). We’re here to answer your questions!
