I have an '18 AWD Flex -- nicest vehicle I've ever owned. If somebody would create a kit that would raise it up about 4", I'd do it and slap some fat tires on it. Not for anything crazy, but just getting to more remote campsites, etc. The first thing a buddy of mine said when I showed it off was "It's cool. If it was a few inches higher, that thing would look badass."
You should have lowered tire pressure more. With 10-15PSI a mud Terrain tire gets really capable in the winter forest. We drove our Jeep JK with 35" BFG MT KM3 in 40cm of snow, no problems with low pressure. With high pressure we wold get stuck in the first 50m.
I know this is an old video but here are a few suggestions that would really help (I've been doing this stuff for almost 30 years): 1. Just like with drag racing, tire grip is best just before slipping. Instead of blipping the throttle hard when you want to move forwards a small distance, be as smooth as possible and try to do it without spinning. 2. The right amount of inertia is one of your best friends. When traveling through a tough section try to keep the speed fairly constant, with a smooth variation in throttle to maintain the speed. The right speed is just enough to get through without damage and try to build the necessary inertia (even at very low speeds over technical stuff) before your tires hit the obstacles. Most of the time that is about walking speed but sometimes, especially with muddy sections without boulders, etc higher speeds with lots of constant (or smoothly varying) throttle is needed. Remember you can always winch so don't make the mistake of getting the speeds up too high to cause damage. 3. With modern (~2005 up) 4wd systems, when you do have a wheel spin, allowing it to slowly spin will give the 4wd system a chance to use the ABS system to stop the spinning wheel and transfer power to the wheels with grip. 4. Lower tire pressure works extremely well, especially with trails where you have rocks and logs that your tires need to climb over. Lowing tire pressure does lower the ground clearance but not by much until your into the under ~15 psi range. I hope you have even more fun next time you go off-roading!
When you get it aligned, place thick washers on each side of your control arms. Once the alignment is perfect, weld the washers in place to keep the bolts from sliding out of position again.
Great video, I want to see more with the ML. The ML doesn't need any lockers because it has a great robust traction control system that can spin the correct wheels that are needed, you just have to give it some gas and hold it till the computer spines the needed wheels and with the ESP off to for hardest terrain, this MLs are amazing vehicles
From my little experience with w163 MLs,keeping the throttle steady helps the esc control slippage better thus you are out of icky situations easier. The on/off throttle action seems to make the esc take longer to start helping.
They don’t need limited slip diffs. Some MLS did come with a locking rear diff. Only thing that could make them better would be if they had the traction control system Jeeps have. They are the best available at the moment.
I moved from Michigan a year ago and now live in the desert for my career. i used to party and camp up in the U.P. and your video made me feel so good. Thank you Alex.
NORD-LOCK washers on any bolts that you don't want to come loose. Used them in the mining industry for years on high impact/vibration drilling rigs, so they can take a pounding without coming loose.. They do a fantastic job.
Had a great time with you guys. OJ at Fluid Motor Union is a class act and super knowledgeable. Alex, you rock bro.... can't wait for the next rally north
I’m currently building a VW Vanagon Syncro just for this kind of trip. When I’m finished would love to meet up and show it to you. It would be another unreliable euro but a Van. Looked like fun.
I know there are gonna be a lot of reactions about they’re lack of driving technique, but the first time off-roading woth all the faults you make are the most fun! Unfortunately that’s just the first drives..... it seems you had al lot of fun hahaha
Yeah you got it. I was trying not to leave a negative comment. It will get better with practice and a few tips. Glad to see it in action either way. Just like hotrodding, offroading you will end up working on it. That’s all there is to it.
#1 rule of offroading is don't completely stop, next time you take it out make sure to air down your tires to 10-15 PSI and if you're going to do anything difficult in low traction situations, make sure to plan it out and most importantly commit!! Looks like you had a blast Alex, glad you had a great off-road experience and glad the ML made it!!
The range rover is a great off road car,you just need to get rid of the air bags and lift it if you want to do stuff like this,here in UK a lot of people use the range rover discovery as they have higher road clearance and you can get them with man gearbox.The main reason that people think range rovers are unreliable is because people do not look after them like they should.My husbands ML is the same,they spent money on it for the first half of it's life now it needs too much money to put it right
To lock the camber, cut a piece of metal that fits into the bolt slot. The friction from the bolt just is not enough to keep it from slipping in the slot. It needs a physical stop.
ML's are super troopers , i could not see my self with out my ML430 (towing my car to the track acasionally offroading, road tripping), would be nice to adapt some lockers
My dad in Greece has a bunch of Willys Jeep from WWII... He would take me as a kid on these mountains with no roads and just run over small trees and driving through any obstacle... You should do a video over there I would let you borrow the jeep and show you around the best footage places you can get from anywhere in the world. And I guarantee this.
This build ML looks so much better than stock, i think for the w163 there was an offroad package from Mercedes with an middle differential lock but probably nobody ordered that
Man awesome video, that ML is freaking awesome. Makes me a little sad that I traded my old Mitsubishi outlander in for a honda fit. I need a new rig like the ML.
Bring extra tie rods, lower tire pressure Atleast half and spot weld the camber arm nuts in place so if they come loose they don’t move unless bolt pops out.
Enjoyed watching this! I live just down the street from FMU too! I hope you keep doing videos on this ML- would love to see rear bumper fabrication and some summertime trips with it! Maybe some LSD lockers? You should do a video with a tour of the car condos at the FMU plaza. Have been watching those go up for a year and really can’t imagine what’s going on at the whole complex there.
Hey watch out the ML Power Steering rack underneath the car has two male Torx bolts and either can get loose from off roading then start leaking fluid.
Great video Alex… the ML55 is a beast, and you couldn’t have done it better. I never saw the ML as an off roader , but I do now. You crack 🤣me up brother, funny , good times .
Someone probably already shared this, but if you air your tires down a bit more, your traction should go up a bit for some of those sections. Just not too much and pop a bead.
We went over that bridge last summer! Went to Mackinac island and then headed into the UP. Amazing trip, it's so beautiful up there!!! I wouldn't go in the winter though, too cold!
So you’ve got the cooling fan hooked up to the fog light. Next you should hook up the blower motor to the directionals. Left high speed, right low speed.
Hi from Moscow Rusia !!! Thanks for that video ! all of that cars are popular in 2005-2010 years. But non of this cars really going off-road in my country...
You'll get used to the traction control in the ML - it actually works very well but you gotta learn to keep on the throttle all the time and keep momentum rather than "idle crawl" start/stop like the locking diff guys, as in the ML, no throttle = no traction control = no "pretend" locking diffs = spinny wheels. Giving some Beans is key!!
God it was so frustrating seeing Alex stop, start. Just get going good and then off the gas and stop again. It was like he was trying to get stuck - maybe so he could use his winch.
If the upper control arms keep slipping back, add another bolt behind the one holding the control arm so it won’t slide, or weld a tab so the bolt can’t slide.
What the most reliable SUV with some decent off-road capabilities?
Land Cruiser.
Cherokee
Toyota 4runner
Bronco
98 cherokee with the 5.9 300 dana
OJ looks like a fast and furious villain
Should have stuck a second bolt in to fill in the gap to stop the control arm from moving.
Probably didn't fit since the bushing was in the middle.
That seems to be the worst design I ever seen, that bolt will never stay in position!
Should weld washers in the position it needs to be at.
Just weld the damn nut to the plate once you get it on an alignment rack and have it positioned perfect. That is kind of a stupid design tho.
I have an '18 AWD Flex -- nicest vehicle I've ever owned. If somebody would create a kit that would raise it up about 4", I'd do it and slap some fat tires on it. Not for anything crazy, but just getting to more remote campsites, etc.
The first thing a buddy of mine said when I showed it off was "It's cool. If it was a few inches higher, that thing would look badass."
You should have lowered tire pressure more. With 10-15PSI a mud Terrain tire gets really capable in the winter forest. We drove our Jeep JK with 35" BFG MT KM3 in 40cm of snow, no problems with low pressure. With high pressure we wold get stuck in the first 50m.
Air down son
“ESP” on at all times helps with the traction
This is why all hummers have tire pressure control on board
I know this is an old video but here are a few suggestions that would really help (I've been doing this stuff for almost 30 years):
1. Just like with drag racing, tire grip is best just before slipping. Instead of blipping the throttle hard when you want to move forwards a small distance, be as smooth as possible and try to do it without spinning.
2. The right amount of inertia is one of your best friends. When traveling through a tough section try to keep the speed fairly constant, with a smooth variation in throttle to maintain the speed. The right speed is just enough to get through without damage and try to build the necessary inertia (even at very low speeds over technical stuff) before your tires hit the obstacles. Most of the time that is about walking speed but sometimes, especially with muddy sections without boulders, etc higher speeds with lots of constant (or smoothly varying) throttle is needed. Remember you can always winch so don't make the mistake of getting the speeds up too high to cause damage.
3. With modern (~2005 up) 4wd systems, when you do have a wheel spin, allowing it to slowly spin will give the 4wd system a chance to use the ABS system to stop the spinning wheel and transfer power to the wheels with grip.
4. Lower tire pressure works extremely well, especially with trails where you have rocks and logs that your tires need to climb over. Lowing tire pressure does lower the ground clearance but not by much until your into the under ~15 psi range.
I hope you have even more fun next time you go off-roading!
When you get it aligned, place thick washers on each side of your control arms. Once the alignment is perfect, weld the washers in place to keep the bolts from sliding out of position again.
Great video, I want to see more with the ML. The ML doesn't need any lockers because it has a great robust traction control system that can spin the correct wheels that are needed, you just have to give it some gas and hold it till the computer spines the needed wheels and with the ESP off to for hardest terrain, this MLs are amazing vehicles
Due to the ammo shortage they used sound effects of firing a shot gun instead of actually firing the shotgun.
She almost muzzled the crowd so they at least had 1 live round.
@@molskimauler that's considered actually muzzling in my opinion.
A couple of hundred more adverts and this would be a great video
Finally you’re back I can only take so many Doug DeMuro videos!
Aaaand thi🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍 is not the comment you were looking for
Looks like everyone had a great time 👍 RIP Flex Muffler 🙏
Reduce the air for a while More traction yeah.. i used to have ml55 2000 SUV i loved the power..i loved the video thx Alex and O.J. mr Jhn
From my little experience with w163 MLs,keeping the throttle steady helps the esc control slippage better thus you are out of icky situations easier.
The on/off throttle action seems to make the esc take longer to start helping.
The flex is a beast for sure. You can get around on snow and ice with balding street tires and it’ll be fine, I know from experience.
You should try Volkswagen Touareg next time I heard those are great off road
Add some limit slip lockers font and rear, weld the suspension adjustment grooves to fix the wheel adjustment in place, and call it a day.
They don’t need limited slip diffs. Some MLS did come with a locking rear diff. Only thing that could make them better would be if they had the traction control system Jeeps have. They are the best available at the moment.
I moved from Michigan a year ago and now live in the desert for my career. i used to party and camp up in the U.P. and your video made me feel so good. Thank you Alex.
Spacers, roof rack, rock sliders. Also that Flex is a beast 💪
NORD-LOCK washers on any bolts that you don't want to come loose. Used them in the mining industry for years on high impact/vibration drilling rigs, so they can take a pounding without coming loose.. They do a fantastic job.
Every time he says OJ, I keep thinking of a White Bronco! 😂
The culmination of all the ML videos resulted in this amazing one. I enjoyed it Alex. And OJ is a machine!
Way to play it safe. That beemer would for sure be the first to bite the dust.
I agreeeee bro. 100%
As a proud Yooper, and having done it probably over a hundred times, going over the Mackinac bridge is always special. You hit it at the right time!
This makes me want to get an ML! Alex, please continue to work on and create content on this project. Love all your videos.
I watched and subscribed just because of this series!! Great Job! I like seeing the luxury Offroad crew out on the trails.
Might be able to fit a electric rear diff lock from a GL320 / GL500..
Drinking Game: Take a shot every time Alex says "I have a winch" 😂
Or "dude" in this video :D
This was the exact thing I was going to post! Ps: Alex buy hoovies car
@@IkKe243 which one😂
I was thinking he should have put a counter of how many times he said winch 😆
I see a new channel legitoffroaders in the future.
Loving the channel.
That Flex is a beast
I have a awd flex and it definitely gets down
My AWD Flex EcoBoost kicks my Expedition's ass in the snow.
Had a great time with you guys. OJ at Fluid Motor Union is a class act and super knowledgeable. Alex, you rock bro.... can't wait for the next rally north
It's going to be epic!
The Ford Flex was always a great suv/wagon especially with the 3.5 ecoboost Ford made a monster
I’m currently building a VW Vanagon Syncro just for this kind of trip. When I’m finished would love to meet up and show it to you. It would be another unreliable euro but a Van. Looked like fun.
Let some air out of those tires! Damn. Lol
I know there are gonna be a lot of reactions about they’re lack of driving technique, but the first time off-roading woth all the faults you make are the most fun! Unfortunately that’s just the first drives..... it seems you had al lot of fun hahaha
Yeah you got it. I was trying not to leave a negative comment. It will get better with practice and a few tips. Glad to see it in action either way. Just like hotrodding, offroading you will end up working on it. That’s all there is to it.
It's all about having fun. The trip looked a ball.
Anything beginning with ML gets an instant like.
I go to Mackinaw Island every year for my Anniversary. In the summer it feels like being on a tropical island
Yooo this is dope! You couldve milked at least 3 episodes from the trip!! We need more footage pls
#1 rule of offroading is don't completely stop, next time you take it out make sure to air down your tires to 10-15 PSI and if you're going to do anything difficult in low traction situations, make sure to plan it out and most importantly commit!! Looks like you had a blast Alex, glad you had a great off-road experience and glad the ML made it!!
This looked so much fun! Great work on the ML it did amazing l! Looking forward to the next episode.
I anticipate no problems whatsoever on this trip 👌🏻
The ML & X5 look great.
The range rover is a great off road car,you just need to get rid of the air bags and lift it if you want to do stuff like this,here in UK a lot of people use the range rover discovery as they have higher road clearance and you can get them with man gearbox.The main reason that people think range rovers are unreliable is because people do not look after them like they should.My husbands ML is the same,they spent money on it for the first half of it's life now it needs too much money to put it right
That looked like a lot of fun, thanks for taking us along with you ☮️
Summertime Colorado trip with that monster
Can you imagine where it would go with a Lincoln locker in the rear !! The locker allows you to relax and not BEAT on your vehicle all day !
Come over to the West, and cover some ground. Love the off-roading and watching you learn the techniques
I used to have a 99 ML430 these things are quite capable on the trail (stock). Remain hyper aware of your momentum!
Love your excitement for the offroading!
To lock the camber, cut a piece of metal that fits into the bolt slot. The friction from the bolt just is not enough to keep it from slipping in the slot. It needs a physical stop.
Drummond Island is a blast, been on several Jeep Jamborees up there. Drank a lot of beer at the lodge
LOL, I was so excited to see the X5 perform. Maybe next time, love the video.
4:10 its called a Ford WRaptor
The Mercedes look good in Jurassic park and Oj had a bronco lol
Yeah they had lockers an it was all tricked out then 2
One of my favorite series ever!! Super legit trail boss!!
You could melt the ice & snow off the road with those lights on that M-B!
@ 26:22- "A New Breakthrough"!
Dear Alex, I'll get my car stuck, so you can finally use your winch! 🤣
Michigan is always beautiful covered in snow. When I was a teenager, I snowmobiled across the ice to the Island.
ML's are super troopers , i could not see my self with out my ML430 (towing my car to the track acasionally offroading, road tripping), would be nice to adapt some lockers
Did you notice how much easier it was to just walk through that forest in the snow?
"Dude that was Legit!" put it on a t-shirt Alex!!
That's one of Goonzquad's signature lines. Other notable taglines are duuuuude, dang son, whatnot and poleetz.
My dad in Greece has a bunch of Willys Jeep from WWII... He would take me as a kid on these mountains with no roads and just run over small trees and driving through any obstacle... You should do a video over there I would let you borrow the jeep and show you around the best footage places you can get from anywhere in the world. And I guarantee this.
One of my favourite UA-cam channels and one of the best videos you've uploaded ! Keep the great content coming !
It’s cool watching your videos, it’s nice to see that you are really passionate about your content.
That range rover 👌🏽
ALEX! I’ve been waiting for this video for so long. Thank you so much for uploading.
Will Alex ever get to use his winch 😂
He did, he got to put a burn mark on the underside of his hood 👍
been there several times when i was younger for family vacations. gorgeous place
Need locking diffs and skid plates. That cooling fan seems to run all the time. Nice work on the vehicle. The Ford Flex was crazy!
They make hitch pins that lock down so your tire rack won’t flop around...
Hoovie is selling his CL65, upvote for Alex to see this.
Drummond Island is a blast! Looks like it was an adventure for sure.
I grew up in St. Ignace, MI, so it was really cool to watch this video!! Great work on these vehicles!
This build ML looks so much better than stock, i think for the w163 there was an offroad package from Mercedes with an middle differential lock but probably nobody ordered that
Middle diff lock? Never heard of it.
Looks like a lot of fun. Your fan on the ml is so loud. Great Video Alex!
More Please, that was Freekin Awesome Guys! That Side-by-side was beautiful. Wish it was an hour long.
the ml needs at least a rear locker, just that and could be a jeep killer
So the ml can join the Jeeps upside down, just a little further down in the ditch? 😂
@@goosedeathable hey, as long as it reaches further
Man awesome video, that ML is freaking awesome. Makes me a little sad that I traded my old Mitsubishi outlander in for a honda fit. I need a new rig like the ML.
Great video, I think letting some air out of the tires would make it bit easier. Good luck to everyone. God bless us all.
Bring extra tie rods, lower tire pressure Atleast half and spot weld the camber arm nuts in place so if they come loose they don’t move unless bolt pops out.
the way the the ML55s 4wd drive works is by using the cars brakes, it can send power to the wheels that need the power (obviously)
I drove over that bridge in September. Drove all the way out there from Utah. Awesome!
Ha ha, that "exhaust delete" was amazing ha ha
Dude the egg mobile is killing it can’t be stopped lol love it
Dude , i was amazed just day one ish of your channel . Lots of fans here in Quebec City. Keep it up.
Enjoyed watching this! I live just down the street from FMU too! I hope you keep doing videos on this ML- would love to see rear bumper fabrication and some summertime trips with it! Maybe some LSD lockers?
You should do a video with a tour of the car condos at the FMU plaza. Have been watching those go up for a year and really can’t imagine what’s going on at the whole complex there.
Hey watch out the ML Power Steering rack underneath the car has two male Torx bolts and either can get loose from off roading then start leaking fluid.
That Ford Flex was unreal might need to snag a one up living in upstate NY great video can’t wait too see what you do to the ML55 monster.
That ML FLEXIN' on that rally! Looks fun!
Winter off roading without tire chains, that's brave.
I rode dirt bikes on Drummond last year. The whole area of the UP is awesome. Great video.
Great video Alex… the ML55 is a beast, and you couldn’t have done it better. I never saw the ML as an off roader , but I do now. You crack 🤣me up brother, funny , good times .
Someone probably already shared this, but if you air your tires down a bit more, your traction should go up a bit for some of those sections. Just not too much and pop a bead.
We went over that bridge last summer! Went to Mackinac island and then headed into the UP. Amazing trip, it's so beautiful up there!!! I wouldn't go in the winter though, too cold!
You know Alex is freezing his ass off when the video is shaky
So you’ve got the cooling fan hooked up to the fog light. Next you should hook up the blower motor to the directionals. Left high speed, right low speed.
Hi from Moscow Rusia !!! Thanks for that video ! all of that cars are popular in 2005-2010 years. But non of this cars really going off-road in my country...
You'll get used to the traction control in the ML - it actually works very well but you gotta learn to keep on the throttle all the time and keep momentum rather than "idle crawl" start/stop like the locking diff guys, as in the ML, no throttle = no traction control = no "pretend" locking diffs = spinny wheels. Giving some Beans is key!!
God it was so frustrating seeing Alex stop, start. Just get going good and then off the gas and stop again. It was like he was trying to get stuck - maybe so he could use his winch.
I think you're letting of the gas before you let the computer figure it out so it's all jerky and odd.
If the upper control arms keep slipping back, add another bolt behind the one holding the control arm so it won’t slide, or weld a tab so the bolt can’t slide.