Rock Crawler Build - E53 3.0L

[Sarek]

I guess its monumental. No frame swapping will be involved. Some Range Rover though. I have a lot of skeptics until it is seen in action. Tires are bfg km2 255 80 17

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by Sarek

I guess its monumental. No frame swapping will be involved. Some Range Rover though. I have a lot of skeptics until it is seen in action. Tires are bfg km2 255 80 17

Please post a vid of TRUE rock crawling.

FYI, this is rock crawling.

Rock Crawlers Video - Modern Marvels - HISTORY.com

[downeaster1]

Sarek,
That's more or less what my truck looked like visually.
A lot of people I've noticed will highly advise against your project, but I can honestly say that I've never had an issue. Sure, its unpractical, but given the right tire setup, its actually pretty decent in an off-road environment. I wouldn't keep it vertical for too long unless you modify the oil system, but it looks great so far. Keep on truckin'.

[Sarek]

4" suspension lift using RR style struts and springs in the front. Custom springs in the rear with rover shocks. 2" front and rear subframe drop lift. Converted to 6 speed manual transmission. Inboard mounted winch. Radiator upgrade with electric fan retrofit. Xdrive lockup conversion. Just to name a few

[JCL]

Intake air mods (snorkel, etc)?

Any relocation or waterproofing of the various low-hanging electronics?

Skid plates?

If those are the standard tow eyes, did you have to beef up the mounting? I recall they weren't too strong unless the winch pull was straight on, and winching with a snatch block often results in a pull at an angle.

[nebilex]

Originally Posted by Sarek

4" suspension lift using RR style struts and springs in the front. Custom springs in the rear with rover shocks. 2" front and rear subframe drop lift. Converted to 6 speed manual transmission. Inboard mounted winch. Radiator upgrade with electric fan retrofit. Xdrive lockup conversion. Just to name a few

Would like to see that conversion work, which transmission are you using?

[acannell]

Originally Posted by Sarek

Inboard mounted winch.

sick. how are you doing this. pics pleassseeee

[Sarek]

Still stock diffs. 4.10 ratios front and rear. The x5 has what they call differential braking (like the range rover L322) where the the brake is applied to the wheel that lifts or slips off the ground to transfer power to the opposite wheel. This system works pretty well. You can have one front and one rear wheel off the ground and still move forward.

[acannell]

Originally Posted by Sarek

Still stock diffs. 4.10 ratios front and rear. The x5 has what they call differential braking (like the range rover L322) where the the brake is applied to the wheel that lifts or slips off the ground to transfer power to the opposite wheel. This system works pretty well. You can have one front and one rear wheel off the ground and still move forward.

interesting...this would give you a nice bonus of open diffs on slush and ice but locked behavior for the one wheelin...this should be pretty bad ass..is that you in your avatar pic in the X5? so is this already a done deal or whats going on?

whats your plans for the suspension?

[Sarek]

Yes that's me in the pic. Its never done but a work in progress.