...and perhaps some flamebait for that Wolfgang guy. Possibly unfair since I have 33s and everyone else had pretty much bone stock vehicles but given how noisy the ML's ESP relays are you would think that they would have the ability to apply the brakes to the wheel that is in the air long enough that you don't just jitter back and forth looking like you have a case of the DTs. Actually a much more vexing problem for an electronic traction control system than it sounds like on the face of it and doubtless ultimately doomed to failure.

It was a fun trip and definately more challenging than they have been in the past, nicely timed considering we needed the Tirfor I bought a couple of weeks earlier on several occasions. As an aside I heartily recommend picking up a Tirfor if you can conceive getting yourself (more likely the people you are with) into these sorts of situations, I could easily see needing a couple pulleys or a kilometer of driving being required to be able to use a front mounted winch to help the next couple of cars in one of the spots. They are a lot of work though.

The normal trip report along with the requisite tonnes of pictures will have to wait a little bit because we have just become involved in a trademark dispute, three countries (maybe four) plus three companies equals bad mojo for us so I have temporarily taken down our whole web site for the moment.

Chris.

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 I was thinking of this fellow: Wolfgang's ML page, I haven't looked at his site in a while but he used to have (or may still) have some funny assertions about how much better MLs were off road compared to G wagens.  At the same time he also has some useful specs and other stuff there too.  Realistically his assertions are probably correct for the specific things he considers 4x4ing, he just asserts things in a much more general way.

I was thinking about it and I'm not sure I see a good way for the computer to deal with the specific conditions where the picture was taken.  Specifically it was a steep uphill section where one or two tires will be off the ground for a relatively considerable amount of time.  Assuming you aren't taking a super fast run at it, the car reaches a point where you run out of forward momentum and you need the computer to keep the wheel that is in the air braked.  The problem is that the only way for the computer to know if there is traction again is to release the wheel and check for spin.  All this is fine in situations where there is still lots of forward momentum but as soon as that is lost, you end up pretty much just see-sawing there.   This is exactly the behaviour we observed whilst we were trying to get up this bit.  It can possibly be pulled off but I would worry that an algorithm that is correct in this circumstance will be exactly the wrong one on an icy road or still stymied if things get a bit steeper yet.

I'm not certain but I think this ML had the newer version, I have another friend with an ML and his is often in trouble where there is a level but steep road (if you know what I mean) with lots of loose gravel.  On his you can see the ETS actively working against him as the braking destroys the marginal but generally present traction.  This was very much in evidence one time where he became pretty much stuck behind me on a bit of road where I hadn't yet switched into 4wd.  This one does not seem to suffer from the same sorts of problem.

Yes it is a beautiful area, lots of mining and some really neat gealogy around there too.

     Chris.

 

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Yup, the tunnel is at the start of the road to Seton Portage, the tunnel starts right at the end of the dam at the bottom of Carpenter lake.

We didn't run across any wreckage this trip, we basically did a figure eight, we took the hurley over to Gold Bridge and then went across to the Yalakom and around Poison Mountain.  We then went back behind and took the road from Poison to Swartz and Mud lakes., then back to Gold Bridge for more gas and then home over the Shalath/Seton Portage High Line road.  Probably about 700km total over the weekend.  I have a fancy web map but I have to sort out the other stuff before I can link to it.

We camped at Swartz lake at about 2100m elevation, no northern lights but a terrific view none the less.

Have you ever looked at going to the Bella Coola road (hwy 20) from Poison Mountain?  As near as I can tell, there was a fork between Poison mountain and Swartz lake that you could take straight north about 80km (very mangy looking mind you).  I'm thinking of doing a longer trip next year and seeing if it is possible.  If anyone ever wanted to go to Bella Coola or Alexis Creek it could probably save 300km of driving and only add two or three days to the trip...

    Chris.

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No worries, I'm only upset that I can't make the trip. 

At the risk of going even more off topic, we had a relative of yours on the trip, it's a bushwakka.  Unfortunately the Liberty couldn't pull the thing off road without overheating so we ended up abandoning it for a couple days, or maybe fortunately because it would have definately made the tricky bits more exciting.  Is yours over 2 ton mark too?

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