Interstate Mods - I'll go First

[Teamaron]

Which sway bar is recommended?

http://www.amazon.com/Hellwig-7254-R.../dp/B003LFDSHS

We did the rear Konis already.


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[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Teamaron

Which sway bar is recommended?

Be careful of your clearance vis-a-vis the generator. It's already very close to the stock sway bar, so a larger-diameter bar could chafe the generator cover.

[jerhofer]

Originally Posted by Tiato

Recently installed a set of PIAA 560 LED driving lights. With the help of a post I saw in the Sprinter-forum I reverse engineered a light mounting bracket using .25" thick 6061-T651 mill finish aluminum. Since this was a prototype (different than the one seen on Sprinter forums ) I first rattle canned it gloss black then covered the whole thing with grip tape. Used some BMW bolts in place of the Mercedes bolts to mount the plate to the stock mounting bolt locations for the OEM bumper cover.

Makes a huge difference on dark back roads and extends the lighting to past high beam distance. With the high beams on it brightens the road tremendously.

Attachment 240818

Attachment 240819

Looks very professional. How did you wire it?

[73shark]

Also increasing the rear sway bar diameter will reduce understeer and if big enuf could lead to oversteer. That's where the tail end wants to lead.

Not sure what the effect would be on the electronic stability control would be.

[Tiato]

Originally Posted by jerhofer

Looks very professional. How did you wire it?

Jerry, the PIAA lamp kit comes with a wiring harness with an integrated relay and a connector for a PIAA supplied on/off switch lead.

2 long leads go to the lamps. Somewhere in-between I zip tied the lamp relay to the headlight wiring harness. 2 other long leads ( + and - connections) are routed into the cabin through the one easily accessible plug in the firewall and routed under the floor covering and into the battery box. A separate lead is the connection for the lamp switch from which there branches another lead that is the switch power and I used an open fuse slot under the drivers seat power distribution block. I mounted the on off switch to the left of the headlight switch.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Teamaron

Which sway bar is recommended?

Amazon.com: Hellwig 7254 Rear Sway Bar: Automotive

We did the rear Konis already.


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My husband says RM-1209-117 (Roadmaster).

[unifreck]

Teamaron-----Check the Sprinter Store since they engineered sway bars especially for Sprinters. They do sell on Internet and know shops that can install them correctly. They also use a high quality bushing material.

[lewster]

Ya want lights????????

I got lights!!!!!!!!

120 watts of LED at over 10,000 lumins.

[pattonsr]

Lew,

Details! Brand, mount, wiring, inside switch. Is this going to be one of your electrical component upgrades?

Barry

[lewster]

Originally Posted by pattonsr

Lew,

Details! Brand, mount, wiring, inside switch. Is this going to be one of your electrical component upgrades?

Barry

Sure....it can be!

The light is from Superbrightleds.com. I re-purposed the two bolts that hold down the front step in the grill to hold the light. Had to do a bit of 'magic' to get that to work, but it went well. A bit of drilling and tapping into the billet aluminum casing, a little 3" stainless angle and it's mounted.

I have a factory aux. battery in the engine bay, so I tapped the relay into that. The light has an available switch kit that I ran inside and is now temporarily mounted on my turn signal stalk for easy and quick deployment.......especially if some numb-scull refuses to dim their high beams!!!! A combination of the LEDs and the HID high beams that are on the van and they either quickly dim or get blinded. Works for me!!!!!! .......but NOT for them!!!

[Lily&Me]

I want a lewster in my neighborhood.


Maggie

[ben322]

I have a similar setup to Lew, (26" 120W Single Row LED), but mounted it on the top so I could still get my foot there to clean the windshield.

[Teamaron]

Originally Posted by ben322

I have a similar setup to Lew, (26" 120W Single Row LED), but mounted it on the top so I could still get my foot there to clean the windshield.

Can you show an ON picture?



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[DavisBurns]

I guess if you blind an oncoming car that has blinded you with high beams then you're both blind. Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

[gambita]

LED Light bar was helpful (to us) when we drove one night going camping in New Hampshire . The road was dark, no street lights.
I turn on the LED when there is no incoming traffic in the opposite side,
Otherwise it will surely blind the other driver

[lewster]

Originally Posted by gambita

LED Light bar was helpful (to us) when we drove one night going camping in New Hampshire . The road was dark, no street lights.
I turn on the LED when there is no incoming traffic in the opposite side,
Otherwise it will surely blind the other driver Attachment 241203

EXACTLY!

Being a respectful driver (contrary to what some comments on this thread would lead one to believe), I only use the LED bar (and the HID high beams) when no oncoming traffic is in view, and immediately extinguish it (along with the high beams) at the first sight of oncoming light from the opposite direction or red tail lights in my travel direction

It's not only disrespectful, but also illegal to leave your high beams on when other drivers are present, regardless if they are traveling in the same or opposite direction!!!

Those that choose to ignore the courtesy (and the law) get a quick reminder! But sorry to say, most do nothing and are otherwise totally oblivious!!!!

[ben322]

Originally Posted by Teamaron

Can you show an ON picture?

I don't have a picture with it on because it's really bright and washes out the picture unless I could be back further off angle. I installed it primarily for fog, (like I68/I70 near WV which can be really bad at night), but it's also good for those pitch black back roads when we're breaking camp early.

The factory fogs could be modified for double duty by taking the inner shield out and using a high power LED but the reflector is small so your long distance light would mainly be from the front mounted LED. The light bar has 18 driving and 6 fog LED's so it's a nice addition when no ones in front of you.

[gambita]

Originally Posted by Mjgman

What is the light bar for?

Sorry for the late reply.
LED light bar will be helpful when driving in very dark areas , it will light up your path like daylight 😁.
Caution : it will blind the other driver driving opposite your lane.
I use it in campsite or when driving locally ( when no other vehicle opposite you on the road)
Sometimes I use it as daytime running lights when raining.

[gambita]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Not really true— a Corvette has a relatively large grille opening— underneath the nose of the car.



Given the location of the light bar, I'd be more concerned with blocking airflow to the transmission oil cooler, if the van has one.

So far , no transmission/ overheating/ cooling problem after driving more than 3,000miles. There is still airflow
in the transmission grill as the LED
is not tight fit.
I have 2 LED light bars (for off roading&#128513 on the Ford Raptor behind the grill and its been fine.

[InterBlog]

Interesting that several folks have felt it necessary to augment the lighting on newer Interstates, which already have projector headlights. I would have assumed those to be sufficient for almost any scenario.

We are working on retrofitting projectors on our 2007 because the old technology just doesn't cut it. This issue has come up on older threads, but one of our biggest driving risk factors in the deep south is concrete blow-outs (to use TxDOT's somewhat contentious term), which can develop very rapidly when the concrete simply shatters and collapses into a R.O.W. abyss (they are like potholes on steroids). I can't see those with the OEM T1N Sprinter headlights, and they are a real threat. Yesterday on social media, there was a great gnashing of teeth over a local blow-out that reportedly shredded three of four tires on one driver's car, and flattened individual tires on many others. If I ever hit a big one like that in the Interstate with its delicate underbelly, there is no telling how much damage would result. I'm hoping that the projector retrofit will help to illuminate them sufficiently, because I couldn't use an LED light bar in the city.