MB Sprinter Crosswind Assist reviews?

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by lewster

Sprinter Store. IIRC, they are in Tualitin just south of Portland. They did all of my chassis upgrades.

Lew Farber

+1 I also had my upgraded Koni shocks installed by the Sprinter Store in Tualitin when I was on a west coast trip. I also had them do the 40,000 mile service for me. They are a good independent shop that specializes in Sprinters.


- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[unifreck]

I also had chassis upgrades done by the Sprinter Store in Tualitin Oregon. Stayed in a motel overnight a few blocks away, but could have stayed in their parking lot.
Quality work, fairly priced and changed the handling and safety characteristics of my Interstate tremendously. It's a lot of fun to drive with "white knuckle " days over and behind us. AEW

[ColoradoLady]

My new 2016 Grand Tour ext had a really good workout, (as did I), on the drive back home from Ft. worth to Centennial, Colorado. The cross winds in the Texas panhandle, N.M., and southern Colorado were pretty brutal. White knuckle driving is putting it mildly! If I didn't have a death grip on the wheel, there were times the extra strong wind gusts would have "had their way"! The main thing that kept the vehicle under control was to drastically reduce speed.

[DaddysBus]

I have a 2016 AI with air suspension. Coming from a 37' Coachmen Encounter, I must be spoiled but I haven't noticed the crosswind as being nearly as bad as it our old rig. Our trips have included TX, LA, MS, LA, FL along the coast and haven't noticed anything not manageable with our current set up.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by DaddysBus

Our trips have included TX, LA, MS, LA, FL along the coast and haven't noticed anything not manageable with our current set up.

Until you've encountered crosswinds in the Texas panhandle, you haven't encountered crosswinds.

All along US 287 and I-40 you'll see wind farms with big white propellers growing like weeds, and more being built every day. You know the wind is strong when they have to shut down the propellers to keep them from turning too fast!

[DaddysBus]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Until you've encountered crosswinds in the Texas panhandle, you haven't encountered crosswinds.

All along US 287 and I-40 you'll see wind farms with big white propellers growing like weeds, and more being built every day. You know the wind is strong when they have to shut down the propellers to keep them from turning too fast!

LOL oh trust me I know the pan handle well as well as the rest of the lovely Lone Star state. One of the (mis)fortunes of living in Austin is that you have to navigate the entire freaking state to go any where decent including trips out to McDonald Observatory, Taos, Colorado, or East to FL. What I'm saying is that compared with the sh** show of a ride the Encounter was, the AI is a gem to drive!

[73shark]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

You know the wind is strong when they have to shut down the propellers to keep them from turning too fast!

I guess they don't have variable pitch blades?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by 73shark

I guess they don't have variable pitch blades?

That's HOW they shut them down, feathering the blades just like airplane propellers on a shut-down engine.

[73shark]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

That's HOW they shut them down, feathering the blades just like airplane propellers on a shut-down engine.

Then why can't they just reduce the pitch to slow it down? I thought I read one time in one of my engineering magazines when the windmills were first hitting the scene that was how they maintained the speed. Maybe that only works up to a certain wind speed and after that they have to feather them due to the wind resistance putting too much force on the tower.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by 73shark

Then why can't they just reduce the pitch to slow it down? I thought I read one time in one of my engineering magazines when the windmills were first hitting the scene that was how they maintained the speed. Maybe that only works up to a certain wind speed and after that they have to feather them due to the wind resistance putting too much force on the tower.

Can't say for sure, but you're probably right. I looked at the specs on these towers years ago when the Corps of Engineers received a proposal to mount some along the new Surge Barrier floodwall we were building east of New Orleans. But I didn't delve too deeply into the inner workings because the proposal failed early in the review process when the design calculations couldn't show the towers as being able to stand up to hurricane-force winds.

[73shark]

Thanks. We now return to the AI Crosswind Assist Review discussion.

[jerhofer]

Originally Posted by DaddysBus

I have a 2016 AI with air suspension. Coming from a 37' Coachmen Encounter, I must be spoiled but I haven't noticed the crosswind as being nearly as bad as it our old rig. Our trips have included TX, LA, MS, LA, FL along the coast and haven't noticed anything not manageable with our current set up.

I wonder if the later models with the anti-rollover assist and the air suspension might be better at resisting crosswinds. We faced high crosswinds last fall as we crossed Utah and Nevada on our way to Lake Tahoe. It was a stressful day but manageable. Those winds sure are hard on the fuel mileage.

[Protagonist]

I have noticed that crosswinds don't seem to be as much of a problem when I'm pulling a toad as when I'm not. Maybe the toad acts like the tail on a kite?

[TheCabin]

I just looked at this thread and noticed that the OP asked about the MB Wind Assist technology. Is that technology now available in the 3500?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by TheCabin

I just looked at this thread and noticed that the OP asked about the MB Wind Assist technology. Is that technology now available in the 3500?

It's now a standard feature on Sprinter 2500 vans made in 2015 or later. But that doesn't help us.

I've been dredging the Internet to see about the Sprinter 3500s— which would include Interstates— but have never found any indication that the Sprinter 3500s (dual rear wheels) will ever have it. Supposedly the duals already provide more lateral stability than the single rear wheels so the designers don't think it's needed.

[bsedor]

Originally Posted by Mcrider

The '16 is my first Sprinter and I also have the air suspension option so I'm not able to give a comparison. What I can say is after 8000 miles with some of those in stout cross-winds, the wind is very noticable and you have to remain diligent. Semi passing is also noticable, but no drama. I cam eout of Big Bend with a horrific quartering headwind and I had to drop the speed to ~60 to be relaxed.

I am in the same situation as Mcrider (2016 Grand Tour with airbags, first Sprinter) and I agree totally with his description above!

Bob

[Asheville]

Originally Posted by lewster

Sprinter Store. IIRC, they are in Tualitin just south of Portland. They did all of my chassis upgrades.


Lew Farber
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[InterBlog]

I had to drive round trip from Galveston County to Austin yesterday. If I had known in advance that I wasn't staying overnight, I wouldn't have taken the Interstate, but I didn't know in advance the scope of what I needed to do, so I took it.

Coincidentally, we had not one, but two cold fronts in one day. I drove up there being slammed to the left, and drove back being slammed to the right. It'll take me the remainder of today to regain full balance because the crosswind was so severe, it messed with my inner ear, which is still swimming this morning (this has happened before; it is an annoyance but no big deal).

I shot a video intending to show the effects of the leading edge of the first front - the temperature falls 8 degrees in 3.5 minutes, as seen on the T1N's dash thermometer.

Only later upon watching the video did I realize that it also shows the crosswind severity. Then I wondered if there might be a way to semi-quantitatively measure the impact of the crosswind, the way James Adinaro did a before and after study of his air suspension. Maybe measure with and without crosswind assist.

Anyway, I'll try to post up that video and link it later. Meanwhile, our local ABC affiliate has turned the word Houston into a verb. Happy Friday.

[Pahaska]

We just returned from a Wednesday to Sunday rally at Lake Bastrop South Shore park, run by LCRA. We has a wild climate ride ... from T-shirt to brrrrrrr! Two cold fronts. Lots of rain. Some sleet. Two nights hovered just above freezing. We were helped to an extent by the lake which is always a bit warmer since it is a cooling lake for the LCRA power plant.

For non Texans: LCRA is Lower Colorado River Authority. Our Colorado River. LCRA, in addition to power plants, controls a string of dams on the Colorado. Their RV parks are great. All concrete pads and good facilities.

Bastrop is a great town to visit.

[rowiebowie]

Ha, I guess one advantage of living in deep South Texas is that I do most of my driving North & South, so crosswinds are not my main problem.

I do, however, notice a 2-3 mpg loss in fuel efficiency when I hit strong headwinds. For some reason, I never seem to reap the advantages of tail winds. Just my luck I'm usually driving in the former, rather than the latter.
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