Sahara vs. Rubicon?

[brewtus98]

When I put my Rubicon wheels/tires and Shocks/Springs on my Sahara I think it actually rode BETTER!!! But only slightly.

It's all subjective and personal preference,

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[S2k Chris]

Are you really asking this question on this forum? That is basically akin to standing on a street corner in the NE US and asking someone if they prefer the Yankees or Red Sox. You're going to get a whole lot of extremely passionate responses, exactly zero of which is unbiased and helpful.

I don't think that's true at all, even the most hardcore Rubicon fans should be able to admit the availability of the part time 4WD on the Sahara makes it an ideal winter commuter.

 

[DaveL]

The Rubicon tires will be fine on dry pavement, but the Jeep won't handle like a sports car.

Understood and no, I don't expect it to just would prefer to limit the body roll as much as possible / practical.

 

[FitBliss]

Did the Sahara with 35's have stock gearing? 3.45's?

The Sahara was completely stock besides the Mopar lift and the Fuel 20's with 35x12.5 Duratracs and it drove like a dream, I was really impressed and kinda started thinking how much do I use my lockers and disc. sway bar? Made me realize that if you did some clean tasteful mods, steel bumper, lift, wheels tires, I would almost prerfer the Sahara and having the money leftover to do those mods vs. buying the Rubicon. One of my favorite examples I have been seeing lately is the EVO JT (Gladiator) it is a fully built rock crawling monster and guess what it is a SPORT S, now I get that in the end it probably costs more than the Rubi, but the level of customization and how amazing it turned out, makes me really want to reconsider my trims for future jeeps and hope this info helps others still in the ordering process.

 

[FitBliss]

Understood and no, I don't expect it to just would prefer to limit the body roll as much as possible / practical.

The shocks are stiffer in the Rubicon, but it doesn't compare to the smaller more road friendly tires on the Sahara, remember the Rubicon comes with 33 inch All terrains that are no comparison to the Sahara free way tires. When I first drove my Rubi off the lot those 33's made me like the jeep had crazy body roll, now with my 35's I am just used to it.

 

[brewtus98]

The Sahara was completely stock besides the Mopar lift and the Fuel 20's with 35x12.5 Duratracs and it drove like a dream, I was really impressed and kinda started thinking how much do I use my lockers and disc. sway bar? Made me realize that if you did some clean tasteful mods, steel bumper, lift, wheels tires, I would almost prerfer the Sahara and having the money leftover to do those mods vs. buying the Rubicon. One of my favorite examples I have been seeing lately is the EVO JT (Gladiator) it is a fully built rock crawling monster and guess what it is a SPORT S, now I get that in the end it probably costs more than the Rubi, but the level of customization and how amazing it turned out, makes me really want to reconsider my trims for future jeeps and hope this info helps others still in the ordering process.

AGREE 100%. Would rather put extra cost of a rubicon towards mods that I use. In NW Ohio I would NEVER use the electric sway bar disconnect or lockers, so would just really be paying for an appearance package & 4.10 gears..

Thanks for the assessment of 35's - another data point for me when I wear out these 33's.

 

[CT_LFC]

I chose the Rubicon over the Sahara based on looks, even though from a "need" perspective the Sahara would have been plenty and then some. I simply do not like (as in hate) the silver inserts in the grill / light housing and find both stock wheels ugly. On the other hand, the brawnier look of the Rubicon with the hood and bigger tires looks awesome to me, plus the stock tires are my favorite Wrangler tires across all generations (I have the WFK ones).

An equally-built Sahara would have cost me within $2-3K of the Rubicon and i'd still have to stare at that ugly grill and tires every day, or spend the money to mod them out at which point the price gap would have been even smaller, so just made it easier to get the one that made me the happiest right out of the box.

We've had it for 2 months so can only attest to summer driving, but it is very smooth and surprisingly quiet. Have no issues with ride quality whatsoever. We'll see how it does in snow, but being a Wrangler it's definitely not going to be a concern.

 

[FitBliss]

AGREE 100%. Would rather put extra cost of a rubicon towards mods that I use. In NW Ohio I would NEVER use the electric sway bar disconnect or lockers, so would just really be paying for an appearance package & 4.10 gears..

Thanks for the assessment of 35's - another data point for me when I wear out these 33's.

Np brotha! I have been wanting to find a thread to share this stuff on, without getting strung up by my fellow Rubi owners for going against the Red dash crew, but in retrospect, the lower trims are looking more and more tempting, especially if you know which mod's to do. I feel like since it is a jeep it doesn't really need leather, or LED this and that, those are things I could live without and we all know that stuff will come in time with the aftermarket. But as I read more and more about the different gearing and axels, it's like wait, I could have just got a sport S and done this stuff and it would kick butt even more off road! I know the average Rubi buyer kinda gets it because it is the highest/best trim that the unlimited wrangler has to offer, for now at least (Recon/other special models yet to be released ) but I really think a Sahara with that 10 grand left to spare price wise could be really amazing for some over-landing and other cool adventures!

 

[higbyz]

I live in Nh so we get snow ..lol

We have a Sahara and it's great in the snow. We pretty much do everything you've described. I pull a small trailer with it for the dump, use it in winter, it's a good daily driver etc ..

So far it's been awesome.

Do you run all terrain tires in winter or snows? If AT , which ones and are they good in snow?

 

[higbyz]

Are you really asking this question on this forum? That is basically akin to standing on a street corner in the NE US and asking someone if they prefer the Yankees or Red Sox. You're going to get a whole lot of extremely passionate responses, exactly zero of which is unbiased and helpful.

RED SOX!.....SAHARA!

 

[jeeplaw]

I know 2 guys personally who are buying Sport gladiators because they're ripping out most of the stock components and going big. But they're doing it all upfront. I'm glad they've got the capital, I'm more of a slow burn guy lol, plus, the Rubicon platform as a whole has been great so far, I've had no complaints.

Also, I'm running Mickey Thompson Deegan 38's on the road, and aside from a little hum, they've been good to go. Work really well in the rain, mud and dry conditions.

 

[TJ2018]

If you like the looks for the Rubi, and the comfort and convenience of the Sahara... you just described a MOAB. Other than the M/T tires, it's a Sahara dressed up like a Rubicon. A lot of MOAB owners have found the M/T tires aren't as loud or rough as they thought they would be. If I were in @DaveL s shoes, I'd give the MOAB a serious look.

 

[DaveL]

If you like the looks for the Rubi, and the comfort and convenience of the Sahara... you just described a MOAB. Other than the M/T tires, it's a Sahara dressed up like a Rubicon. A lot of MOAB owners have found the M/T tires aren't as loud or rough as they thought they would be. If I were in @DaveL s shoes, I'd give the MOAB a serious look.

Just had a look - A few grand more and it's got black wheels only - I hate, absolutely hate, black wheels so that's a deal breaker.

 

[TJ2018]

Just had a look - A few grand more and it's got black wheels only - I hate, absolutely hate, black wheels so that's a deal breaker.

Well... that's that then! LOL You could always find a set of Rubi take-off wheels with tires and solve the wheel & tire issue all at once

Seriously check out Saharas and Rubis and get what YOU want. Consider all the advise you can find here in the forums but at the end of the day it's your Jeep! Best of luck to you!

 

[Thill444]

Sahara, LSD, full time AWD option (Selec-Trac Full Time is an option), and I would recommend at a minimum the proximity option along with LED's and you will have a very capable winter Jeep. Whether you want the larger screen, safety package, etc will be personal preference.

You may have to order one though unless you get lucky, I noticed very few dealers seem to order the Selec-Track Full time option and LSD in the Sahara's near me. Not sure why, but maybe you can find one in the color you like.

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