2 Door JL Rubicon or Sport S?

[Indio]

If it will be a street machine and there are no plans to put big tires on it get the sport. If it will be doing moderately difficult off roading or you want bigger tires get the Rubicon.

I personally wouldn't put big tires on a sport. It will need spacers or rims with less back spacing which changes the scrub radius, which puts more force on the ball joints and steering linkage. The Sport doesn't get the 4.10 gears.
The Rubi takes care of those problems with the wider axle and numerically higher axle ratio.

I would not be concerned running 33 inch tires on a Sport. Here are the numbers:

Sport stock tire:
245/75R17
31.5x9.6 r17 (inches)

Rubicon stock tire:
LT285/70R17
32.7x11.2 r17 (inches)

Rubicon tire is 1.6 inch wider - or 0.8 inch more width each side of tire. That is not a huge difference, and aftermarket wheels will often have less positive offset as well. Or choose a narrower tire. I don't have a concern with some outboarding of the wheels. For years I ran aftermarket wheels on my CJs with less positive offset than stock. In fact my CJ5 had 15x10 inch wheels with negative offset. Didn't have any issues related to that.

4.10 gears are nice but with the new lower first gear of both the manual and auto trans many sins are forgiven. Especially with the auto trans.

Rubicon has it's place of course, but don't underrate the Sport. I mean it is news to people like me, who have driven CJs and other rigs all over the place off-road, that the new JL Sport is somehow a street machine. Did Jeep screw up with the Sport and I am unaware that it is inferior to the CJ?

I say upgrade the Sport to the stronger rear axle for added insurance and go have fun off-road - it should take most people wherever they want to go.

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[Jeepster2018]

The way I configured the Sport S to Rubicon, it can be a $5,000-$8,000 savings.

I can think of better ways to spend that kind of money on equipment I will never put to use.

I say if you think you'll always look at Rubicons and wish you had one (while driving a Sport S), you should just get the Rubicon. What you don't want is to regret the purchase only to have saved $4,000. I'm leaning toward a Sport S myself because I really don't think I'll regret not getting a Rubicon. The Sport S just seems more "me" to me and the Rubicon seems like overkill for me.

 

[jloyva]

JLU base Sport seems the sweet spot in terms of value, as it also comes standard with air-conditioning. I will likely get this config:

$30,495 - Base Sport JLU
$2,000 - Auto Trans
$595 - Up-Rated Rear Axle
$1,095 - Hard Top
-----------
$35,380 - Total MSRP

$9,500 savings over Rubicon JLU with auto-trans and hardtop. I'll be everywhere off-road in it no problem. But maybe the 2 door JL base Sport is not as easy a sell having to pay extra for air-conditioning, compared to the Sport S version you mentioned.

In my younger days I would have gone with the Sport, but I've really gotten used to keyless entry and power windows.

 

[jloyva]

The way I configured the Sport S to Rubicon, it can be a $5,000-$8,000 savings.

I can think of better ways to spend that kind of money on equipment I will never put to use.

Exactly. Someone recently said their configuration on the Sport S was only $4,000 less than the Rubicon. They argued that why not just go with the Rubicon, it's only $4,000. I guess I need to find a higher paying job because $4,000 isn't money I just throw around.

 

[Redneck_Jedi]

I'm leaning towards getting a 2dr Sport (maybe even the base model). I'm thinking with that 4-5k savings I could buy a pretty nice Mini Camping Trailer, or a used Waverunner. Although, my logical side says I really should put the cash into my 401k.

As much as I'd love a Rubicon, Living in Florida I doubt I'll ever have the opportunity to go rock crawling, and the extra capability would just be wasted.

Of course, once I've had a chance to test drive both a Sport and Rubicon, all this logic nonsense could go totally out the window.

 

[Quigley]

Only thing I can think of with regards to these two door Sahara JL is Jeep consolidating the number of models in relation to the previous generation.

To me, a Jeep Wrangler will always be a 2 Door...they simple introduced the 4 door as that is where is the market was going at the time and a way to boost sales.

I like the Rubicon and think it’s amazing, but a little over kill unless you plan to be off reading all the time.

Here is what I’m considering.

The Sport S I spec'd is very similar to yours, but I added the headliner, Alpine stereo, and Trailer tow and did not add the side bars. Mine came to $38,090 invoice and after 5% discount (including the $699 dealer cost added back in) came in at $36,884. Still a lot for a Sport S, but the Rubicon I spec'd came to about $6,500 more (but then I get the LED lights, bigger dash radio and leather seating).

 

[Quigley]

I am having a hard time understanding why some folks might think the Sport S is somehow diminished as an off road machine compared to the Rubicon. I ran 33's on a stock 1980 CJ 7 all over the SoCal deserts and then took it to Colorado and 4 wheeled all over the Rocky's. No lift needed, never once got stuck or high sided or met a trail obstacle that my Jeep could not find a way through. Never had 4.10 gears (nor would I want one for a machine that lives over 90% of its life on the road and not the Rubicon Trail.) Never had a lift, I did put a witch on (just in case) but never needed it on the trail. It did come in handy most winters pulling other folks out of the ditch when they spun their cars off the road.

I drove a new 2017 Rubicon last fall and the stock tires made the Jeep wiggle all over the road a highway speeds. Not for me.

 

[Jeepster2018]

Agree. If you think you would actually be doing alot of offroading, the the Rubicon makes sense.

BUT, getting a Rubicon just to get it with no intention of using the hardware, well then...

I'm leaning towards getting a 2dr Sport (maybe even the base model). I'm thinking with that 4-5k savings I could buy a pretty nice Mini Camping Trailer, or a used Waverunner. Although, my logical side says I really should put the cash into my 401k.

As much as I'd love a Rubicon, Living in Florida I doubt I'll ever have the opportunity to go rock crawling, and the extra capability would just be wasted.

Of course, once I've had a chance to test drive both a Sport and Rubicon, all this logic nonsense could go totally out the window.

 

[1quick1]

Here's some math I did on how I would spec a Rubi vs Sport S.

 

[Jeepster2018]

Also have the headliner...think it’s a must have.

The Sport S I spec'd is very similar to yours, but I added the headliner, Alpine stereo, and Trailer tow and did not add the side bars. Mine came to $38,090 invoice and after 5% discount (including the $699 dealer cost added back in) came in at $36,884. Still a lot for a Sport S, but the Rubicon I spec'd came to about $6,500 more (but then I get the LED lights, bigger dash radio and leather seating).

 

[Jeepster2018]

You can add the LED lights from MOPAR in the Sport S.

The Sport S I spec'd is very similar to yours, but I added the headliner, Alpine stereo, and Trailer tow and did not add the side bars. Mine came to $38,090 invoice and after 5% discount (including the $699 dealer cost added back in) came in at $36,884. Still a lot for a Sport S, but the Rubicon I spec'd came to about $6,500 more (but then I get the LED lights, bigger dash radio and leather seating).

 

[Revelation17]

did put a witch on (just in case) but never needed it on the trail

I can see how a witch could come in handy though. Was she expensive?

Gotta love autocorrect.

 

[macintux]

I can see how a witch could come in handy though. Was she expensive?

Gotta love autocorrect.

Usually it’s a “wench” but sadly they never seem to get why I’m asking for photos of their barmaid.

 

[Jeepster2018]

Interesting...similar to my breakdown.

Here's some math I did on how I would spec a Rubi vs Sport S.

 

[CantThinkOfAHandle]

Apologies if this has already been referenced in the thread, but Jonathan Hanson does an excellent job comparing the two for off-road use at the end of this article:

http://www.exploringoverland.com/overland-tech-travel/2018/1/4/the-jl-wrangler-part-2-rubicon

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