I appreciate your thorough replies. The 2.0 has essentially the same power as your V6, and with 4.10’s in mine I doubt I’ll be able to tell much difference in the power level. I don’t race Porsche’s (anymore) either, sold the Shelby-ized Mustang GT several years ago, and went from a crotch rocket to a GoldWing too.
Definitely disconnect the swaybar. Smooths out the bumps. I disconnect the swaybar as soon as I leave the pavement, even if I'm staying in 2WD ( I have a TrailDash3 which allows me to disconnect the swaybar and lock the rear diff while still in 2Hi). Even just on service trails my wife can feel the difference.
when we pull off road and air down:
Dcmdon, I'm curious, if you have that long of an off-ramp, even if it does descend as you say, why can't you downshift enough to get your speed down to say 25 or even 20 mph before braking? Unless maybe it is a matter of you usually having impatient asswipes behind you, who want to roar up to the stop sign at 65 mph before braking like an idiot teenager --- which I see all too frequently nowadays.
I actually use as much engine braking as I can. I can get down to 45 mph then tap the brakes a bit to get me down to 35ish, which lets me drop another gear then back on the brakes gently.
Dcmdon, from my many university physics courses, I am intimately aware of the square power function of kinetic energy, and it is never far from my mind while driving. In fact, I see it in practice all the time while driving in the winter on icy roads, with other drivers who brake FAR too hard and too quickly, because they probably subconsciously believe, incorrectly, that they should brake in direct linear proportion to their speed, which is WRONG.
Jeepoch, I totally agree with you here! I do believe that 99% of the drivers out there are fundamentally clueless as to the radical if not exponential increase in risk that comes from driving at higher speeds, much less tailgating or pushing the envelope of traction while driving at higher speeds. I see it every time I drive nowadays: people driving with NO margin for safety whatsoever, unlike how I would have seen most driving say 30 years ago. The recklessness with which so many drive nowadays has made me into an almost paranoid driver.
Yep. I find that I avoid certain roads altogether just for that reason. I-25 between Denver and Fort Collins is a great example. 85+ mph with no more than a car length between most vehicles. Snow and/or freezing rain not much of a difference. Also, the courtesy factor is now near non-existent. Colofornia is now like the coasts. Put your turn signal on and the cars next to you actually speed up.
My explanation wasn't necessarily for you. It was for others who may be following along this thread who don't understand that kinetic energy increases as a square function of speed, or that something going twice as fast has 4x as much kinetic energy or that something going 3.2 times as fast has TEN TIMES as much kinetic energy.
I know the Front Range has been Cal-onized for decades now. When I was a young man in the 70s, I dreamed of moving out of California to Colorado, to be able to hunt and fish locally and to get away from the hustle and traffic. It seems that dream is long gone. Last time I was through the Front Range a few years ago, the traffic on I-25 was ridiculous.
Thank you for the thoughtful comments. I have aquestiJoseph,
I off-road a lot in my 2019 2Door 3.6L Sport. No fancy anything in terms of transfer case options on my rig. No lower differential gears, lockers, duck buttons or any of the cool things available to you. However, my fun factor is still incredibly high when wheeling here in my home state of Colorado.
I find that lifted on 35's with manually disconnected sway bars along with the ZF8-speed transmission 'Autostick' allows me to go nearly anywhere here in the mountains I care to meander. Any day at or above treeline is certainly why I love this thing. Truthfully, driving around the flat lands along the Front Range is also a blast. This Wrangler is my daily driver and the best vehicle I've ever owned. I've owned it for exactly three years now, have 50K miles on the odometer and a good fraction of that has been off-road. Maybe 25% or more.
I am nearly always in either 4Hi or 4Lo when not on pavement. With the Sport's standard 2.72 transfer case and 3.45 gear ratio (much taller than your 4.0 and 4.10's respectively), I find my compromise in which 4wd gearing selection is mostly in anticipated my top speed. Since it's pretty easy to achieve 7th or 8th at just 20-25mph in 4Lo, I tend towards 4Hi only on well maintained county roads. However, I'll never shy away from going low whenever the conditions warrant. Any steep grade (either up or down) and 4Lo is generally a reflex decision. Having good engine braking available is typically never an after thought for me. It's a nice advantage to have all the tools at my disposal when within any serious off-road situation. Needing to switch to 4Lo (on the fly) when it's not already there is never in my (or your) best interest. Never. It's always best to think ahead.
So it basically comes down to this; can you trade top traveling speed for the potential of requiring significant (useful) engine braking at very low velocities? In 4Hi, 1st gear can be maintained (without red-lining) up to about 10mph. Way too fast for most off-road situations. So, anticipating travelling at a top threshold velocity of 15 to 20mph anywhere off-pavement is how I routinely use the 4wd transfer case lever.
Mountain trails, steep grades, inclement weather or any other mitigating factor nearly always finds me selecting 4Lo (along with a lighter than normal foot on the throttle). Open diffs also mean that I simply can't just muscle my way through the really tough stuff like you locker junkies can. Traction is absolutely my best friend. No slipping (spinning) of any wheels for me.
Furthermore, the Hill Decent Control (HDC) feature is by far the best thing since sliced bread when the situation arises. Needing to only manually brake going downhill is such a comfortable safety improvement. In fact one I would sorely miss if this feature wasn't available. Controlling your decent velocity in 0.7mph increments is just such a pleasure in the really extreme stuff. Not needing to ride the brakes in any safety critical condition is for me, priceless. If you don't know how HDC works or how to use it, figure it out and practice. It really is that good. Not that difficult to use. I love it.
However in snow, especially in the deeper stuff, I find that 4Hi using Traction Control (TC) is sometimes way superior. Regardless, every JL independent of trim, all support Brake Lock Differential (BLD). This automatically applies braking action to any single slipping wheel whenever any axle is not 'locked'. Recall, a locked axle mechanically connects both wheels on the same axle together. So both will spin at the same rate independent of applied torque. So with lockers any one wheel (of all four) that 'grips' will maintain forward momentum. When unlocked with open diffs, at least two wheels on the same axle must 'grip' to keep moving. Also recall that with an open differential (or unlocked axle), the slipping wheel gets the most delivered torque. So the slipping wheel only tends to slip even more. By automatically applying braking action to just that slipping wheel, then the other wheel gets more of the applied torque. In other words, BLD is a cheap semi-slip pseudo locker.
Another technical gotcha is that TC is generally only applied when driving 'straight'. It coordinates the braking action in concert on all four wheels on both axles to try and maintain traction and forward momentum. But both features [TC and BLD] really do help maintain traction in the most slippery of conditions. Yet interestingly, TC is completely disabled in 4Lo but BLD is not. Brake Lock Differential is always active on any wheel spinning at a faster rate than the other on the same axle. So even if you choose 4Lo (without lockers) the JL will still try it's best to keep you moving. So even us JL Sport pilots have a tremendous off-road advantage over every other Jeep model without lockers. That is also why the JL Rubicons can tackle quite a lot of the really tough stuff without the need to engage it's lockers. But as the old cliche goes, it's always better to have the capability available when needed than not having it when you don't.
In summary, there are always dynamic conditions which require some forward thinking when selecting the most appropriate 4wd mode. But by far (for me), in good conditions, I generally have a lot more fun in 4Lo at low speed when adventuring through the high altitude mountain passes that I call my back yard. Smelling the scent of Douglas Fur and Forest Pine is never something I tend to travel quickly through. I really, really enjoy getting off the beaten path and finding a panoramic vista that only people with a horse, good hiking boots or a Jeep can get to.
Have fun, stay safe, Jeep on...
Jay
Joseph,
I off-road a lot in my 2019 2Door 3.6L Sport. No fancy anything in terms of transfer case options on my rig. No lower differential gears, lockers, duck buttons or any of the cool things available to you. However, my fun factor is still incredibly high when wheeling here in my home state of Colorado.
I find that lifted on 35's with manually disconnected sway bars along with the ZF8-speed transmission 'Autostick' allows me to go nearly anywhere here in the mountains I care to meander. Any day at or above treeline is certainly why I love this thing. Truthfully, driving around the flat lands along the Front Range is also a blast. This Wrangler is my daily driver and the best vehicle I've ever owned. I've owned it for exactly three years now, have 50K miles on the odometer and a good fraction of that has been off-road. Maybe 25% or more.
I am nearly always in either 4Hi or 4Lo when not on pavement. With the Sport's standard 2.72 transfer case and 3.45 gear ratio (much taller than your 4.0 and 4.10's respectively), I find my compromise in which 4wd gearing selection is mostly in anticipated my top speed. Since it's pretty easy to achieve 7th or 8th at just 20-25mph in 4Lo, I tend towards 4Hi only on well maintained county roads. However, I'll never shy away from going low whenever the conditions warrant. Any steep grade (either up or down) and 4Lo is generally a reflex decision. Having good engine braking available is typically never an after thought for me. It's a nice advantage to have all the tools at my disposal when within any serious off-road situation. Needing to switch to 4Lo (on the fly) when it's not already there is never in my (or your) best interest. Never. It's always best to think ahead.
So it basically comes down to this; can you trade top traveling speed for the potential of requiring significant (useful) engine braking at very low velocities? In 4Hi, 1st gear can be maintained (without red-lining) up to about 10mph. Way too fast for most off-road situations. So, anticipating travelling at a top threshold velocity of 15 to 20mph anywhere off-pavement is how I routinely use the 4wd transfer case lever.
Mountain trails, steep grades, inclement weather or any other mitigating factor nearly always finds me selecting 4Lo (along with a lighter than normal foot on the throttle). Open diffs also mean that I simply can't just muscle my way through the really tough stuff like you locker junkies can. Traction is absolutely my best friend. No slipping (spinning) of any wheels for me.
Furthermore, the Hill Decent Control (HDC) feature is by far the best thing since sliced bread when the situation arises. Needing to only manually brake going downhill is such a comfortable safety improvement. In fact one I would sorely miss if this feature wasn't available. Controlling your decent velocity in 0.7mph increments is just such a pleasure in the really extreme stuff. Not needing to ride the brakes in any safety critical condition is for me, priceless. If you don't know how HDC works or how to use it, figure it out and practice. It really is that good. Not that difficult to use. I love it.
However in snow, especially in the deeper stuff, I find that 4Hi using Traction Control (TC) is sometimes way superior. Regardless, every JL independent of trim, all support Brake Lock Differential (BLD). This automatically applies braking action to any single slipping wheel whenever any axle is not 'locked'. Recall, a locked axle mechanically connects both wheels on the same axle together. So both will spin at the same rate independent of applied torque. So with lockers any one wheel (of all four) that 'grips' will maintain forward momentum. When unlocked with open diffs, at least two wheels on the same axle must 'grip' to keep moving. Also recall that with an open differential (or unlocked axle), the slipping wheel gets the most delivered torque. So the slipping wheel only tends to slip even more. By automatically applying braking action to just that slipping wheel, then the other wheel gets more of the applied torque. In other words, BLD is a cheap semi-slip pseudo locker.
Another technical gotcha is that TC is generally only applied when driving 'straight'. It coordinates the braking action in concert on all four wheels on both axles to try and maintain traction and forward momentum. But both features [TC and BLD] really do help maintain traction in the most slippery of conditions. Yet interestingly, TC is completely disabled in 4Lo but BLD is not. Brake Lock Differential is always active on any wheel spinning at a faster rate than the other on the same axle. So even if you choose 4Lo (without lockers) the JL will still try it's best to keep you moving. So even us JL Sport pilots have a tremendous off-road advantage over every other Jeep model without lockers. That is also why the JL Rubicons can tackle quite a lot of the really tough stuff without the need to engage it's lockers. But as the old cliche goes, it's always better to have the capability available when needed than not having it when you don't.
In summary, there are always dynamic conditions which require some forward thinking when selecting the most appropriate 4wd mode. But by far (for me), in good conditions, I generally have a lot more fun in 4Lo at low speed when adventuring through the high altitude mountain passes that I call my back yard. Smelling the scent of Douglas Fur and Forest Pine is never something I tend to travel quickly through. I really, really enjoy getting off the beaten path and finding a panoramic vista that only people with a horse, good hiking boots or a Jeep can get to.
Have fun, stay safe, Jeep on...
Jay
Hi Jay - thank you for the great info here. We also have an auto 3.6 Sport S (Unlimited).and love it. Recently we went to Hawaii and rented turbo 4 cylinder Sahara Wrangler Unlimited. While driving down from a volcano, I couldn't control the speed via engine braking. I was surprised how hard I had to ride the brakes in 2H, 4H, and even 4L. Got me to wondering how well my 6 cylinder Sport S might do in the Rockies.Joseph,
I off-road a lot in my 2019 2Door 3.6L Sport. No fancy anything in terms of transfer case options on my rig. No lower differential gears, lockers, duck buttons or any of the cool things available to you. However, my fun factor is still incredibly high when wheeling here in my home state of Colorado.
I find that lifted on 35's with manually disconnected sway bars along with the ZF8-speed transmission 'Autostick' allows me to go nearly anywhere here in the mountains I care to meander. Any day at or above treeline is certainly why I love this thing. Truthfully, driving around the flat lands along the Front Range is also a blast. This Wrangler is my daily driver and the best vehicle I've ever owned. I've owned it for exactly three years now, have 50K miles on the odometer and a good fraction of that has been off-road. Maybe 25% or more.
I am nearly always in either 4Hi or 4Lo when not on pavement. With the Sport's standard 2.72 transfer case and 3.45 gear ratio (much taller than your 4.0 and 4.10's respectively), I find my compromise in which 4wd gearing selection is mostly in anticipated my top speed. Since it's pretty easy to achieve 7th or 8th at just 20-25mph in 4Lo, I tend towards 4Hi only on well maintained county roads. However, I'll never shy away from going low whenever the conditions warrant. Any steep grade (either up or down) and 4Lo is generally a reflex decision. Having good engine braking available is typically never an after thought for me. It's a nice advantage to have all the tools at my disposal when within any serious off-road situation. Needing to switch to 4Lo (on the fly) when it's not already there is never in my (or your) best interest. Never. It's always best to think ahead.
So it basically comes down to this; can you trade top traveling speed for the potential of requiring significant (useful) engine braking at very low velocities? In 4Hi, 1st gear can be maintained (without red-lining) up to about 10mph. Way too fast for most off-road situations. So, anticipating travelling at a top threshold velocity of 15 to 20mph anywhere off-pavement is how I routinely use the 4wd transfer case lever.
Mountain trails, steep grades, inclement weather or any other mitigating factor nearly always finds me selecting 4Lo (along with a lighter than normal foot on the throttle). Open diffs also mean that I simply can't just muscle my way through the really tough stuff like you locker junkies can. Traction is absolutely my best friend. No slipping (spinning) of any wheels for me.
Furthermore, the Hill Decent Control (HDC) feature is by far the best thing since sliced bread when the situation arises. Needing to only manually brake going downhill is such a comfortable safety improvement. In fact one I would sorely miss if this feature wasn't available. Controlling your decent velocity in 0.7mph increments is just such a pleasure in the really extreme stuff. Not needing to ride the brakes in any safety critical condition is for me, priceless. If you don't know how HDC works or how to use it, figure it out and practice. It really is that good. Not that difficult to use. I love it.
However in snow, especially in the deeper stuff, I find that 4Hi using Traction Control (TC) is sometimes way superior. Regardless, every JL independent of trim, all support Brake Lock Differential (BLD). This automatically applies braking action to any single slipping wheel whenever any axle is not 'locked'. Recall, a locked axle mechanically connects both wheels on the same axle together. So both will spin at the same rate independent of applied torque. So with lockers any one wheel (of all four) that 'grips' will maintain forward momentum. When unlocked with open diffs, at least two wheels on the same axle must 'grip' to keep moving. Also recall that with an open differential (or unlocked axle), the slipping wheel gets the most delivered torque. So the slipping wheel only tends to slip even more. By automatically applying braking action to just that slipping wheel, then the other wheel gets more of the applied torque. In other words, BLD is a cheap semi-slip pseudo locker.
Another technical gotcha is that TC is generally only applied when driving 'straight'. It coordinates the braking action in concert on all four wheels on both axles to try and maintain traction and forward momentum. But both features [TC and BLD] really do help maintain traction in the most slippery of conditions. Yet interestingly, TC is completely disabled in 4Lo but BLD is not. Brake Lock Differential is always active on any wheel spinning at a faster rate than the other on the same axle. So even if you choose 4Lo (without lockers) the JL will still try it's best to keep you moving. So even us JL Sport pilots have a tremendous off-road advantage over every other Jeep model without lockers. That is also why the JL Rubicons can tackle quite a lot of the really tough stuff without the need to engage it's lockers. But as the old cliche goes, it's always better to have the capability available when needed than not having it when you don't.
In summary, there are always dynamic conditions which require some forward thinking when selecting the most appropriate 4wd mode. But by far (for me), in good conditions, I generally have a lot more fun in 4Lo at low speed when adventuring through the high altitude mountain passes that I call my back yard. Smelling the scent of Douglas Fur and Forest Pine is never something I tend to travel quickly through. I really, really enjoy getting off the beaten path and finding a panoramic vista that only people with a horse, good hiking boots or a Jeep can get to.
Have fun, stay safe, Jeep on...
Jay
