Body roll between several different Rubicons

[Emaniat]

Hi,

I have a couple of questions. I am trying to see what will give me a good balanced and stable ride.

I got to test drive a 2024 Rubicon with the 35” Xtreme Recon pkg with 4:56 gearing. It also had the Pentastar V6.
Acceleration seem heavy and sluggish starting from a stop light with normal acceleration. There also seemed to be quite noticeable body roll on freeway clover leafs (on & off ramps). Reference point is a friend’s 2024 Sahara, which I totally understand that it is a street vehicle first. It has very little body roll.

1. Would a 2024 Rubicon X with the same gearing and tires and engine have the same sluggish acceleration as the Rubicon with the Xtreme Recon pkg? Will it have more or less body roll
Too?

2. Would a standard Rubicon with 33”
Tires and no lift like the other 2 X’s have less or the least body roll? How would acceleration feel since it would have 4:10 gearing?

3. How about the 392? I assume it would have A Lot beefier suspension to handle the added weight so I would think it has less body roll.

4. How would the warn winch affect the feel of the wrangler? Can you feel the weight? Does it really affect handling? I’ve seen too many reviews where some say it affects driving dynamics and others say it doesn’t.

Any info is appreciated.

Thx

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[Kracka]

The packages with 35" tires have heavier wheels/tires/brakes so they will feel more sluggish. Simple physics, you're just having to get more rotational mass moving even with the advantaged gearing. The taller suspensions with that factory lift will also have more body roll with a higher center of gravity as all share the same anti-sway bars.

One thing to keep in mind, especially with Wranglers, the aftermarket has solutions to solve just about any issue you may have.

Everything is a trade-off when it comes to weight hanging over the axles (steel bumpers, winch, etc.).

 

[CO2Wrangler]

Swapping whatever you buy with a digressive shock will reduce though not eliminate some body roll. Many folks have described factory Rubi shocks as quite soft and provide very little damping.

 

[RubiBlueJLU]

I can't speak directly to the different Rubi’s, but I believe up front weight differences do affect handling, and, in turn, perceived body roll.

I have a 2022 JLURD, and I think it drives like a dream. 72,000 miles of highway, off-road and towing. I believe the extra engine weight enhances the handling. I feel some body roll, but not that much. I have a winch, too.

To explain, I previously had a used 2001 TJ, 4-spd, 4.0. Threw a winch on the front and drove the crap out of it, on and off road. It handled well on twisties and at 80 on the highway. When I went to sell it, I took the winch off. Holy crap! It still went straight, but the front end felt loose and touchy. It was like night and day.

Hopefully this helps.

Mike

 

[Emaniat]

The packages with 35" tires have heavier wheels/tires/brakes so they will feel more sluggish. Simple physics, you're just having to get more rotational mass moving even with the advantaged gearing. The taller suspensions with that factory lift will also have more body roll with a higher center of gravity as all share the same anti-sway bars.

One thing to keep in mind, especially with Wranglers, the aftermarket has solutions to solve just about any issue you may have.

Everything is a trade-off when it comes to weight hanging over the axles (steel bumpers, winch, etc.).

Makes sense. Thank you.

 

[Emaniat]

I can't speak directly to the different Rubi’s, but I believe up front weight differences do affect handling, and, in turn, perceived body roll.

I have a 2022 JLURD, and I think it drives like a dream. 72,000 miles of highway, off-road and towing. I believe the extra engine weight enhances the handling. I feel some body roll, but not that much. I have a winch, too.

To explain, I previously had a used 2001 TJ, 4-spd, 4.0. Threw a winch on the front and drove the crap out of it, on and off road. It handled well on twisties and at 80 on the highway. When I went to sell it, I took the winch off. Holy crap! It still went straight, but the front end felt loose and touchy. It was like night and day.

Hopefully this helps.

Mike

That's what I was thinking about the added weight but wasn’t sure. Thanks for your answer.

 

[Reinen]

One thing to keep in mind, especially with Wranglers, the aftermarket has solutions to solve just about any issue you may have.

The term "solve" here is relative. They don't necessarily "solve" things. They make compromises and trade-offs which may better suit your situation.

In the case of sway bars and body roll, you can certainly find aftermarket sway bars that will keep body roll to an absolute minimum on the road. But if you do, the Jeep will off-road like crap. Sway bar disconnects will become absolutely mandatory for even the slightest articulation on easy trails.

So it's not a solution, it's a compromise that may or may not suit your particular needs better.

 

[Dlit]

I have a 3.6 etorque on 35s with 488 and stock suspension with the exception of falcon shocks….acceleration is good and body roll is a non issue

 

[autotragic]

Hi,

I have a couple of questions. I am trying to see what will give me a good balanced and stable ride.

I got to test drive a 2024 Rubicon with the 35” Xtreme Recon pkg with 4:56 gearing. It also had the Pentastar V6.
Acceleration seem heavy and sluggish starting from a stop light with normal acceleration. There also seemed to be quite noticeable body roll on freeway clover leafs (on & off ramps). Reference point is a friend’s 2024 Sahara, which I totally understand that it is a street vehicle first. It has very little body roll.

1. Would a 2024 Rubicon X with the same gearing and tires and engine have the same sluggish acceleration as the Rubicon with the Xtreme Recon pkg? Will it have more or less body roll
Too?

2. Would a standard Rubicon with 33”
Tires and no lift like the other 2 X’s have less or the least body roll? How would acceleration feel since it would have 4:10 gearing?

3. How about the 392? I assume it would have A Lot beefier suspension to handle the added weight so I would think it has less body roll.

4. How would the warn winch affect the feel of the wrangler? Can you feel the weight? Does it really affect handling? I’ve seen too many reviews where some say it affects driving dynamics and others say it doesn’t.

Any info is appreciated.

Thx

Rubicon shocks are super soft. The Rubicon is an off-road trim first and it compromises on road handling as a result. Sahara is the luxury pavement princess trim. They drive differently.

Having said that putting better shocks on the Rubicon can improve things drastically on and off-road. The Fox shocks I installed on my Rubicon give me more suspension travel and make it handle better on road.

 

[BigRedRidinHood]

I have a 21 JLUR WITH etorque v6 recon wheels and Mickey Thompson 12.5 inch wide tires using the stock diameter and tow package and stock shocks. Excellent acceleration and great flat handling like a go kart. My son in lack had a 392 which had terrible body roll due to taller tires and taller springs. Kids got sea sick in his car. I do a lot of sand so ride height is not that

 

[Emaniat]

It’s hard trying to find a ‘24 jlur with 33’s and the winch pkg. like the options of the rubicon x but doubt I need the 35’s.

 

[jadmt]

a jlur with 33's and 4.10's and 3.6 is pretty peppy and a 2.0 is faster yet...my buddy has a 2.0 and his has 4.56 with 37's and he leaves my 3.6 with 4.10's and 35's for dead...

 

[Emaniat]

Ok. That helps answer one of my question. I appreciate it.

 

[gato]

If you are looking for a 4 door rubicon, particularly one with hard top and the xtreme 35 package, the weight of the winch is a non event. These Rubicons weight 5,000 lbs+ and a synthetic rope winch and plate is ˜100 lbs. That is also ~the weight of a 35/37" wheel/tire hanging out the back.

Someone above mentioned installing a winch on a TJ (short wheel base and ˜3,000 lbs), which back then were mostly much heavier steel cable. That was much more significant back then.

As for body lean/roll and brake dive it can be made much better by simply changing shocks. If you put in a 2.5" fox set up like the one in the Mopar lift kit (˜$1000) or the new HTO (˜$1,200) or even 2.0" Billstein (˜$500) it will be a night and day difference (at the expense of slight harshness increase over bumps).

Buying a Rubicon without buying the xtreme 35 probably does not make much sense. If you need F/R lockers and 4:1 transfer case, you probably need at least 35s and 4.56 gears.

 

[Emaniat]

Great info. Thank You!

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