Few Questions About Options

[SoCalDriver]

Hi all
Im about to order a new 23 Rubicon 4 door, Xtreme Recon. I’ve been out of the Jeep scene for years, so I have some questions about some of the options.

I’m fully decided on V6, hard top, automatic..but there’s a few pesky little options I’m not sure on. FYI I won’t be doing any hard core off roading, just fire roads, exploring.

Steel bumpers - My last Jeep I built with lots of aftermarket stuff, including bumpers. I prefer to keep things more stock now. I’m all about safety, so I’m thinking if I’m staying stock, the steel bumpers are the ways go. Are they well built like the aftermarket ones? Or would going aftermarket be a softer way to go? Ive had a bad accident already and want to be best prepared in case some other inattentive driver decides to plow into me again.

Mopar headliner for hard top - good quality? Does it help with sound? Or are there better aftermarket options?

I can’t believe how expensive these things have gotten!

thank you

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[M_Pluto]

Steel bumpers - My last Jeep I built with lots of aftermarket stuff, including bumpers. I prefer to keep things more stock now. I’m all about safety, so I’m thinking if I’m staying stock, the steel bumpers are the ways go. Are they well built like the aftermarket ones? Or would going aftermarket be a softer way to go? Ive had a bad accident already and want to be best prepared in case some other inattentive driver decides to plow into me again.

So I got the steel bumper, mostly because I can be an idjit and gotten onto 1 vehicle accidents where I was in a rush and wasn't paying attention & hit something. Usually my bumper was the poor victim. That being said, while I will likely keep the bumper for now, there is a good chance I may replace the bumper down the line, mostly because I just realized/learned that there are no D-ring/shackle attachment points on either the front or rear bumper. There are plates that allow you to do so after the fact, however, those mods require you to cut into the bumper and Skid Plate. So there's that. Here is a thread that talks about this.

Mopar headliner for hard top - good quality? Does it help with sound? Or are there better aftermarket options?

I've heard the hotheads is better, but plenty of people go mopar on this front. From what I understand, it helps some with sound, but it helps more with insulating the jeep and keeping heat inside the cabin during the winter. Here is a link to their website.

 

[aldo98229]

I got the Mopar steel bumper. It works well. I got it because it keeps the factory look.

I also got the Mopar headliner. It does a decent job keeping the din down. But yes, they are expensive. I’d look at aftermarket alternatives to see if there’s a better deal.

Good luck.

 

[Garry in AZ]

If you are planning to keep it basically stock, the steel bumper option would be a good way to go.

I have the HotHeads headliner, and a buddy has the OEM MOPAR headliner. We both find there is a noticeable difference in heat buildup and road noise between the two, with the HotHeads product being better in both areas. I also like the fact that the HotHeads products allow you to choose colors for the headliner, rather than just black. The HotHeads are a little less money too, but you do have to install it yourself or pay someone to install it.

 

[Fudster]

...
Mopar headliner for hard top - good quality? Does it help with sound? Or are there better aftermarket options?

While I think the Hotheads a better product than the Mopar headliners, I also think the consumer that gets them for sound reduction over heat suppression runs risk of being disappointed.

 

[Turaven]

If you're just doing fire roads and random exploring you don't need a Rubicon with xtreme recon package. It's massive overkill and pissing money away. A sport will do just fine, or a willys if you want some good tires and a little more offroad equipment. If you think it's really cool or whatever then it's your money I guess.

The Mopar steel bumper is good. If your concern is safety on the road though, that's misguided. The crash structure of the Jeep is the same, and the plastic bumper is metal underneath, it's not some Fisher Price bumper. The steel bumper will be more dangerous in a collision if anything. Get it if you think it's cool but again, not needed for your intended use case. You can get the stock bumper and look for a used one to buy later if you want to save a buck, people take stock parts off Jeeps all the time.

I haven't experienced the hard top headliner myself, but I've heard it's a very low quality, overpriced part. The noise reduction will be minimal, if even measurable. Your Jeep won't be quiet without earplugs.

 

[SoCalDriver]

If you're just doing fire roads and random exploring you don't need a Rubicon with xtreme recon package. It's massive overkill and pissing money away. A sport will do just fine, or a willys if you want some good tires and a little more offroad equipment. If you think it's really cool or whatever then it's your money I guess.

The Mopar steel bumper is good. If your concern is safety on the road though, that's misguided. The crash structure of the Jeep is the same, and the plastic bumper is metal underneath, it's not some Fisher Price bumper. The steel bumper will be more dangerous in a collision if anything. Get it if you think it's cool but again, not needed for your intended use case. You can get the stock bumper and look for a used one to buy later if you want to save a buck, people take stock parts off Jeeps all the time.

I haven't experienced the hard top headliner myself, but I've heard it's a very low quality, overpriced part. The noise reduction will be minimal, if even measurable. Your Jeep won't be quiet without earplugs.

Thanks for your opinion, I appreciate the response. I won’t be the first person to buy more Jeep than they need. ?

 

[6.2Blazer]

I can't blame anybody for wanting a Rubicon, but you definitely don't need it for what you plan on using it for. A Willys Sport with the Extreme Recon package gives you the same basic look but saves you around $6k and more than enough capability for fireroads and exploring.

I would also make the same statement above about the relation of safety and bumpers. You could argue that aftermarket stronger bumpers could be less safe in an accident to the occupants of the vehicle. Yes, steel bumpers or aftermarket "beefy" bumpers will fend off damage to the vehicle if a car backs into you in the parking lot or rubbing on rocks, but I definitely would not use crash safety as part of the reasoning for getting them. All of the aftermarket bumper manufacturers combined only spend a tiny fraction of money that Jeep spends in safety design and crash testing.

 

[Asuriyan]

I don't think there's a big safety advantage to the steel bumpers. If anything, it's more dangerous for pedestrians. For me it's the same advantage of having steel sliders instead of plastic steps - protects the jeep better, fits the aesthetic better, and they're functional.

The advanced safety group, on the other hand, is entirely worth the money. The emergency braking isn't twitchy (but it has saved me in one near-miss), the adaptive cruise control is fantastic, and there's no lane nanny.

The JL is surprisingly quiet, and the noise that's there is mostly from tires and the windshield. I wouldn't mess with headliners except for heat reduction.

 

[pfletcher229648]

So if money is not your hang up, go JLUR XR with the SOT top. I can’t recommend it highly enough. We’ve had ours for a month and it’s probably the best vehicle, for what it does, that I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned a lot of different vehicles.

If you never go anywhere major off road, who cares, the JLUR XR looks bad coming right out of the gate. I’ve taken mine into to what I would consider the lower level off reading, and it was a blast. Never even once felt like I was going to get stranded. Would a lower level Jeep have handled it, maybe, but I didn’t have to worry about it. At one point I thought I was going to have some water coming inside but I made it through the moving water without incident.

Ultimately buy what you want and drive it to Walmart if that is what makes your day. We love our JLUR XR and I can’t see buying a Jeep with less. I’ve spent more money on things that were less fun.

 

[rcadden]

To your original questions....

Bumper - the front steel OEM bumper is fantastic. It's ridiculous that it doesn't come with a winch plate for the price, but otherwise it's really nice. The removable wings are a great feature. The rear, however, has a well-earned reputation for bending up into the body if it comes down on a rock. Doesn't sound like that's a concern for your stated use-case, and there are attempts to support it better, but just know that going in. If you wanted to save some coin, I would recommend just getting the plastic bumpers and then picking up a front by itself on FB marketplace or similar. I got mine for ~$500 and it's awesome. As others have mentioned, steel vs plastic in traffic isn't a big help, but having it in the woods with a winch would be good.

Headliner - My Sahara Altitude came with the headliner and I really like it. However, I've driven without it, so...yeah.

And now for my unwelcome advice - for your stated use-case, I would actually recommend dropping down to the Sahara. You could save several thousand $$$ out the door, and still get the Rubicon experience pretty cheaply.

Rubicon KO2 Take-offs = ~$1K-1.5K
Sell your Sahara wheels/tires = ~$600-700
Net = ~$600-800 for 33" KO2s (and dropping down to proper 17" wheels)

Rubicon Steel Front Take-off = ~$500-700

So for ~$1.1K - $1.5K you have a Saharicon that is more than capable of handling fire roads and random exploring. Sahara starts ~$6K less than an Xtreme Recon Rubicon, could be more depending on options/etc.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

The steel bumpers are great. My Jeep was hit in the rear by a car going 50-60mph without hitting their brakes. The impact pushed my Jeep into my daughter's convertible Mustang parked in front of it. Rear bumper was completely folded 90 degrees from the impact however the seating areas of the Jeep looked like nothing ever happened and the doors open and closed like nothing ever happened and there was no damage to my spare tire. The Mustang was completely destroyed by the front of the Jeep but the only damage to the front of the Jeep was a few scratches and it popped off the plastic license plate holder. The rear steel bumper isn't the best for upward forces (coming off a steep rock and scraping the bottom of the bumper on the way down when extreme off-roading) but as far as street driving impact...I am sold.

 

[Slate]

Thanks for your opinion, I appreciate the response. I won’t be the first person to buy more Jeep than they need. ?

LOL

 

[AcesandEights]

The steel bumper looks nice. My aftermarket options cost less. There isn't a discernable difference in safety, as the bumper doesn't reduce/absorb the energy, or direct it away from the passenger compartment.

I have a soft top, but have a good friend with a hard top (JT). They swear by the headliner, said for them it made a night and day difference in sound.

Based on how you've stated you will use your Jeep, I think the Extreme Recon is money wasted, that could be much better spent.

 

[tk1700]

I can't speak to the bumper as I got the plastic and replaced with aftermarket. For the headliner, I have a 3.6 JLU and 2.0 JLUR. the 3.6 has the factory headliner and the 2.0 doesn't. Neither my wife or I can tell a difference between the two in noise or heat/cool retention. There is wind noise coming from lots of places other than the main body of the top and a headliner doesn't doesn't do anything to reduce that. The heat and AC are both good enough that the interior adjusts to the desired temp quickly. We've done long trips in both Jeeps and in temps from -6 to 105F. When I ordered my 2.0 I wanted the headliner but forgot to add it to the build. Now I'm glad I forgot to order it.

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