How big are electronic sway bar disconnects and full locking with Rubicon?

[JeepJLNC]

Trying to decide if I should pony up to get a Rubicon for these reasons. I was wondering how much more capable does these features vs the Sport and Sahara trims?

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[warc1]

Trying to decide if I should pony up to get a Rubicon for these reasons. I was wondering how much more capable does these features vs the Sport and Sahara trims?

The lockers are indispensable for me, but the sway bar disconnects, not so much. Both are generally targeted at rock crawling, though lockers can get you out of trouble in snow and mud. They can also get you into more trouble on the latter two, but that's another story.

I'm not an extreme off-roader and limit myself to what I would call medium difficulty rock crawling for a stock Rubicon. Lockers have helped me in that situation probably around a dozen times. That's not frequent, but where used, I'm not sure I would have gotten through without them.

I've only experimented with the sway bar disconnect and have never used it again. To be honest, part of it is fear. I've twice come across jeeps on their sides on trails where the owners told me they lost it with their sway bars disconnected and believed it to be a factor. With the bars disconnected, and the vehicle either highly inclined or severely off camber, giving gas can cause your front end to pop up, since it is not restrained by the sway bars. That can be enough to raise your centre of gravity to the point that you roll over. Type "Jeep Rollover" into Youtube, and you'll find dozens of examples.

I have no doubt that this is not an issue for experienced extreme off-roaders, but I don't consider myself one. The primary role for my JKR is to get me to photo opportunities in support of that hobby. I've grown to very much enjoy the off-roading that comes with it, but I'll avoid trails that can only be done with disconnected sway bars. That hasn't stopped me from doing Black Bear, Schofield and Red Cone trails in Colorado which are rated as more difficult trails.

 

[AZCrawl]

Don't forget to account for the benefits of the Rubicon axles and transfer case!

 

[maguro]

Trying to decide if I should pony up to get a Rubicon for these reasons. I was wondering how much more capable does these features vs the Sport and Sahara trims?

More capable? It depends on where you're driving.

If the vast majority of your driving is on pavement, the full time 4x4 on the Sahara would make it more capable than the Rubicon.

 

[JeepJLNC]

I've heard from other users that the larger 33" BF Goodrich tires basically would perform as well, or better, than Select Trac Full Time 4x4

 

[LeaN69]

More capable? It depends on where you're driving.

If the vast majority of your driving is on pavement, the full time 4x4 on the Sahara would make it more capable than the Rubicon.

Theres no such thing as full time 4X4, thats AWD and wrangler doesnt have it, what it does have is 1 extra TC speed for 4X4 auto having the ability to connect & disconnect the front on demand when slipping at the rear is observed.

 

[RC3]

I think this question really comes down to the type of offroading or wheeling that you plan to do. In my case, I would not even consider buying a Sport or Sahara because of the type of offroading that I do and the area I live in (desert southwest, mountains, etc). The locking diffs, lower transfer case ratio and swaybar disconnect are all well used on my rigs. I know many people say "save the money and build it yourself" but I have found the factory equipment on my JKUR to be dependable and useful. And now the JLUR equipment is even better designed and a little beefier, and will also be well used.

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