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JL Wrangler FAQ and Answers From the LA Show Debut

JAY

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We asked what questions you still had after the official JL Wrangler info release, Mopar parts release, and our LA Auto Show debut coverage, so here are some answers for you!

To Come...
  • 2-door ordering begins February. Production starts in February per our JL schedule/timeline.
  • Half doors will be available in 2019. They will not come with uppers.
  • Sky One Touch Power Top will be available early 2018.
    • Sky One Touch Power Top is fully removable, but Jeep recommends it stay installed because the sliding rails could be difficult to line up upon reinstallation.
  • Hella Yella, Mojito!, Sting-Gray, Ocean Blue and Punk’n colors should be available March-April 2018.
  • Pricing will be announced by end of the year.
  • First JL's will arrive at dealers beginning early next year.
  • Jeep.com online builder will be available very soon.
Tires / Wheels / Suspension / Axles
  • Highline fenders are standard on all U.S. Rubicon.
  • Highline fenders are 2 inches higher than standard fenders.
  • 35 inch tires can fit the Rubicon without a lift and it is package protected -- axles can handle it and computers will compensate.
  • Full articulation is retained with 35's on factory Rubicon (without lift), but a lift would leave more room for comfort.
  • The standard tire carrier can be adjusted to hold a 35 inch tire.
  • Sahara can fit up to 32 inch tires factory stock.
  • Sahara can fit 35 inch tires with a 2 inch lift and hi-line fenders.
  • All models share the same standard tire carrier (none are upgraded or reinforced).
  • The optional upgraded Rubicon wheels are the all-black wheels. The two-tone wheels are standard.
  • “New” D35 axle is stronger than previous D35 with thicker tubing and stronger end forgings. It's utilized on the rear of the Sport and Sahara models.
  • The Dana 44 axle is heavier duty than the D35 axle and is used on both front and rear of Rubicon.
Interior
  • Rubicon get a red or black dash dictated by interior color. Black seats gets red dash and tan seats gets black dash. This is not optional and there are no options for gray trim. (We have confirmed this twice).
  • The Rubicon (red or black) dash is constructed of hardened plastic with metal accents.
  • Sahara model gets silver dash or leatherette dash.
  • Sport model gets black dash.
  • More dash trim options are in the works.
  • Difference between cloth seats and premium cloth seats: inserts and materials are different. The cloth seats feature a regular black cloth but the premium cloth seats features a patterned design and different trim inserts.
  • If the vehicle is locked, an alarm will sound if the hood is opened -- to prevent battery and hood theft.
Mopar
  • The Mopar Big Brake Kit is the same as the standard brakes on the Sahara and Rubicon.
  • The Mopar Snorkel works with the standard air box.


Other interesting facts learned later:

Summary
  • Functional side vent - vents air out from under the hood where it tends to collects.
  • Aluminum hood, aluminum windshield frame, aluminum doors, aluminum tail gate.
  • Every piece of glass on vehicle is larger for better visibility.
  • Spare tire moved lower.
  • Blind spot monitoring module is located on rear tail light assembly.
  • Rear headrests can drop independently of the seats.
  • Tailgate opening wider.
  • Sky One-Touch Power Top demonstrated.
  • Soft Top folding demonstrated.
  • Soft Top panels removal demonstrated.
  • Every switch and button in interior was designed specifically for the JL Wrangler.
  • Front armrests elongated.
  • Rear door armrests wider by at least 2 inches.
  • Center console storage is 50% larger and illuminated.
  • 200 lbs saved on the vehicle overall.
  • Aluminum hood, aluminum windshield frame, aluminum doors, aluminum tail gate.
  • Freedom panel hard top is 20% lighter
  • 100 lbs saved on frame.
  • Torsional stiffness up 18%
  • New metal checkstraps can be removed.
  • Carpet still removable and has locator guides for easy reinstall.
  • Drains in the floor.
  • 9% improvement in drag coefficiency Cd
  • Most tested Jeep model ever.
  • 4 million miles of testing in total.
On-Road Improvements:
  • Roll center and height of vehicle is raised.
  • Control arms moved out and down.
  • Shocks engineered for on road improvements.
  • Tires developed with manufacturers for refinement in on-road driving.
  • Electro hydraulic power steering for better steering feel.
  • A lot of head toss/shake movement eliminated in on-road driving.
Off-Road improvements:
  • Approach, departure, breakover angle all improved.
  • Skid plates standard.
  • Crawl ratio on Rubicon has improved from 59:1 to 77:1 (automatic) and 73:1 to 84:1 (manual)
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word302

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Guess I’m not getting orange rubicon with the black interior. Now if only we could see sting-gray.
 

Billy

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Guess I’m not getting orange rubicon with the black interior. Now if only we could see sting-gray.
Why no orange?
 

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GlitteryPonies

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Jay,

Are the rear side windows removable on the hard top?

Did they show you the back windows on the soft top, how did the zipperless design seem to work?
 

bilash31

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Can’t see the orange with a red dash insert not bothering me. We’ll see when they start showing up.
Hope he is right, but in one of the videos Mark said you can choose red or silver.
 

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kacper244

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Jay,

Are the rear side windows removable on the hard top?

Did they show you the back windows on the soft top, how did the zipperless design seem to work?
+1 I am curious to how the zipper less design works on the soft top too
 

DanW

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Uh oh!! I think this is wrong on the optional wheels. The polished lip wheels were listed as optional. That's the wheel on the red 2 door at the LA auto show. The standard wheel was called polished with "black pocket". That's still different from the all black wheel that appeared on the Hella Yella Jeep.

We need clarification and confirmation about the Rubicon wheels. The Red 2 door and the ones in New Zealand fit the description of the black wheel with polished lip, which was what I ordered. On my order sheet, it says "WLD 17x7.5 Black Whls w Polished Lip."
The key piece is "Polished Lip."
 

BillyHW

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  • 35 inch tires can fit the Rubicon without a lift and it is package protected -- axles can handle it and computers will compensate.
  • Full articulation is retained with 35's on factory Rubicon (without lift), but a lift would leave more room for comfort
Thank you so much Jay. Just a couple of followups to these points:

-What is meant by "the computer will compensate" for 35s? Does the dealer have to recalibrate the computer or can the user do this himself using the EVIC?

-With the Mopar 2" lift, can full articulation be achieved with 37s as well? Or do you need to go even higher for 37s?
 

BillyHW

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"Jeep.com online builder will be available very soon." Hopefully "very soon" as in the next few days! :please:
The builder can't work without pricing. They also said pricing "by the end of the year". So I think "very soon" means within a month.
 
 



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