Keep and upgrade my Sahara or trade it in for a Rubicon?

[IceBerg]

Call some local shops you could probably find some take off rubicon axles and bolt them right up.

With a little work you could even get the lockers on them working

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[Pro_2a]

Call some local shops you could probably find some take off rubicon axles and bolt them right up.

With a little work you could even get the lockers on them working

Local shop quoted $1,500 for 5 black wheels and 33" all terrain tires installed. They have about 4,000 miles on the 4, 0 on the spare. Is that a good deal?

 

[Sean L]

Local shop quoted $1,500 for 5 black wheels and 33" all terrain tires installed. They have about 4,000 miles on the 4, 0 on the spare. Is that a good deal?

Check the Forum marketplace here.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/forums/wheels-tires-brakes.53/

You'll probably find someone selling theirs for a lot less.

 

[Pro_2a]

I'm seriously thinking of slapping Rubicon tires and wheels on my Sahara and calling it a day. Would there be anything else anyone recommends to upgrade just because I'm adding 33" tires? I do go off-roading, but not hard-core offroading.

 

[aldo98229]

At one point my Sahara had a Daystar “Comfort Ride” (3/4-inch front, 1/2-inch rear) leveling kit and a set of 275/70R18 KO2s (33.2 x 10.5 inches) on the OE wheels. It was a very nice setup.

You will want to recalibrate your speedo after you get larger tires.

If your Sahara doesn’t have a rear LSD, I’d consider adding a TrueTrac.

 

[jlroman2]

I have an 18 Sahara that’s pretty much a rubicon now. Only thing I’m missing is the 4:1 transfer case. You are going to lose a lot of money if you get the rubicon but at the end of the day you’ll have everything you want right off the bat and possibly under warranty for a really long time. Like some others say, it all depends how big of a bath you want to take lol

This is mine.

 

[Pro_2a]

That’s a sexy looking rig!

 

[GrayWolf.Overland]

In this economic condition and used car prices thawing rapidly you are going to lose a lot of money on your existing Jeep. I'd suggest building it up and making it your own. When I got my Sahara (used 2020) I didn't have any plans to overland/off-road it.. I have craved to own a Jeep since I was a kid and just fulfilled that wish.

I willingly slid down the rabbit hole of off-roading and overlanding as a hobby since then and like you have had the dilemma to trade-in and buy a rubicon. I resisted and instead decided to build it and make it my own.

I would suggest the below mods based on my build and you should be close to stock rubicon capabilities on most 7 or below trails. If you are bouncing on rocks and doing tough red trails, then the front axle becomes a shortcoming.

• 1.5 to 2" Lift (Just spring, shock) - you can achieve this by take-off suspension from diesel rubicon or 392.
• Adjustable trackbars
• Mopar lift kit Lower Control Arms - $60 a piece ; new
• 35x11.5R17 on stock rims. OR 285/75/18 on Stock Sahara Rims - these are 35s but narrower and doesn't cause rubbing on the inside suspension parts
• Re-gear to 4.56 (optionally add lockers if you are going all in)
• Apex AUTOLYNX sway bar disconnects. - you will never need to worry that you didnt have rubicon disconnects.

When you do your own build with purpose taste and passion, you end up with a Jeep that is uniquely yours.. its has an identity and is not just another Rubicon out of a 100 on the road.. it becomes "that sahara" which turns attention.

 

[AZJeepGuy]

You didn't mention whether or not you go off road. If you don't do anything beyond mild off-roading why bother. But if you do build a Rubicon with what the Sahara has.

 

[Pro_2a]

In this economic condition and used car prices thawing rapidly you are going to lose a lot of money on your existing Jeep. I'd suggest building it up and making it your own. When I got my Sahara (used 2020) I didn't have any plans to overland/off-road it.. I have craved to own a Jeep since I was a kid and just fulfilled that wish.

I willingly slid down the rabbit hole of off-roading and overlanding as a hobby since then and like you have had the dilemma to trade-in and buy a rubicon. I resisted and instead decided to build it and make it my own.

I would suggest the below mods based on my build and you should be close to stock rubicon capabilities on most 7 or below trails. If you are bouncing on rocks and doing tough red trails, then the front axle becomes a shortcoming.

• 1.5 to 2" Lift (Just spring, shock) - you can achieve this by take-off suspension from diesel rubicon or 392.
• Adjustable trackbars
• Mopar lift kit Lower Control Arms - $60 a piece ; new
• 35x11.5R17 on stock rims. OR 285/75/18 on Stock Sahara Rims - these are 35s but narrower and doesn't cause rubbing on the inside suspension parts
• Re-gear to 4.56 (optionally add lockers if you are going all in)
• Apex AUTOLYNX sway bar disconnects. - you will never need to worry that you didnt have rubicon disconnects.

When you do your own build with purpose taste and passion, you end up with a Jeep that is uniquely yours.. its has an identity and is not just another Rubicon out of a 100 on the road.. it becomes "that sahara" which turns attention.

This is inspiring! Thank you. I’ve shopped around a few shops and the two they stood out were:

2.5” TeraFlex lift kit with 9550 VSS and Toyo 35” tires with a reinforced carrier for $6k out the door.

the other is a MetalCloak 2.5” Game Changer lift with rear steel bumper with carrier for the 35” tires (Maxxis) - $9k ish.
Unfortunately, I’m not very mechanically inclined to do the lift job myself although I’d love to learn this stuff.

 

[GrayWolf.Overland]

This is inspiring! Thank you. I’ve shopped around a few shops and the two they stood out were:

2.5” TeraFlex lift kit with 9550 VSS and Toyo 35” tires with a reinforced carrier for $6k out the door.

the other is a MetalCloak 2.5” Game Changer lift with rear steel bumper with carrier for the 35” tires (Maxxis) - $9k ish.
Unfortunately, I’m not very mechanically inclined to do the lift job myself although I’d love to learn this stuff.

If you want to bring that down even more
Buy parts and get a friend to help install. For regear etc, best to leave that to shops

 

[Cycle11111]

I have a Sport and sort of went nuts on the build and am still going. It is more than a Rubicon now with the exception of the 4:1 transfer case. My Jeep sees a fair amount of dirt and we did 5 trails this year at EJS from a 5->7. I ended up with a Teraflex long arm setup, new Dynatrac Ultimate 44 front axle and trussed and gusseted rear axle, 4:88 gears, ARB lockers front and back, 37 inche Mickey Thompsons, complete skid plates (these got a work out in Moab), Rockhard numbers front and back, Apex Badlands 12K winch, onboard ARB dual compressors, Baja Designs LP6s in front, replaced front and rear lights with Oracle LED, Metal Cloak bumpers ……

To be honest the only Rubicon thing I would have liked is heated seats as I live in Northern CA and the 8.4 uConnect info system so I could have a trail camera

 

[Canucklesammich]

2 advantages to keeping the Sahara & building it according to your wishes: 1) you can go mild to wild, as you wish/can afford. You'll find that what you actually want will change according to your skills/circumstances. 2) You can build it at your pace as finances/wishes allow instead of jumping all in at once.

 

[JINO]

If you offroad, definitely get the rubicon. Unless you plan on swapping everything like the axles, all suspension parts, gearing, etc.
Rubicon would likely have most of what you need.

I went with the ecodiesel, always wanted a diesel, and got my chance.
Lots of power, very good fuel MPG (24 mpg with 37" tires is awesome).

 

[BRuby]

I was thinking of doing a 2.5" lift, adding 35" tires, and possibly re-gear. However, I like how the Rubicon looks, especially the automatic Swaybar Disconnect button that makes it very easy to engage/disengage. In addition to that, it comes standard with a 4.10 gear ratio (Cost is about $1,500-$2,000 to re-gear my Sahara when adding bigger tires)

So, I was thinking to factory-order a 2024 Rubicon Unlimited with some options I need (For example, I do not need the leather seats that I currently have in my Sahara, so that is a $2k saving if I order) and taking advantage of the below invoice discounts that some dealers offer.

What would you do, trade in/sell the Sahara and pre-order the Rubicon, or upgrade the Sahara?

Thank you, all!

Pre-order the 2024 Rubicon X if that is what you really want.

https://www.musclecarsandtrucks.com/2024-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-sees-bronco-rivaling-upgrades/

Get the 44 full float - 5000 tow - 8000 winch etc. Drop the leather. We got our 2018 near trade-in cost with 3K miles back in 2019 and it does everything we need. V6 plain jane OEM. This past winter tried 2H instead of 4H like in years past. Almost zero slippage up and down ski resorts. Amazing traction once you learn its limits. Also crawls like a beast over rocks - fantastic absorption blasting FSRs at 15-18. Easy peasy. Get it.

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