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Offroad modes

DanW

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Some of the gimmicks are great, like off-road +. The hill descent control scared the hell out of me while descending a steep off camber trail, it slammed on the brakes at the worst time and made my front end dive and rear end get light, real light. I haven’t used it since.
I was almost very badly rear-ended by a JK on Hell's Revenge because the guy became dependent on hill descent control and then forgot to engage it. He went careening down the hill toward me. I saw him only because I had my rear view cam on and was watching him. I moved to the right and he missed me by about a foot.

There's no electronic substitute for learning the skills of off-road driving. I've got a manual JLUR and there is nothing that it does without driver input. I'm fine with that.
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ekim

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Likely if you pulled the emergency brake on while in 4wd to do a tight turn you would have your turn assist. At the end of the day it’s all just gimmicks that cost you more.
Can you imagine a Wrangler with a 3” air lift on 37” Tires with a Hemi Direct from the factory.
I don't think it's the same unless you can disconnect the rear driveshaft. With turn assist the inside rear brake gets applied causing more power to go to the outside rear wheel. This help make tighter turns.

With the e-brake the power is still going to the rear wheels and both sides are likely going to get the same distribution of power. So all the e-brake will do is generate heat.

The e-brake may help some if you have a rear wheel spinning in order to get some power applied to the non-spinning wheel, but I don't see how you can coax the opposite behavior out of it.
 

HungryHound

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Some of the gimmicks are great, like off-road +. The hill descent control scared the hell out of me while descending a steep off camber trail, it slammed on the brakes at the worst time and made my front end dive and rear end get light, real light. I haven’t used it since.
Yep. That hill decent has damn near killed me a couple of times. No more!
 

HungryHound

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The Wrangler has BLD that does the same thing as A-trac. It activates the brakes with the abs system which helps to regain traction with the wheel that’s not spinning. It’s always activated.
BLD? Big Locking Differentials?
 

HungryHound

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So you Just get on the trail with your Jeep and floor it and you cross the finish line?

You do realize that not everyone is an offroad expert like you and you do realize that 90 % of the time people never use these modes or care about them and you do realize that many "people" who have Toyotas and other brands never even take their vehicle off road, like some Jeepers here as well.

Your broad assumption and bewilderment is extremely out of place to start with.Why do vehicles have these modes...really? if you give an XR 392 Rubi to someone who cant navigate a shallow stream then they WILL get stuck.
Some people will get stuck and sometimes those modes will truly help them out of a difficult situation, having these modes is NOT a negative thing, it is an EXTRA.

Your statement "Jeeps don't have any of this gimmick and they outperform all of these other vehicles." is and has been the DEBATE of the century.

Jeeps do not OUTPERFORM all these other vehicles period, not by a longshot like saying one car brand is better than another is just silly. Under what tests, mods ,tires and driver experience and dozens more factors are you basing this on?Jeeps , Toyotas, Land Rover, Fords, Nissans and many others have proven time and time again how amazing they are off-road.

For a person who disconnects the sway bar and lowers the tire pressure you must seem like a king offroad.
IDK....I went from a Taco that always broke and got stuck to a Wrangler and it was like night and day. Maybe that day in between made a big difference in experience. I've driven and beaten both, and the Yodas aren't made for the rough and tough stuff like the Jeeps. That's just my experience, tho...maybe the newer Toyotas can handle the speed bumps at the mall.
 

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HungryHound

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Jeep has a model to meet everyone’s needs. Not even the other Jeep Wrangler models compete with the Rubicon, it’s that simple. It’s a simple purpose build rig that doesn’t need gimmicks.. Electronic computerized traction control means nothing when you have lockers. You will never get better traction then full 4wd.

Computerized TC is good for newbs who are learning but it’s no substitute for driver experience and skill. Like everything else people learn to rely on these computers instead of themselves. Who even cares if 99% of the people that buy a Rubicon don’t take it off road. They bought an icon, the benchmark by which others are compared. So you say, well they are all just as good or better then Jeep. Are they really, then why do they always feel compelled to compare.
Exactly! It's like questioning someone for buying a 220mph Ferrari. You don't need that capability 99% of the time, but it's there, and if you have the money....
 
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I like hill descent control. It works remarkably well. you have to play with the speed, its adjustable. In a seriously sketchy downhill moment it really helps. It doesnt drive the jeep for you, it just locks the speed in. Ive never had it hit the brakes on me either. It keeps going, like cruise control at 2.5mph. Some times just using the brakes can cause you to slide, with less control. It makes a difference when theres possible body damge inches away.
I need to give it a second chance.
 

Jtphoto

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I don't think it's the same unless you can disconnect the rear driveshaft. With turn assist the inside rear brake gets applied causing more power to go to the outside rear wheel. This help make tighter turns.

With the e-brake the power is still going to the rear wheels and both sides are likely going to get the same distribution of power. So all the e-brake will do is generate heat.

The e-brake may help some if you have a rear wheel spinning in order to get some power applied to the non-spinning wheel, but I don't see how you can coax the opposite behavior out of it.
Actually that only applies when you have the rear locked. Using this maneuver doesn’t work with a locked differential. An open diffErential however will just let one wheel turn more freely. Yes there will be a bit of drag from the brake but you are not applying the brake full force to lock up the wheels. In the old days that was called mechanical traction control on old vehicles. It’s the same principle as a skid steer tractor, not rocket science.
The bottom line is you are still limited by the turning radius of the front end.
 

Boogey

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the trails that I do i hardly see anything other than Jeeps, and if I see them they usually struggle. So yeah, jeeps do outperform these vehicles on jeep trails.

I asked the question out of pure curiosity. I want to know what these mods do thats all.

Sorry if I hurt some yota pride.
Again, a simple youtube search would have given you enough information about what each of these modes do but you still re-iterate the notion that Jeeps outperform "these" vehicles on JEEP TRAILS.

Can you please elaborate what a JEEP TRAIL is? as opposed to a Subaru or G-class trail is?
Do you see the point i am trying to make? you are generalizing everything as if Jeeps are the gods of offroading and nothing gets close...

All i can say is enjoy your Jeep and don't worry about the "Novice Help" modes on other lesser vehicles :)
 

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In my part of the country any place a Subaru can go is called a service or back road. What we call Jeep trails, a Subaru or most any other SUV cannot follow. Its that simple, most SUVs lack the factory tire size and ground clearance that a factory Jeep has.
 

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Electronic computerized traction control means nothing when you have lockers. You will never get better traction then full 4wd.
It's funny how you don't really know how limited you are until you have front/rear lockers.

I've done several cross country tours with and without...its like night and day.
 

RubyRubi

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So you Just get on the trail with your Jeep and floor it and you cross the finish line?

You do realize that not everyone is an offroad expert like you and you do realize that 90 % of the time people never use these modes or care about them and you do realize that many "people" who have Toyotas and other brands never even take their vehicle off road, like some Jeepers here as well.

Your broad assumption and bewilderment is extremely out of place to start with.Why do vehicles have these modes...really? if you give an XR 392 Rubi to someone who cant navigate a shallow stream then they WILL get stuck.
Some people will get stuck and sometimes those modes will truly help them out of a difficult situation, having these modes is NOT a negative thing, it is an EXTRA.

Your statement "Jeeps don't have any of this gimmick and they outperform all of these other vehicles." is and has been the DEBATE of the century.

Jeeps do not OUTPERFORM all these other vehicles period, not by a longshot like saying one car brand is better than another is just silly. Under what tests, mods ,tires and driver experience and dozens more factors are you basing this on?Jeeps , Toyotas, Land Rover, Fords, Nissans and many others have proven time and time again how amazing they are off-road.

For a person who disconnects the sway bar and lowers the tire pressure you must seem like a king offroad.
Amen to this dude! I’m just stoked that off road oriented vehicles and trims finally made a comeback. Yeah it put a lot of first timers on trails but at least they’re outside and having fun. More demand for off road fun brings all of us more tech, more competition, better vehicles and overall more options. I welcome any off road tech they want to throw in. The new Grand Cherokee has an electronic sway bar disconnect! Hell yeah. Bring it.
 

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Lockers don't always have better traction. Sometimes you need a wheel that holds you when off camber. That's (one time) when ATRAC works better than a locker. The software works.
 

Jtphoto

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Lockers don't always have better traction. Sometimes you need a wheel that holds you when off camber. That's (one time) when ATRAC works better than a locker. The software works.
Then you simply shut the locker off. Chances are you wouldn’t Have got to that same instance with the A-trac that you did with the locked rig in the first place. Computerized traction control will never be better then Selectable lockers Off Road.
 

ekim

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Actually that only applies when you have the rear locked. Using this maneuver doesn’t work with a locked differential.
Agree

An open diffErential however will just let one wheel turn more freely. Yes there will be a bit of drag from the brake but you are not applying the brake full force to lock up the wheels.
Agree here too - **if we're talking about about braking just one wheel and not both***. If you apply the e-brake to both wheels then the rear wheels will see no traction differential. Brake applied or not the rear will behave the same.

I have cutting brakes on my TJ. If I have the front lockers locked and the rear lockers off and apply the left rear brake on a left turn then I have a tighter turning radius vs not applying the brake.

This is a very cool feature to have. For most people on this forum the main benefit would be to perform fewer k-turns and that's about it. I give Ford props for adding to the Bronco. At the very least it shows they are paying attention :)
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