Rubicon vs Sahara Trim

[JAC34]

I currently own a 2018 Sahara and looking for a new Jeep primarily for the sky top and possibly a different power train .

What are pros/cons of going to the Rubicon? I’m not sure it’d worth it but I do like the look.

Is it true that they gave a small factory lift? Wondering if I want to go to bigger tires down the the road, can I avoid a lift kit with Rubi vs Sahara?

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[BayAreaJeep]

Yup! You can do all of those things and more. Totally worth it!

 

[YBABRAT]

If going from a Sahara, get a new Willy's. It will save you $$$ and be a nice upgrade from your 2018.

 

[C.Sco]

You can go up to 35" tires in a Rubicon without changing anything else. I actually even ran 37's in my Rubicon (with 0-offset wheels, but otherwise stock) for a couple weeks before I got a lift, and even that worked okay on the street (but rubbed a little on the trails).

In a Sahara I think 33" tires is about as big as you can get before you need to start changing things (suspension, fenders, etc) to gain clearance for them.

As others already mentioned, Willys is a good alternative to Rubicon if you're not actually doing any serious offroading/crawling. It has the same higher suspension, and a few of the Rubicon's other upgrades (axles and transfer case, I think? Also a rear diff locker in later models), and is just missing a few of the other offroad goodies that Rubicon comes with (swaybar disconnect, front locker, and some other stuff I can't remember

 

[yokramer]

The only reason to dump the Sahara for the Rubicon would be you are going to use the extra off road goodies it comes with.

Otherwise you can just add all the Rubicon stuff to a Sahara if you are just after the look which a bunch of people do and tons of Rubicon owners selling off their suspension and wheels when they upgrade.

 

[Kerney]

Rubicon has 5k towing vs 3.5k in the Willys / Sahara because of the upgraded rear end.

 

[Aussicon]

Buy once, cry once is my life's motto....

 

[rcadden]

Rubicon has 5k towing vs 3.5k in the Willys / Sahara because of the upgraded rear end.

I *believe* this is only for a very specific trim/option on the Rubicon, not just all Rubicons (but happy to be proven wrong).

 

[rcadden]

I'm in a 2021 Sahara after heavily shopping the two trims, as well.

For less than the cost of the upgrade, I put a 1" spacer lift and 33" Rubicon take-off wheels/tires on my Sahara and it's been perfect for my needs, both onroad and offroad.

Unless you're going to 35s or planning to do heavy off-roading, you don't need a Rubicon (IMO). I've done a half-dozen Badge of Honor trails in my Sahara on 33s with no issues whatsoever.

Especially since you're going to pay through the nose for that Sky One-Top.

 

[JAC34]

Thanks, all! Good info!

I have 35s now on my Sahara which I intended to use a lot more for off road use. But...life has gotten in the way of that and time has prevented me from doing it more than I like.

So, I do I need the 35s...NO...but I have a feeling I won't like the smaller tires since I've become customer to the 35s. My hope was not to have to do a lift again and try the stock Rubis and if I don't like them, I can get the 35s without a lift.

I'm looking for a used one that's a few yrs old so I'm not taking a big hit on the cost. That's if I can sell mine for the right price.

Is there classifieds on here to list it? I have it on auto trader, but I imagine most Jeep buyers are looking for a regular 'ol stock set up.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

I *believe* this is only for a very specific trim/option on the Rubicon, not just all Rubicons (but happy to be proven wrong).

I'm pretty sure all standard 2024+ Rubicons have the full float rear axle which give it the better towing capacity.

 

[Kerney]

I'm pretty sure all 2024+ Rubicons have the full float rear axle which give it the better towing capacity.

They've done a terrible job marketing and documenting it.... Both the 4 and 6 cylinder engines with base wheels in the Rubicon gets the 5k. The Xs bigger wheels drop it back to 3.5k. I had no interest in the 4xe so I never paid attention to whether it gets the upgraded tow capacity

 

[JINO]

Unless you need lockers and sway bar disconnect, keep the Sahara.

The height difference between the two is like an inch. Not a large difference.

If you want 35s, you can get aftermarket inner fenders so it doesn't rub (as much).

 

[T.Pigott]

I had an 18 Sahara, sold it in 2021 and got a 2023 Rubicon after coming home from Kuwait. A big difference in the two not really mentioned here is how they handle on road. The Sahara certainly handled better at highway speeds. The Rubicon's gear ratio doesn't allow it to drive as fast on the interstate. Mine were/are both manual transmissions. They had very similar specs as close as possible for the two. I loved my Sahara but couldn't get a manual when it was time to order it's replacement so I went with the Rubicon. I also love it but I miss the highway performance but love the off roadiness it has. It's awesome!

 

[JAC34]

I had an 18 Sahara, sold it in 2021 and got a 2023 Rubicon after coming home from Kuwait. A big difference in the two not really mentioned here is how they handle on road. The Sahara certainly handled better at highway speeds. The Rubicon's gear ratio doesn't allow it to drive as fast on the interstate. Mine were/are both manual transmissions. They had very similar specs as close as possible for the two. I loved my Sahara but couldn't get a manual when it was time to order it's replacement so I went with the Rubicon. I also love it but I miss the highway performance but love the off roadiness it has. It's awesome!

Good info. I've also heard similar feedback from many. I don't drive it a ton as it's my weekend fun ride b/c I have a company vehicle for work. And I also flat tow it behind my motorhome.

I probably won't take it off roading a ton, but I also only drive it about 5k miles/year. Just torn between the look of the bigger tires and don't want to have to put a lift on it down the road.

Does the Willys have the same road ride due to the gear ratios? I will have to check the specs to compare.

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