Sponsored

Sport vs. Rubicon for light off-road use

twodoorfour

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
19
Reaction score
3
Location
Pacific Northwest
Vehicle(s)
2018 Tacoma TRD OR, 2018 Subaru Outback Limited
Hey all, I am considering the 2 door Jeep Wrangler 2.0T as my next vehicle purchase. It would be mainly used for leisure, but should be able to serve as a daily driver if I decide to move on from my truck.

Looking at the different trim levels offered, I see that the Sport is affordable ~33k MSRP and the Rubicon loaded up is around ~52k MSRP. Now that is a substantial difference. The Sport obviously lacks a lot of creature comforts (no 7" or 8.4" display, no LED lighting group, no active safety group, no cold weather package, no radar cruise), but I'm more worried about missing out on the off-road enhancements.

The Rubicon comes with lockers, electronic front sway bar disconnect, and 33s from the factory. If I got the Sport or the Rubicon, I wouldn't do many upgrades to it.

My main question is how wheelable is the Sport out of the factory? Other than changing the tires to be more off-road worthy, I wouldn't do much to it. I don't have the itch to modify the vehicle I buy and would rather stick with what I bought from the factory. When changing tires on the sport, I wouldn't get bigger tires than allowable clearance, which I believe is less than 33".

I live in the Pacific Northwest and I can see myself hitting some trails out in the woods. Not a lot of rock crawling or anything like that.
Sponsored

 

DCBlake

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
137
Reaction score
84
Location
Winter Garden, FL
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU Rubicon
Hey all, I am considering the 2 door Jeep Wrangler 2.0T as my next vehicle purchase. It would be mainly used for leisure, but should be able to serve as a daily driver if I decide to move on from my truck.

Looking at the different trim levels offered, I see that the Sport is affordable ~33k MSRP and the Rubicon loaded up is around ~52k MSRP. Now that is a substantial difference. The Sport obviously lacks a lot of creature comforts (no 7" or 8.4" display, no LED lighting group, no active safety group, no cold weather package, no radar cruise), but I'm more worried about missing out on the off-road enhancements.

The Rubicon comes with lockers, electronic front sway bar disconnect, and 33s from the factory. If I got the Sport or the Rubicon, I wouldn't do many upgrades to it.

My main question is how wheelable is the Sport out of the factory? Other than changing the tires to be more off-road worthy, I wouldn't do much to it. I don't have the itch to modify the vehicle I buy and would rather stick with what I bought from the factory. When changing tires on the sport, I wouldn't get bigger tires than allowable clearance, which I believe is less than 33".

I live in the Pacific Northwest and I can see myself hitting some trails out in the woods. Not a lot of rock crawling or anything like that.
All of the Jeeps can handle trails however if you live in Pacific Northwest you may want the Rubicon for the fact it comes standard with 33's plus the locking diffs and sway bar disconnect... Even though you wont be doing rock crawling you will want some of those features so the Jeep can articulate better unless you decide to always manually disconnect sway bar in cases where needed... Some of the trails up there could pose a challenge half way through... The good thing about a Rubicon is you can jump to 35's without need of lifting unless you really decide to rock crawl and have the Jeep in fully extended situations where in that case on 35's it can have some rubbing... Again, you can get a sport and depending on where you go trail wise it should be fine... My Rubicon does great on hwy with little road noise... Plus depending on what your needs are you can still get a Rubicon without some of the options you mentioned above to cut down on the cost... Around here you can get a Rubicon with the 7" no led, cold weather, etc... As a matter of fact i just did a nation wide search and found many 2 door Rubicons below 40k and put that search link below to help you review when time to go to a local dealer...

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...35797618&yrId=36362520&yrId=36620293&zc=34787
 
OP
OP

twodoorfour

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
19
Reaction score
3
Location
Pacific Northwest
Vehicle(s)
2018 Tacoma TRD OR, 2018 Subaru Outback Limited
All of the Jeeps can handle trails however if you live in Pacific Northwest you may want the Rubicon for the fact it comes standard with 33's plus the locking diffs and sway bar disconnect... Even though you wont be doing rock crawling you will want some of those features so the Jeep can articulate better unless you decide to always manually disconnect sway bar in cases where needed... Some of the trails up there could pose a challenge half way through... The good thing about a Rubicon is you can jump to 35's without need of lifting unless you really decide to rock crawl and have the Jeep in fully extended situations where in that case on 35's it can have some rubbing... Again, you can get a sport and depending on where you go trail wise it should be fine... My Rubicon does great on hwy with little road noise... Plus depending on what your needs are you can still get a Rubicon without some of the options you mentioned above to cut down on the cost... Around here you can get a Rubicon with the 7" no led, cold weather, etc... As a matter of fact i just did a nation wide search and found many 2 door Rubicons below 40k and put that search link below to help you review when time to go to a local dealer...

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...35797618&yrId=36362520&yrId=36620293&zc=34787
Thanks for the info! I think that if I can get my JL Rubicon (built to $49,100 MSRP) to around $44k I would go for it. I think that the added value is there between the 30k negotiated price on a Sport vs. a 44k negotiated price on a Rubicon. I may go for the manual transmission after test driving both.

I just wish the 2.0T came with a manual. Otherwise I may be forced to get the 3.6L.
 

MikeLewisMusic

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
135
Reaction score
169
Location
Lexington, KY
Vehicle(s)
2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon 2 Door, 2.0l Turbo/Automatic
Occupation
Mechanical Engineer
All of the Jeeps can handle trails however if you live in Pacific Northwest you may want the Rubicon for the fact it comes standard with 33's plus the locking diffs and sway bar disconnect... Even though you wont be doing rock crawling you will want some of those features so the Jeep can articulate better unless you decide to always manually disconnect sway bar in cases where needed... Some of the trails up there could pose a challenge half way through... The good thing about a Rubicon is you can jump to 35's without need of lifting unless you really decide to rock crawl and have the Jeep in fully extended situations where in that case on 35's it can have some rubbing... Again, you can get a sport and depending on where you go trail wise it should be fine... My Rubicon does great on hwy with little road noise... Plus depending on what your needs are you can still get a Rubicon without some of the options you mentioned above to cut down on the cost... Around here you can get a Rubicon with the 7" no led, cold weather, etc... As a matter of fact i just did a nation wide search and found many 2 door Rubicons below 40k and put that search link below to help you review when time to go to a local dealer...

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...35797618&yrId=36362520&yrId=36620293&zc=34787
I have owned a couple of Sports in the past. When I priced out what I wanted in a Jeep, optioning up from the Sport vs. the standard Rubi really wasn't that different. The deciding factor was that a lot of the offroad enhancements are difficult or just not practical to add after the fact.

For me, the Rubi turned out to be the better value, hands down. YMMV
 

IronScott

Well-Known Member
First Name
Scott
Joined
Sep 21, 2018
Threads
32
Messages
1,007
Reaction score
1,204
Location
NW Arkansas
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLU Sahara, 1992 Jeep YJ, 2002 Chevy Silverado
I have a loaded Sahara and was very torn when choosing my build. Finally chose the Selec-trac over the Rock-trac and lockers. I was convinced for my riding that Selec-trac was the better option, and in the end it may be, but I really want everything else about the Rubicon - fenders, sway bar, lockers, hood, overall look, gears and design. Too late for me at this point. I'll probably change gears at some point and add lockers if a legit option is ever available for Sahara, then I will effectively have a Rubi. Great thing about a Jeep is it is infinitely upgradeable.

edit: This forum is highly geared toward Rubicon owners, so you have to take everything you read with a grain of salt. They really should rename it something like jlrubiconowners.com. It's really amazing how slanted this forum is.
 

Sponsored

DCBlake

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
137
Reaction score
84
Location
Winter Garden, FL
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU Rubicon
Thanks for the info! I think that if I can get my JL Rubicon (built to $49,100 MSRP) to around $44k I would go for it. I think that the added value is there between the 30k negotiated price on a Sport vs. a 44k negotiated price on a Rubicon. I may go for the manual transmission after test driving both.

I just wish the 2.0T came with a manual. Otherwise I may be forced to get the 3.6L.
If you are a die hard manual transmission person i understand but the 8 speed automatic is fantastic and works well with both 3.6 and 2.0... I have the 2.0 and it is great...
 
OP
OP

twodoorfour

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
19
Reaction score
3
Location
Pacific Northwest
Vehicle(s)
2018 Tacoma TRD OR, 2018 Subaru Outback Limited
I have a loaded Sahara and was very torn when choosing my build. Finally chose the Selec-trac over the Rock-trac and lockers. I was convinced for my riding that Selec-trac was the better option, and in the end it may be, but I really want everything else about the Rubicon - fenders, sway bar, lockers, hood, overall look, gears and design. Too late for me at this point. I'll probably change gears at some point and add lockers if a legit option is ever available for Sahara, then I will effectively have a Rubi. Great thing about a Jeep is it is infinitely upgradeable.

edit: This forum is highly geared toward Rubicon owners, so you have to take everything you read with a grain of salt. They really should rename it something like jlrubiconowners.com. It's really amazing how slanted this forum is.
Can you comment a little more about the differences between Selec-trac and Rock-trac?
 

DCBlake

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
137
Reaction score
84
Location
Winter Garden, FL
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU Rubicon
Can you comment a little more about the differences between Selec-trac and Rock-trac?
Here's the detail directly from Jeep if you do a build:


Selec-Trac Full Time 4WD System $595

  • The new Selec-Trac® Full-Time Four-Wheel-Drive System includes a 2.72:1 low range. This two-speed, active full-time system includes a 4H AUTO mode that requires no driver input for any driving conditions. In 4H AUTO, 4WD is automatically engaged and disengaged as needed to maintain traction. Image shown below...

  • Rock-trac is where you get the full locking diffs, sway bar disconnect, better axles, etc as this is all standard on Rubicon...

    Here's a note from one of the off road blogs:
Due to its 4:1 low-gear ratio, Rock-Track delivers massive amounts of torque to go up and down sharp inclines as well as crawl over big obstacles such as rocks. It boasts a 73.1:1 crawl ratio with manual transmission that makes it easy to cruise over tough terrain.

SelectTrac.jpeg
 
OP
OP

twodoorfour

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
19
Reaction score
3
Location
Pacific Northwest
Vehicle(s)
2018 Tacoma TRD OR, 2018 Subaru Outback Limited
Here's the detail directly from Jeep if you do a build:


Selec-Trac Full Time 4WD System $595

  • The new Selec-Trac® Full-Time Four-Wheel-Drive System includes a 2.72:1 low range. This two-speed, active full-time system includes a 4H AUTO mode that requires no driver input for any driving conditions. In 4H AUTO, 4WD is automatically engaged and disengaged as needed to maintain traction. Image shown below...

  • Rock-trac is where you get the full locking diffs, sway bar disconnect, better axles, etc as this is all standard on Rubicon...

    Here's a note from one of the off road blogs:
Due to its 4:1 low-gear ratio, Rock-Track delivers massive amounts of torque to go up and down sharp inclines as well as crawl over big obstacles such as rocks. It boasts a 73.1:1 crawl ratio with manual transmission that makes it easy to cruise over tough terrain.

SelectTrac.jpeg
Thanks!

I don't know which will be better for me, but luckily I won't have to make the decision. Since I'm looking at 2 door JLs I don't have the ability to go for Selec-Trac, right? I'm deciding between Wrangler Sport and Rubicon.

I also don't know which will be more beneficial for me in the PNW conditions. Wet, muddy, forest woods environments.
 

krucam

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
94
Reaction score
166
Location
DFW, TX
Vehicle(s)
Nissan Xterra, 2019 JLR ordered 12/22/2018
Occupation
FAA
A Sport S with the Anti Spin rear diff (LSD) will do everything and more than you’ll likely need. I’d save the $ and go this route given your needs...
 

Sponsored

RedJeep78

Well-Known Member
First Name
Will
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
486
Reaction score
1,232
Location
Jacksonville Florida 32258
Vehicle(s)
Wrangler JLU Sport 2018
Well I took a sport S and upgraded the heck out of it for about the same total price of a Rubicon without upgrades. I think I got my moneys worth and my Jeep is visually more appealing than most Rubicons. The only thing at this point that the rubicon has better than my Jeep are the heavy duty Dana axles for advanced rock climbing. We don't really have a lot of rock climbing in FL so I don't really need those axles anyway.

20190311_080802.jpg


Jp (2).jpg


Jp3.jpg
 

Agent47

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Threads
15
Messages
284
Reaction score
360
Location
PNW
Vehicle(s)
Mojito! JLU 2.0T (Built 7/4)
I don't know what sort of trails you plan on going on, but I live in the PNW and have seen all sorts of cars and Subarus at trailheads whenever I go hiking. I think that you would likely be better off with a Sport since you could order it with LSD, something that would be more useful on a daily basis on rainy roads and hills.

I would be interested in seeing the trails you're talking about if you have any links though.
 
OP
OP

twodoorfour

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
19
Reaction score
3
Location
Pacific Northwest
Vehicle(s)
2018 Tacoma TRD OR, 2018 Subaru Outback Limited
I don't know what sort of trails you plan on going on, but I live in the PNW and have seen all sorts of cars and Subarus at trailheads whenever I go hiking. I think that you would likely be better off with a Sport since you could order it with LSD, something that would be more useful on a daily basis on rainy roads and hills.

I would be interested in seeing the trails you're talking about if you have any links though.
Tillamook State Forest, McGrew Trail, Millican Valley, Santiam Pass, etc. My maps are on GAIA. I also like to roam around BLM land and set up camp. I was able to get to most places I wanted to go with my stock Tacoma TRD OR, but I'm looking for a smaller wheelbase to enjoy more wheeling. I just don't want to do any major modifications to whatever vehicle I buy. I think the Sport or Sport S may be good enough.

When you say LSD you were referencing is the Anti-spin Differential Rear Axle ($595)?
 

jmcdtucson

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jerel
Joined
Jun 17, 2018
Threads
12
Messages
698
Reaction score
661
Location
Tucson, AZ
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU Sport S
Vehicle Showcase
1
Tillamook State Forest, McGrew Trail, Millican Valley, Santiam Pass, etc. My maps are on GAIA. I also like to roam around BLM land and set up camp. I was able to get to most places I wanted to go with my stock Tacoma TRD OR, but I'm looking for a smaller wheelbase to enjoy more wheeling. I just don't want to do any major modifications to whatever vehicle I buy. I think the Sport or Sport S may be good enough.

When you say LSD you were referencing is the Anti-spin Differential Rear Axle ($595)?
Yes, that is the LSD (limted slip differential). Axle is beefed up Dana 44 too so it's a great value option. I feel like my Sport S will take me anywhere I need to go. Only upgrad is Rubi takeoff tires and wheels - net cost of that upgrade was $500 after selling my factory wheels and tires. Oh, and LOD rock sliders which double as a step - something I would've added to a Rubicon anyway.
 

Agent47

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Threads
15
Messages
284
Reaction score
360
Location
PNW
Vehicle(s)
Mojito! JLU 2.0T (Built 7/4)
Tillamook State Forest, McGrew Trail, Millican Valley, Santiam Pass, etc. My maps are on GAIA. I also like to roam around BLM land and set up camp. I was able to get to most places I wanted to go with my stock Tacoma TRD OR, but I'm looking for a smaller wheelbase to enjoy more wheeling. I just don't want to do any major modifications to whatever vehicle I buy. I think the Sport or Sport S may be good enough.

When you say LSD you were referencing is the Anti-spin Differential Rear Axle ($595)?
Thanks! I'll have to check those out this summer.

Yes, that is what I was referencing when I said LSD. Only available on Sports and Saharas, Rubicons have open diffs (with lockers).
Sponsored

 
 



Top