WATCH a Bone Stock Jeep Rubicon XR do a 7 rated trail at sand hollow when its wet!

[Old Jeeper]

We went to the annual Winter 4x4 Jamboree last weekend, the Jeep I wanted to take was broken, so we ended up taking our Bone Stock 23 Rubicon XR. I was very nervous because of the Wet conditions, as well as tire size and clearance, but this thing absolutely ate it up. Sometimes even doing better than its larger counterparts. 2nd gear, 4 low, and lockers when you need them, and these things are unbelievable. Safe to say it is the most capable stock 4x4 in these types of conditions. I don't really have a reason to mod it now!

An impressive feat for a Rubicon? NOT hardly! I am impressed you drive exceptionally well and will look to a future of 7+ trails.

In most people's eyes, the Rubicon is just a model of Jeep! It's not! The Rubicon was based upon OBJECTIVE design criteria by a group of young engineers who worked at Jeep at that time. They were Jeep guy and appealed to Jeep Mgt that they could design a Jeep to take on the Rubicon trail in OEM form.

Their budget was not large so they insourced most Key components. Steering box (MB, sorry, forget which model, been to many years, I think it came off one the MB Vans). Transfer case & Manual Transmission: RAM truck.

The big one was the Lockers. They wanted ARBs and or several others, the problem was no one could meet the mfg criteria of 25,000 units. That was Jeep, estimated Sales. So they turned to a Japanese Mfg to build it. I think the rest of the components were internally sourced in Chrysler/MB (owned by MB at that time).

I am not sure about the Rubicon Springs, the question did not come up in my meeting with the engineering and marketing and Mfg team.

The Dana 44s had been in the Jeep toy box for many years, they were an existing option.

The testing went well and Jeep affixed a Sticker on the hood RUBICON!, named after the design criteria and the accomplishment of the objective.

"There is one great thing that you all be able to say after Moab is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great Moab Challenge you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.” No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say: I rode those Moab trails to top!

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[ColoradoMike]

Really happy to see the stock XR on a 7. I have done several 6s with mine, which is stock except for some extra armor.
Would you be willing to post the second, third, and forth videos separately, one in a comment, the second in another comment, etc? I wonder if that will allow some of us to see them; I only saw the first like some of the others.

 

[Old Jeeper]

the only people that underrate an XR are on this forum.

40's are not needed to do some crazy $&$^

Hater's will always Hate!

The XR package is IMO I it had been available (suspension group only) I would order it. What it brings to the table is a suspension lift.

37 x 12:50 x 17 + 3 in lift + 4:88s will do any marked public trail, the only weak link would be the driver's ability.n If you need 40s on your rig, then your, wallet is too thick , EGO too big, driver's ability is too small.

 

[Zandcwhite]

1. the word literally is redundant.

2. I don't really see any crazy improvements here other than you saying how much better things are.

3. all the rubicons have the same skid plates. perfectly serviceable. Albeit adding diff skids is the low hanging fruit.
If I need 1700 in armor then those are trails that I should not be doing.

if you got more uptravel, how much? 3x more? a 1/4 inch more?
how much more droop with the bilsteins?

The real takeaway there is that the XR package is pretty outstanding for the cost, from the factory for what it does give you.

Double the uptravel, as I said we had 2" of uptravel before the bumpstops. Adding a 2" front spacer (teraflex 1 5" kit is 2" front 1.5" rear)gave us 4" and if you ever hit the dunes or more open trails out there near sand hollow at any kind of speed you'll really appreciate the the extra clearance. The bilsteins have a 10.25" stroke up front and a 12" stroke out back vs the stock XR shocks 7.3" front and 8.3" rear. 3" of extra travel up front and 5" extra in the rear (angled mount makes axle travel ~1.3x the shock length difference) for $400? And a better quality aluminum body shock that dampens better than the stock shocks and doesn't fade as quickly when running at speed in rough terrain? If you're arguing 4.1⁰ of caster is good and 6⁰+ isn't massively better on road, I'd bet you've never driven both back to back? Doesn't take but a minute searching these forums to come to that consensus. Even if you're trying to go super budget friendly, a set of metalcloak rock sport shocks and mopar longer lcas for a total of $320 on a stock height XR would gain you everything but the uptravel. I agree the xr package is a great value, but spend a few bucks and it's so much better. Caster is too low and shock travel is too short on a non-xr Rubicon in my opinion, adding 1.5" without changing the lower control arms only makes it worse. Non-xr rubicons have 3/4" more front shock travel and 1/4" more rear and I found those very limiting on our 2019. I'm not saying the XR package isn't amazingly capable stock, but the idea that there's no reason to modify it is flat wrong. All of this information is readily available and the improvements are easily quantifiable with a tape measure. The ride/handling improvements could be somewhat subjective, but the limited bump travel and short shocks are documented facts. Why not let your Jeep be able to stretch its legs for a few hundred bucks?

 

[chicknwaffles]

Hater's will always Hate!

The XR package is IMO I it had been available (suspension group only) I would order it. What it brings to the table is a suspension lift.

37 x 12:50 x 17 + 3 in lift + 4:88s will do any marked public trail, the only weak link would be the driver's ability.n If you need 40s on your rig, then your, wallet is too thick , EGO too big, driver's ability is too small.

I think the weak link usually is the driver.

 

[chicknwaffles]

Double the uptravel, as I said we had 2" of uptravel before the bumpstops. Adding a 2" front spacer (teraflex 1 5" kit is 2" front 1.5" rear)gave us 4" and if you ever hit the dunes or more open trails out there near sand hollow at any kind of speed you'll really appreciate the the extra clearance. The bilsteins have a 10.25" stroke up front and a 12" stroke out back vs the stock XR shocks 7.3" front and 8.3" rear. 3" of extra travel up front and 5" extra in the rear (angled mount makes axle travel ~1.3x the shock length difference) for $400? And a better quality aluminum body shock that dampens better than the stock shocks and doesn't fade as quickly when running at speed in rough terrain? If you're arguing 4.1⁰ of caster is good and 6⁰+ isn't massively better on road, I'd bet you've never driven both back to back? Doesn't take but a minute searching these forums to come to that consensus. Even if you're trying to go super budget friendly, a set of metalcloak rock sport shocks and mopar longer lcas for a total of $320 on a stock height XR would gain you everything but the uptravel. I agree the xr package is a great value, but spend a few bucks and it's so much better. Caster is too low and shock travel is too short on a non-xr Rubicon in my opinion, adding 1.5" without changing the lower control arms only makes it worse. Non-xr rubicons have 3/4" more front shock travel and 1/4" more rear and I found those very limiting on our 2019. I'm not saying the XR package isn't amazingly capable stock, but the idea that there's no reason to modify it is flat wrong. All of this information is readily available and the improvements are easily quantifiable with a tape measure. The ride/handling improvements could be somewhat subjective, but the limited bump travel and short shocks are documented facts. Why not let your Jeep be able to stretch its legs for a few hundred bucks?

good points. I dig it.

sounds like the bilsteins would be a good upgrade come shock time.

 

[Vinman]

I would expect almost any Jeep locked front and rear on 35’s with a small lift to be able to do those trails

 

[Old Jeeper]

I think the weak link usually is the driver.

RIGHT ON! Based upon years and years of wheeling you are dead on. Street is not OR and it takes a completely new skill set to play in the 7+ world. Much of it is fear. I know they closed the Rusty Nail trail in Moab...drop off and not a pretty one. I loved it, few would do it

This is the Rusty Nail trail, entrance and it is very technical as you need to drive on the right side is a drop-off and you need to put your tires on a wall, then make a hard left and drive up and over with a huge left and suddenly you are looking down.

I heard it was closed due how may folks rolled off the trail.

 

[NChap89]

Double the uptravel, as I said we had 2" of uptravel before the bumpstops. Adding a 2" front spacer (teraflex 1 5" kit is 2" front 1.5" rear)gave us 4" and if you ever hit the dunes or more open trails out there near sand hollow at any kind of speed you'll really appreciate the the extra clearance. The bilsteins have a 10.25" stroke up front and a 12" stroke out back vs the stock XR shocks 7.3" front and 8.3" rear. 3" of extra travel up front and 5" extra in the rear (angled mount makes axle travel ~1.3x the shock length difference) for $400? And a better quality aluminum body shock that dampens better than the stock shocks and doesn't fade as quickly when running at speed in rough terrain? If you're arguing 4.1⁰ of caster is good and 6⁰+ isn't massively better on road, I'd bet you've never driven both back to back? Doesn't take but a minute searching these forums to come to that consensus. Even if you're trying to go super budget friendly, a set of metalcloak rock sport shocks and mopar longer lcas for a total of $320 on a stock height XR would gain you everything but the uptravel. I agree the xr package is a great value, but spend a few bucks and it's so much better. Caster is too low and shock travel is too short on a non-xr Rubicon in my opinion, adding 1.5" without changing the lower control arms only makes it worse. Non-xr rubicons have 3/4" more front shock travel and 1/4" more rear and I found those very limiting on our 2019. I'm not saying the XR package isn't amazingly capable stock, but the idea that there's no reason to modify it is flat wrong. All of this information is readily available and the improvements are easily quantifiable with a tape measure. The ride/handling improvements could be somewhat subjective, but the limited bump travel and short shocks are documented facts. Why not let your Jeep be able to stretch its legs for a few hundred bucks?

I agree with your points on the XR. I am 100% satisfied with my '22 Rubicon XR but that has not stopped me from making improvements on a great base. I have added a CavFab bumper, Rockhard sliders, Mopar LCA's, MORE oil & transmission pan skid plate, Skidrow exhaust loop skid thus far... plans are to add 2.5'' springs (Metalcloak or Rock Krawler), longer shocks, and possibly 37's.

What annoyed me is seeing pictures of my XR flexed out and comparing pictures of my old JKU w/ a 2.5" Teraflex lift on 35's having more flex.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I agree with your points on the XR. I am 100% satisfied with my '22 Rubicon XR but that has not stopped me from making improvements on a great base. I have added a CavFab bumper, Rockhard sliders, MORE oil & transmission pan skid plate, Skidrow exhaust loop skid thus far... plans are to add 2.5'' springs (Metalcloak or Rock Krawler), longer shocks, and possibly 37's.

What annoyed me is seeing pictures of my XR flexed out and comparing pictures of my old JKU w/ a 2.5" Teraflex lift on 35's having more flex.

I don't know what Jeep was thinking with the shocks specifically. They have a longer collapsed length than a standard Rubicon, which leaves room in the body to fit a longer shaft and thus more travel and yet they built them with less travel? Between that and not using the Mopar lift LCAs that they already have in house to get better caster, they definitely left meat on the bone for both on and off road improvements. Simple changes that really make a difference and would have cost them almost nothing.

 

[NChap89]

I don't know what Jeep was thinking with the shocks specifically. They have a longer collapsed length than a standard Rubicon, which leaves room in the body to fit a longer shaft and thus more travel and yet they built them with less travel? Between that and not using the Mopar lift LCAs that they already have in house to get better caster, they definitely left meat on the bone for both on and off road improvements. Simple changes that really make a difference and would have cost them almost nothing.

Agreed. I forgot to include that I added the Mopar LCA's... for whopping $80 my cost, why the hell Jeep didn't include them is beyond me. I really did not want to "have" to modify the suspension on my XR but the rake annoys me as does the minimal room before those gigantic bump stops hit.

 

[chaseshort]

The XR has 4 huge shortcomings from the factory if you want to run 7+ trails. Fortunately all can easily be corrected.
1. Armor as mentioned above. Stock skids are laughable at best and the oil pan is completely exposed. We went full metalcloak skids on our new XR, definitely the most expensive mod at $1700. Doesn't improve capability, but durability and longevity will on the longer trails like the Rubicon or the Dusy.
2. Uptravel. Those factory front bump towers are long. We literally had 2" of uptravel before getting in to the bumps stock. Every XR will be better off road with a simple 1.5" spacer. $150
3. Short extended length shocks. Made worse when you add the necessary 1.5" for proper uptravel, but still very limiting stock. A set of bilstein 5100s are cheap for a better than factory monotube that will improve on road ride/handling and hugely improve droop. $400
4. Caster angle. Ours was at 4.1⁰ stock and 3.8⁰ after the 1.5" lift. Adjustable front LCAs and it is set a 7⁰ and handles better than it did stock. $300
Even if you skip the armor and are just careful off road, the other $950 is money well spent and makes the Jeep better on and off road in my experience.

Super helpful insight, thank you! Have you done all of these? Would love to see a a pic flexed out with new suspension!

 

[chaseshort]

Really happy to see the stock XR on a 7. I have done several 6s with mine, which is stock except for some extra armor.
Would you be willing to post the second, third, and forth videos separately, one in a comment, the second in another comment, etc? I wonder if that will allow some of us to see them; I only saw the first like some of the others.

I will combine all clips of the trail into a YT video and tag you here. Give me an hour or so!

 

[Zandcwhite]

Super helpful insight, thank you! Have you done all of these? Would love to see a a pic flexed out with new suspension!

Yes, and the pics I posted earlier were with the spacers and bilsteins. I have since swapped out to metalcloak 3.5" springs front and rear as 37's will likely be coming soon. I haven't gotten a chance to fully flex it out yet, as we have a bunch of other things going on right now and winter has all the good rock trails in the Sierra's closed. She's a beast in the deep snow though. That being said, I've got some very low mileage teraflex spacers I'd let go cheap...

 

[jromanmd]

Beautiful. Man I love that.

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