anadlas

So as of now I have a 2013 JKU sahara. Love it as I traded a bare bones 2009 JK in for it. Love the extra space. However now that I'm getting more into the aftermarket of things since I have more money to play with I realized that everything I want to do to the sahara is already on the rubicon. Also I'm running 3.21 gears on my jku which sucks because a 4 door doesn't look proportional to me like a 2 door unless you're running 35s which 4.10 gears would accommodate. My question is should I just go for the rubicon? If so how do you rubicon owners like the lockers that come in it and the electronic sway disco? Are they something that I'll want to replace down the road with different lockers as I want to get more into the off road aspect of things? I guess my main concern is what's gonna save me more in the longrun of things cause as I price out the gear changes and swapping to a 44 up front all the numbers are adding up quick. I'm about 1K under my jk's value right now and what I'd put down from my tax return would put my payments on a new rubi at the same amount I'm paying for my sahara now.

TheDirtman

I would take the tax return and pay down some debt with it. Trading for a rubi is a terrible idea even with your "justification" math.

kh202

IMO, it's worth either getting sport or a rubicon. You can easily justify building a Sport into and more capable than a rubicon, but the price of the Saharah kinda screws that theory lol

You'll still have to pay for lift, tires, truss/gussets ect with the rubicon. So add that to the money you lose in the trade plus the extra money for the rubicon...

jk.bushwacker

nope - that Sahara is bad ass!

jk_sea

My best advice-- and I mean no unfriendliness or offense -- is to "get more into the offroad aspect", as you mentioned in your post below, BEFORE buying a brand new Jeep to replace the brand new Jeep you already have.

I believe a lot of people on this forum suffer from "Jeep Dysmorphic Disorder", which is to say that are shamed/guilted/trained to believe that a JK isn't worth its salt and one isn't a "true offroad guy" unless their Jeep has at least 35" tires, locking diffs, trussed/gusseted axles, etc. Even then, if you build a Jeep, someone is destined to call you a "mall crawler" if you don't offroad the way they do. Unfortunately a lot of the Jeep world is the Miley Cyrus' calling the Hannah Montanas of the world "poor and ugly." And then there's the rest of us.

If the money was mine, I'd hang on to my Sahara and start taking it places, if I truly wanted to "get more into the offroad aspect." I'd figure out what it could do, and then design a plan to build or trade when it became really worth it to do so.

Your Sahara is nothing less than amazing, in stock form, no less. Take it places and let it amaze you, because it will. I've done things in a stock JK with 3.21's that made me pee a little.

But, it sounds like you've kind of already made up your mind. You said to sell you on a Rubicon, and I'm trying to sell you on the Sahara that you already have

Septu

First thing, if you have to be sold on it, you probably don't need it.

A lift and 33s will get you a LOT of places. I've yet to get stuck due to only having 33" tires. I've been stuck plenty of times from not having enough belly clearance (no lift yet - or not enough on my 07), not having lockers (a couple times) or picking bad lines (almost every time!).

Lift it and put some 33s on it. The 3.6l will handle 33s very well even with 3.21s (I'd just keep an eye on the weight of them, and go for lighter ones if possible). I took a JKU sport with Rubi 32s out for a test drive while waiting for my Rubi, and other than it downshifting on the hills, it was fine. And it got better gas mileage due to it's lower RPMs on the highway (although this was a very limited test).

Look, I love my Rubi. But I bought it with the intention of building it up (to an extent). I had a 07 sport that didn't have AC, so a new/different jeep was a must. And no I don't use it nearly to the extent that some do. But I'm happy with it, so that's all that matters to me. But if I had a 13 Sahara, I'd be just as content building that. Start with 33s, a lift and a front bumper and winch. See how far that takes you... I think you'll be surprised. That's what my buddy is rocking, and other than him getting stuck in the obvious places (places he shouldn't be in), I haven't seem him stuck yet. And with his leveling kit, it looks sharp.

PG-JKU

The last 2 posters nailed it. I bought my 2007 Sahara Unlimited used off a dealer. Ended up wheeling at Whipsaw with the guy that traded it in and bought a new Rubicon. All I had on it were new Duratracs and disconnected sway bars, and I went everywhere those Rubicons went. The old owner was quite pissed to see that he could have done everything with his old jeep that I was driving! I got stuck in one place after and needed a tug after I got high centered in the mud. I don't think he even tried that line. Driver skill is a big part of it. Pick your lines well, be smart, and you will get that Sahara most places you want it to go. I'll admit I still lust after Rubicons, but with everything that I have put into the Sahara I think in some ways it is now better for my use. The back limited slip is great in the snow - you won't have that in the Rubicon, and the Sahara transfer case is good for my part of the world where I need 4 lo for mud and dirt instead of rock crawling most of the time.

Get out and wheel it - you'll be surprised at what your rig can do.

TheOneJeep

I disagree completely; the big question is: how much/what difficulty of offroading do you plan to do in the future? A stock wrangler with 3:21 gears is much more practical as a DD; especially with a family. Easier on gas, easier to get in and out of, and much smoother on long rides. In other words, the more you mod for offroading, the worse the vehicle becomes as a DD. If you think you might get more into offroading, definitley go with the Rubi as you have a great platform to build on. The cost to upgrade a wrangler to stock rubi configuration is excessive, whereas just add a lift, bigger tires, bumpers and winch to a rubi and you're ready to go. The stock dana 44's, lockers, & 4:10 gears will be just fine unless you get into extreme offroading. You don't need to change the lockers or swaybar disco. Just my .02 cents...

TheDirtman

Ok, so going deeper in debt for something you really don't need is better because maybe someday in the future you think you might need something you read about on a forum but are not really sure.
Got it.

kh202

haha X2. Probably lose a few grand on the trade, plus a few more grand to pay for the rubicon... for that price you could probably put a PR44 front and rear on your Saharah with gears, lockers, shafts, balljoints ect.