OK - I am about to pull the trigger on a new jeep (wanting to spend about $32k), which will be the 3rd car (so doesn't need to be all that practical). gonna run safari top and tube doors except in the 2 weeks of winter that we get in california. it will see some off-road action, certainly not every weekend, but i would like to do the rubicon trail one day.

i have spent a lot of time reading thru many, many threads and have come up with the following choices....

first choice is manual or automatic. wife prefers auto, i much prefer manual.

and then once that is decided i have the big choice........
1) buy a 2013 base model (with hardtop for ski trips). add 1" front leveller and 33's now. regear, lift + 35's later
2) buy a 2013 base model. skip the 33's and go straight to regear (488?), lift and 35's.
3) buy a 2013 with 373 gears and anti-spin diff. lift and 35s - although this either means paying for a bunch of options i don't want or ordering one and waiting 5-6 weeks.
4) buy a 2013 rubicon and add lift + 35s
5) buy a 2012 second hand with some extras and get somebody else's after market stuff for cheap (although the 2012's are pretty pricey)
6) go pre-2012, give up the pentastar but get a much cheaper jeep and a lot more choices

my gut tells me to buy the strip down base model with a manual, and go straight to regear/lift/35's as the most cost effective way to get where i ultimately want to be.

what would you do?

thanks, alan

 

This is certainly a fun problem to have. My brother in law was in the same exact position a little over a year ago. He chose to go with a strip down base model. In return, he had money left over to put all the extras he exactly wanted on the jeep: gears, wheels and tires, axles, etc. It really comes down to what you ultimately want your jeep to be. Take it from me, you can go a bit over board on all the extras if your not careful.

Not sure if that helped....but just thought I would share.

Good luck in your decision!

 

X2... Great answer...

 

I bought dual tops, convenience package, alloy wheels, etc. I haven't used my hard top in two years, I've replaced the wheels, tires, and 3.73 gears, and I could easily live without the power doors, windows, and leather steering wheel.

Do I wish I'd have gone with a base model? All the time.

 

Excellent answer!

Also you might not need gears with that Pentastar engine. Put the wheels and tires you want 1st then decide if you want gears. If you plan on locking it regardless then sure do the gears but we would say drive it 1st!

 

I vote 2013 Rubicon. Order it bare bones. Hardtop only. Its just a toy, any money spent on a base sport model is gone when you want to sell it and buy a new toy. I dobut you want the bare bones sport with no a/c in california anyways. Don't forget you can sell your rubicon wheels /tires to offset the cost of 35's. You can get a 2 door rubicon with hardtop for about 31+tax.

With the rubicons transfer case your better off than a regeared sport when in 4lo. You just end up with slightly lower rpm's on the highway, you will have to downshift to pass more.

 

i think you should go straight to 35s if you don't you will regret it, and always think about it.. i dont think you need to regear especially with 35s the new motor puts out a god bit of power. i hear people even run 37s with stock gears and some 38x14.5x17 with stock rubi gears..

i made the mistake of going 5:13 on my old jk with 37s was a huge over kill, but thats what happens when you listen to everyone with out trying it first hand..

 

I'd get the older model and spend on the mods. The Pentastar, for what I've been reading, is not that major leap from the older V8.

So, you can get a 07 or 08 in good shape and still have enough left to put a really decent engine.

Then, with whatever is left, make the other mods.

Last but not least, by using an older Jeep you will not have many conscience problems cutting and welding it.

If I had that money that's what I'd do. ;-)

 

My vote is for a '12-'13 rubicon. New motor, and especially the new trans is worth it IMO. Test drive both to see for yourself. Unless you're gonna go crazy with mods (like my plans)...Front and rear lockers, 4.10 gears, and a 4:1 transfer case will go a hell of a long way.

 

I had an 08 2door x sold it then bought a 2012 rubicon unlimited .. THERE'S NO COMPARISON IN POWER, the new motor is more than enough. My Neighbor had a 2009 jkur with a hemi swap sold it then bought a 12 JKUR and says there really not much of a difference then spend 50k in mods alone and Kept the stock motor on his 2012 JKUR

His old jk was really famous knows as "rock raider" couple pics