Rubicon vs Sport

[David Jimenez]

hey guys,
i am looking at buying a jeep wrangler..
im not sure if it actually worth the extra for the rubicon, are the sports any good on the off road compared to the rubicons?
thanks

p.s. going into sydney tomorrow to wrestle the dealerships..

[DLE068]

The rubicon is your best bet.
It has front n rear lockers, sway bar disconnect n the better ratio transfer case.
If your going to use it offroad alot, go for the rubicon.

[Paul-JK]

Probably depends on your experience and your expectations.

For me my CRD sport goes pretty much anywhere I've got the nerve to point it. It's my first 4WD and is quite frankly a lot more capable than I am. Just got some decent tyres on it and a suspension lift (a necessity for the 4dr be it a sport or a rubi to keep the fuel tank off the ground) and I think the standard traction control does a great job, once you learn how to work with it. For touring, normal fire trail work up to C or even B grade tracks the sport is more than capable and you can then build as you go if you want to tackle harder tracks later. I'd say even a showroom stock sport would show up a good few of the more modified 4WD's around, but one with a few key mods (like tyres & suspension which realistically you'd probably do anyway) will go a lot further than most people ever want to take them.

If you've been 4WD'ing for years and know you're going to want to hit the harder tracks then the likelihood is you're going to throw lockers in it anyway so you might as well get the rubi so at least the lockers are on the warranty.......unless you prefer the diesel motor of course in which case the rubi is out of the question. Be warned though, unless you're happy to pick from the current dealer stock (which may or may not have the new Penastar motor) then you might be in for a bit of a wait if you want a Rubi. I've heard they are having supply issues (I think with the transfer case) and therefore production lead times on new orders are very long at the moment (even worse than they normally are!).

[David Jimenez]

well today i went and looked at the wranglers 2011/2012, the 2012's go like a rocket and they did say to me (the dealership in parramatta) that there is a 5-6 month wait.. which im not going to do!

A guy that works with my brother-in-law said get a rubicon as the bigger diffs make all the difference as he has bent his diff in the front of his sport, he said he wasnt doing anything hard as he is a beginner and was with some "experienced" 4x4ers. jeep told him it was from the upgrade in bigger tyres, i want it as a daily driver and as a toy as much as i want to have fun in it still have to be reliable and bent diffs is not on the good list.

Have you heard of this problem?

The difference between the motors from the 3.8 to the 3.6 is so different so much better as driving on the road is at an ease not a bad up grade from the SS ute!

Living where i do in the southern highlands and my brother-in-law into his 4x4ing i can see ill need something capable to keep up!

Seems i might have to look for in ACT or Vic!

Also finding a rubicon thats not black is not easy they are all black! owning a black ute and keeping it clean is hard enough let alone seeing scratches.

The Search Continues

[David Jimenez]

P.s.

Has anyone delt with the dealership at Peter Warren near warrick farm?

The seemed to be the most helpful and wanting to please i been warned to "STAY AWAY FROM TYNAN" with servicing and warrenty problems on jeep/dodge/chrysler by more then 3 people.

[ian C]

I found SVM at Mosman quite good and I live near Liverpool.

[Paul-JK]

I'd suggest you'd be lucky if you got a car in 5-6 months. People have waited longer than that normally, and that's without any supply issues in manufacturing.

Don't go near Tynan. I never found out what their servicing/warranty claims are like as I now use SVM as it's closer but I bought mine from Tynan and I would never go back. For the sake of trying to do the right thing (Tynan were initially the ones who were most keen for the sale and therefore worked hardest for it so I felt that I should still go to them even after others then offered to match it) I ended up dealing a bunch of amateurs who didn't know a thing about Jeeps or customer service. I had a load of hassles getting the car when I wanted it (after they had agreed on a date). The one accessory I asked them to fit they stuffed up, the car detailing when I picked it up was questionable and their complete lack of knowledge about the car as they supposedly briefed me on it when I picked it up was amazing. I would definitely not recommend buying from them. There are better dealers around.

Both the Sport and the Rubi have the same rear diff (albeit with different gear ratios in them) but the Rubi also gets a Dana 44 front whereas the Sport only gets the Dana 30 front. The 44 is certainly bigger than the 30 but from what I've heard (and others may be able to qualify this better than me) the 44 isn't that much stronger as a lot of the components in them are common.

From my limited experience, and spending too much time on forums like this and AJOR, I'd say that bending diffs is likely a result of hitting comp grade tracks or doing something you probably shouldn't have been doing. Over enthusiastic driving and especially with larger tyres will be what did it. There are plenty of people drive Sports with bigger tyres though (some up to 37's) and take them on some extreme tracks that don't manage to bend them. That said, if your out with guys who do that sort of wheeling, and want to keep up, I'd say the Rubi is a good bet. Even discounting the Dana 30/44 issue, you're certainly going to be wanting lockers and the lower diff and transfer gearing will help a lot. The electric sway bar disconnect will come in handy as well. So all in all I'd say you're probably better off with a Rubi.

Also agree with the colour choice. I had a black car before my JK and I love black cars but it's just never clean. Once you take it out and get dust trapped in all of the little nooks and crannies then every time it rains it pulls more dust out so it's impossible to clean. And then there's the bush pin striping that looks so much on black cars. I think the JK's look great in dark colours but in the end bought a silver one as that seems to hide the dirt and scratches best.

Have fun hunting......and then let the mods begin!

[dobbo56]

i bought my JK from Suttons Roseberry and was pleasantly surprised, the guys know Jeeps, and were keen to help where they could, i dont get it serviced there, too far for me from the western suburbs, got it done at Nepean Jeep service, and they were ok as well .Good luck with your purchase, David.

[redrubi]

David Mate!

The only people who knock RUBICONS don't have RUBICONS!! (guess what I drive? LOL)

I've delt with both dealerships and without slandering anyone I'd head west young man!!

And remember JAMBO!!!

Cheers

Andy

[Wooders]

There's no magic answer beteer the two, just which will better suit your needs, budget & plans.
For example if you are thinking 37+" tyres the rubi diffs aren't really what you want anyhow.
If you spend a Lot of time on the rocks, the stock rub rock sliders aren't as strong as they initally look.
If you spend time mudding or sand, then the rubi 4:1 tras ratio is a bit deep and it a bot too much of a gap from 4hi for good wheel speed in low range.
Plus the diesel isn't available.
Plus whilst the Rubi disconnect is handy/lazy, they can be a little problematic and expensive to fix. plus they aren't a "real" disconnect since the link between the chassis & diff remains in place and thus gets less wheel travel than an actual swaybar disconnect.
The rear diff does get slightly larger axle shafts for better strength, but the stock shafts aren't much of an issue.
The front D44 has the same unis, hubs, tube diameter and wallthickness (of the tubes) as the D30. I have seen just as many D44 housings bent as D30. infact EITHER will flex if the long tube is jacked in the middle and IMHO either diff should be ideally trussed if you plan to run 35" or larger - comp or social use.
Certainly the Rubi D44 is much smaller than D44's (Tubes/walls) used in say 1980's full size jeeps.

In summary IMHO, If you plan loads of mods get the sport. if you plan to keep it realtively stock the Rubi is arguably the most capable 4x4 money can currently buy.