cost to upgrade a sport to rubi spec

[dimo]

Originally Posted by NTRubicon

as it is not as sealed as they suggest, is prone to periodic malfunction ,and I have pulled mine off and cleaned/regreased it a few times to offset this.

There are a few aftermarket items that are supposed to remedy this, I think EVO have a air based system that can be operate from inside the cabin.

[Dan96XJ]

dont forget diff ratios 4.11...if u want 35s, 4.56 is prolly better suited

[Kiwi Jeeper]

I would say 3.6 Pentastar vs 3.8 V6 would be important, not to mention the nearly bullet proof NAG1 transmission behind the Pentastar.

[samft]

You don't mention the prices of the 2 options so I'm going to assume they're roughly the same price?

3.8 vs 3.6.....This means new vs old interior....I have the old interior and it's ok, I think the newer one is probably better and you'd have things like iPhone input for music etc

3.8 vs 3.6......speed......3.6 will obliterate the 3.8 and use less fuel while you're at it

Are they both auto or manual? Think about that, I have auto and its great until it gets hot or you need to push start it (haven't needed to yet).

The transfer case is a big choice as it's most likely going to stay put in the jeep....the sport transfer case is probably better on sand....I'm in Perth so a lot of off-road is beach stuff and I've heard the Rubi t-case is too slow on the beach. The sport t-case with 35s and 4.88 gearing (I have CRD) is good on rocks, but I have an auto, so that makes it easy (autos can sometimes get away from you going down steep hills though, the new interior jeeps have hill descent control I believe, the old interior ones don't).

Lockers....I have eaton e-lockers and they're brilliant, the Rubi ones are also e-lockers (don't bother with air). The Rubi lockers can only be engaged when in 4Lo (I believe), mine can be turned on anytime (pros and cons...you have to make sure you don't knock the switches at 70km/h in a corner! But you can use them in 2/4Hi)

I think a fully built front D44 is about $8k, not a bad idea, the rubi D44 is a d44 ring and pinion but uses the same axel tubes and C's as the sport...i.e the diff gears are stronger (and less likely to shatter if a spinning wheel grips) but the axle would still be prone to bending. Use lockers and you'll never have a spinning wheel anyway.

Teraflex make replacement housings for the D44 and D30, where you can simply swap over your internals. I run 35s on a factory D30 with some re-enforcement internal sleeves, never had a problem but I also know its a weak point so I take it easy on sharp turns and dropping off big ledges. If it bends...I would need to decide on a full D44 swap of a Teraflex D30 housing (as I already have the lockers, gears and RCV axel shafts)

RCV axel shafts are great, they are technically weaker mechanically but have a lifetime guarantee. U-joints create a jerking motion at close to full lock which stresses the diff gears, CV joints are constant velocity and feel so smooth. Look at some animations on youtube if you need more info.

the Rubi has an electronic disconnecting front anti-roll bar....I have heard the electronics can be temperamental. You can add quick disconnects to the sport for about $150 I think. Its a really simple mod and gives you something like 30% more flex (best bang for buck mod out there)....I use it on rocks but not on sand.

The Rubi dosn't get side steps, it gets basic rock rails...I replaced my steps with some HD side armour in anticipation of damaging the steps. I haven't really damaged the armour with 35s and a lift....I should have kept the steps until I damaged them (if it ever happened...the steps would be nice sometimes as the Jeep is quite high for small people).

Advice....embrace the JK thing and take the modification route...there's no other vehicle like it and you can pick and choose exactly what you want. Get the nice new interior and newer engine, put in a Teraflex D30 housing or a fully built D44 if you can afford it. Re-gear the diffs so you're happy with highway RPM and low range crawl speed (this might be a trade-off) and put in eaton lockers while you're at it.

Have one of the big name Jeep modifiers do all the mods in one session to avoid incompatibility between parts. In Perth, SBR Offroad are brilliant. Murchison in QLD are good too (and sell really good suspension coils). Get some decent headlights installed while you're at it.

AEV and Teraflex are really good brands. AEV is like factory quality. Teraflex are really good value. I have Synergy suspension components and they're completely solid. I expect Teraflex are just as good but a bit cheaper.

Last tip...Once you have the lifts in and it's settled. Speak to Airbag-man and get airbags for the rear coils. I haven't noticed any downsides but if you want to load the Jeep up with decent weight, you can level it out so easily.

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by samft

3.8 vs 3.6.....This means new vs old interior....I have the old interior and it's ok, I think the newer one is probably better and you'd have things like iPhone input for music etc

The 2011 model with the 3.8L comes with the updated interior so that's not quite correct.

[samft]

Originally Posted by Nanook

The 2011 model with the 3.8L comes with the updated interior so that's not quite correct.

ah crap, yep I forgot about that 3.6 was 2012

[Turismo07]

What kind of wheeling did you do in the WJ? The JK will drive completely different on and offroad. The WJ is much nicer to drive IMO, the v8 and auto are nice. Offroad a WJ with QuadraDrive is about the same as a stock JKU Sport with no lockers, in sand the WJ is much better. But the JK can be built into anything you want it to be.

Re Sport vs Rubi. A JKU Sport is an extremely capable vehicle offroad with traction control only, Jeep's TC system is much better than most other companies, in most cases lockers are not required. People think they need them because the Rubi has them, or because everyone talks about ARB air lockers etc, but a JK with TC is very capable out of the box. Might be true for other vehicles, but not a JK. Look up Ronny Dahl's earlier vids on Youtube, his dad drives a JKU Sport with no lockers on 33" tyres and went everywhere Ronny and his mates went on their 70 Series LC's with 4" lifts and 35"s and twin locked.

As a DD, I would 100% go for the 3.6. Throwing money into your fuel tank if you get the 3.8.

The only thing you will find difficult to get in a Sport later on, is swapping in the Rubi transfer case, but as others have said, although great in the rocks, for anything else (beach, mud, mild tracks, majority of offroading) the ratios are too slow, so you need to swap back to high range, but then high range might be too fast etc, the normal 2.72:1 low range in (non Rubi) Jeeps is perfect for pretty much everything except for technical rock crawling.

Everything else on a Rubi is debatable. Rubi's are great if all you want to do is maybe 33-35" tyres and possibly a 2" lift and be done. Great, the Rubi is the best 4wd you can buy off the showroom for that. With the Sport you can buld it over time, some parts will cost less to achieve the same (sway bar disconnects) and some you will prob build even better than the Rubi (replacement front axle housing, correct diff gearing for your application), etc. And its not like your starting point with a Sport is rubbish offroad, you can still drive 95% of the tracks in Aust like that stock.