Awesome pic and video Andrew. How do you like the Sahara vs Rubicon in off road driving?
I've only test driven a Rubicon, so I can't really say. That said, I very deliberately chose the Sahara over the Rubicon for a variety of reasons:
1. I knew I'd need to regear the 4.10 supplied in the Rubicon (I have 4.88s in my Sahara) - so paying the up cost of the Rubicon wasn't justified there.
2. I knew I'd go above the factory 2" lift of the Rubicon (I have 3.5") - so paying the up cost of the Rubicon wasn't justified there.
3. I'm not a huge fan of the electronic discos on the Rubicon as the sway bar is still connected which limits travel (to a degree). I may be weird, but I prefer old school manual disconnects at the sway bar to get full articulation and freedom of movement of the axle. And the e-disco is just something else that can break/seize.
4. Lastly, and this may sound silly, but as I'm getting older I realized I wanted the creature comforts of the Sahara interior.
On the downside for the Sahara: the Rubicon has the D44 front axle, the electronic diff. lockers, and the 4:1 transfer case. The D44 front axle isn't a huge sell for me knowing the trails I typically drive - so given the elockers and 4:1 transfer case were really the only remaining selling points (at least for me) on the Rubicon, I went for the Sahara self-upgrade-route instead. And I will probably install elockers next spring, which makes the only difference between my Sahara and a factory Rubicon the D44 front axle and the 4:1 tcase.
Don't get me wrong, the Rubicon is a killer package. But as has been said numerous times on many Jeeping forums, the Rubicon is great if you want to keep it stock. As soon as you start changing out any suspension / gearing on a Rubicon, you may as well save the cash by getting a Sport or Sahara and just doing your own upgrades (because you're just spending money on parts you'll be throwing away).
As my Sahara stands now she's just as capable as (and in some respects more capable than) any factory Rubicon, except for that 4:1 transfer case. And the power provided by that lower gearing is definitely something worth debating (and yes, I really wish I had it in my Sahara). But after thorough evaluation and consideration the transfer case just wasn't a huge sticking point for me, especially considering the money I was saving by going the self-upgrade route.
(y) :thumbsup:
Get the pics up!!
