Rubicon's First Offroad Testing

2-9-08


     Well one week had passed and I just had to get the Rubicon out for some offroading. I was really excited to see how it would perform compared to my 93 Toyota pickup. I could tell when I purchased the Jeep, that it had never seen any offroading or mud before. Which was a good thing, I didn't want one that was already abused, I wanted to do that myself. So it was nice to get it out in its element.
     The very first thing part of the adventure was already better than the Toyota, no lock in hubs. Simply reach down and give the lever a pull, and you are in 4WD. The Rubicon has a much lower gear ratio in low range than my truck had, much lower. I put the Jeep in low range, first gear, and simply let out the clutch. Without even touching the gas pedal, the Jeep started to move forward, and UP a hill. It was simply idling up a slope, it was geared that low. This will make it great for rock crawling, as you don't have to worry about getting the clutch out, and on the gas quickly, without stalling.
     Its a bit hard to explain, but if you have ever road in a Jeep, you will know they don't exactly ride all that smooth or soft. They tend to beat you around a bit, you really feel the road beneath you. That being said, there were certain situations where the Jeep seemed to such up the terrain better than my old Toyota. There are alot of contributing factors to this though. One of which is the fact that the shocks in my truck are shot. The shorter wheelbase seemed to handle the terrain better over all though, and it was a pleasure to maneuver, due to it being able to turn on a dime. This has also made it a complete joy to drive in town. It is quite nimble for its size and weight.
     It was a very sloppy day, even the grass covered areas offered little grip. Seeing how this was the first time out in the Jeep, and the fact that it is in such great condition, I am trying to restrain from tearing half the paint off in the first month. So we stuck to the open areas, just playing around in some mud holes, and doing a few hill climbs.

     Here are a few horrible screen shots from the video we took.

     The main differences I noticed when compared to my Toyota pickup were the amount of power available, especially at low RPMs, and the additional grip from the better tires. The power is no surprise, I am going from a 4 cylinder pickup, to a 4.0L inline 6 cylinder Jeep. The low end torque from the Jeep is outstanding, it just never seems to bog down. Plus the fact that the Jeep has a 6 speed manual transmission, makes it easy to find what ever gear/power ratio you need.
     I am not sure if it was just the tires, or the Jeeps 4x4 system itself, but it seemed to do very well in the mud. The tires are not the best for mud, they were getting quite caked up, but it wasn't even hinting at getting stuck in the mud holes. I am fairly sure the truck would have got stuck in there, but again, that's largely due to the tires.
     I have not modified the suspension of the Jeep at all yet, so both the front and the back swaybar were connected. Still, it had much better articulation (flex) than my pickup did. The Toyota has torsion bars in front, which are horrible for flexing. The rear swaybar on the Jeep is pretty small and thin, so the rear had fairly good flex. The front, while much better than the pickup, could be much better. But considering how huge the front swaybar is, I was fairly impressed. I have heard disconnecting the front will greatly improve the flex. So, front swaybar quick disconnects are just one of the many things on the todo list.

     I am quite pleased with the performance of the Jeep. It proved to be quite capable in just about any terrain. I hope to get it on some rock crawls next, where the Goodyear MT/R tires should really shine.
     I had the front and rear lockers engaged a couple times during the day on some hill climbs, including the one in the video. While I did feel an improvement in traction, it was so sloppy, and the tires were so caked with mud, that it was hard to get a feel for exactly how it was improving the traction. One of the places I did notice it though, was when I was driving up onto the mounds of dirt for the flex test. Typically, once one of your rear tires leaves the round you are done, it just sits there and spins. Which is what happened when I got about half way up the mound. Then I simply reached down and pressed the locker button once, locking the rear differential. With both back tires now spinning together, the Jeep climbed the mound.

     Its a shame the Jeep will never ever be as clean as the day I bought it, but that's what its all about. It was great to get the Jeep out and get it where it belongs, off the pavement.


Back to Jeep Page

Home Page