I'm going to make this short.

If you eventually are going to get D60's with lockers and Hydro Steer... Get a Sport.

If you want a capable Jeep off the lot don't plan on going bigger than 37's Get a Rubicon.

Sport route is going to be for People who are going to trash the stock axles. But going 60's is going to cost you 10K or more. Then you still have to get a 4 to 1 T case lift, armor, recovery, wheels and tires.

Rubicon Route for casual Wheeler. You get power windows leather. Front Rear Dana 44's with E-lockers. Get some larger tires a leveling kit you good to go. Later you can add Bumpers, Fenders, Winch etc.... when the cash becomes available.

 

For those who suggest starting with a Rubicon, would you suggest getting something off the dealer lot or placing an order? All the dealers around me seem to have pretty upgraded Rubicons close to 40k-45k. Looks like a more basic Rubicon can be ordered for about 35k since all the suggestions are really centered around having the 4:1 transfer case, lockers, 44's.

I'm looking at basic and am fine w the manual locks etc. Not looking for a luxury SUV I already have a BMW X3 for that.

 

First off Welcome to the JK-Forum.

Second is, what will the main purpose of your Jeep be? If it is going to be a weekend warrior and wheel occasionally I say Sport, if you are going to use it as a DD and commute a considerable distance go with the luxury of a Rubicon. Up until April I had a D30 up front with an Aussie Locker and went every where the big boys went with their Rubicon's in fact I took a couple of harder lines. As for the other items you mentioned, yes they are just cosmetic and can be added as you go. A stock Jeep is very capable and you will have a lot of fun with it.

R/
Will

 

Canvas,
Yes the main purpose is DD and weekend trails. I don't have a long commute each day, only 40mi round trip 35-55 mph. I am in Ohio so the challenging stuff is all mud on the trails.

 

It depends on how much money your willing to put in the Jeep and If it's going to be a Daily driver. Mine is a Garage Queen and Trail bitch. After 3 years it only has 16K on it from wheeling trips And trips to the beach for beach crawling. It's my toy. My wife says it's the Whore that lives in the garage, because I'm in there messing with it all the time.

Eventually I do want to move to 60's. I'm just not willing to part with that much of my cash right now. But I'm not the casual wheeler.

 

Did the Sport X in 08 ended up trading it in, in 15 for a rubi. If you are fine with the basics then order a Rubi and put what you want in it. If you go with an automatic transmission be sure to add the 4:10 gears back in as Jeep removes them for an auto. Unless you plan to upgrade the gears later to 4:56 then don't wast that money.

 

IMO - go with the Sport and build it up as you need. You are in Ohio, like myself, you won't be rock crawling (really no place in Ohio to do that), so there is no need for the 4:1 transfer case. Everything that the Rubi has over the Sport can be added with better parts for less than the Rubi up-charge.

 

Yep, i agree with this.

 

Just because you live in an area that has no rock crawling does not mean you can drive to a place that does.

Its all going to be on what you want your Jeep to be capable of and how far you want to take your build.

Some people are satisfied with forestry maintenance roads "Which are designed for Pickup trucks and non wrangler SUV's like a Cherokee or a Suburban. A Sport would make light work out of these trails.

Then you have People who in a weird way enjoy almost rolling a 40K plus rig. Makes you Feel Alive!! Also enjoy a challenge and failure. Once you fail at a line you can solve the issue by walking it or have a spotter help you negotiate the obstacle. I actually get a little sad when someone says this trail is hard then he takes me on it and we breeze right through it.

You also have the people who seek the super hard trails on purpose and do them just so they don't have to deal with the Mall crawlers who finally made it to a trail. I try to avoid easy trails just so I don't have to deal with the antics of mall crawlers not knowing trail educate.

Its your Jeep your going have to decide how you want to use it.

 

be done with it / just drive it . and never mind all the shop time and down time add 33s and your pretty much done except minor adds as you wish , unless your hardcore and have to lift it. Stock will take you just about anywhere within reason . you can lift it down the road if you desire . i never found the need to.