New to 4WD, USA and Wranglers

A

AUtoUS

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G'day guys,

I am in the process of moving to MA from Australia to be with my fiance\wife.

I have a lot of experience with V8 and rotary sports cars however I have never had a 4wd so be kind.

I am definitely sold on a TJ however I really am not sure what model I require. I could pay the extra for a Rubicon, I am seeing a lot for around 10k USD and Sports for around 8k so its not that big of a difference for a better vehicle.

Now here is the the thing.

I probably would never use it past heavy trails or beach driving and can guarantee I would never rock climb in it because it will be my daily and i wouldn't want to risk crashing it or snapping stuff but it will deal with heavy snow as I will be living in MA.

I notice a Rubicon has bigger wheels, stronger and lower diff ratios and "locker" I am not sure about the locker because my common sense would assume any 4wd would have an LSD? Also I note the 05-06 has the 6 speed.

Is there anything wrong with the 5 speed and honestly which would be the best model to drive at 85 mph on the highway with?

I want to get the "best" model however I still want to be able to take heavy trails and feel like I have a real machine.

Mod wise I will be doing engine mods to get more power and putting fat tires on it but not taller.

I feel like I should get the newest model because of the 6 speed but really can enjoy a 5 speed just as much as long as the ratios are nice.

Summary:

- Wanting the "best" model
- Highway RPM a factor, 0-60 mph a factor (lol)
- What RPM is 85 in high gear on rubicon v sport
- Heavy trail use, Heavy snow, no rock climbing
- Unsure what locker means or why DANA 44 is better apart from low ratio
- Unsure about the difference in transfer case
- Is the 6 speed worth restricting myself to 05-06
- I saw someone saying 05-06 are not good, I saw the engine was slightly modified. What is the reason they are controversial?

Thank you so much, sorry to be a full on newbie and I hope this makes sense.

edit: I see someone thought my reference to 85 was stupid I will be going the speed limit so should have asked 60 or 70.
 
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Zorba said:
Someone tell me where you can go 85 MPH without getting arrested on the spot?
Click to expand...

Hi mate,

Sorry it’s just a reference point to give me a bit of leeway but also when I was in Florida and Alabama last year I saw that speed as the norm even though the posted speed was 70 and the police were only pulling over people doing 100 mph.

edit: I should have made it 60 since that is what I will be going.
 
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Yes
Zorba said:
You go 85 in Florida, you WILL be pulled over eventually - and it won't be cheap.
Click to expand...
I’m not saying I want to go 85 but it’s the max I would ever drive if I had reason to so I felt it relevant. I should have said 60-70 since that’s what I will be going.
 
As with all Jeeps the "models" start get blurred when you look at how you can option a new Jeep.

The one thing that jumped out was 85 on the freeway. I think you need to test drive a couple Jeeps an come back to that one :)

If it's a daily driver you want to focus on more of a "stock" one with lower miles in my opinion. I was lucky and found a low milage Rubicon a few months ago that was completely rust free. Speaking of rust.... that's the next thing you'll want to be sure of. Take your time and inspect the Jeeps you're interested in. They rust... and especially so in colder climates where chemicals and salts are used in the winter.

As for responsiveness (0-60), again I'd stay with a fairly stock wheel/tire set up as the larger tires can result in loss of top end and acceleration. The 4.0 will get you to 60 in the 8-10 second range typically depending on the transmission. I have the 6 Speed manual and find it adequate for highway driving up to about 75-80.

The DANA 44's are stronger than the other options. They also lower your milage a little. The term "Locker" refers to a pneumatic actuated axel that locks both wheels so they turn at the same speed. It only works in 4WD/Lo range so if you're not doing serious 4 wheeling you may never use the feature other than a snow bank or two.

Not sure about the 05/06 engine differences. 2000-mid 2001 there was an issue with the head cracking in some 4.0's that I know about but that was fixed by a mid year re-design in 01 I believe.

I haven't driven a TJ 5 speed so I can't speak to the difference between it and the 6 speed. The 6 speed is more expensive to deal when when its end of life from all accounts I can find.

As for getting more power.... the 4.0 is tough in that respect. There are superchargers that bolt on but that's about the only way to jump the power up much that I know of. Maybe someone else here knows more about than me but this engine was not built for high RPM's.
 
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Rooscooter said:
As with all Jeeps the "models" start get blurred when you look at how you can option a new Jeep.

The one thing that jumped out was 85 on the freeway. I think you need to test drive a couple Jeeps an come back to that one :)

If it's a daily driver you want to focus on more of a "stock" one with lower miles in my opinion. I was lucky and found a low milage Rubicon a few months ago that was completely rust free. Speaking of rust.... that's the next thing you'll want to be sure of. Take your time and inspect the Jeeps you're interested in. They rust... and especially so in colder climates where chemicals and salts are used in the winter.

As for responsiveness (0-60), again I'd stay with a fairly stock wheel/tire set up as the larger tires can result in loss of top end and acceleration. The 4.0 will get you to 60 in the 8-10 second range typically depending on the transmission. I have the 6 Speed manual and find it adequate for highway driving up to about 75-80.

The DANA 44's are stronger than the other options. They also lower your milage a little. The term "Locker" refers to a pneumatic actuate axel that locks both wheels so they turn at the same speed. It only works in 4WD/Lo range so if you're not doing serious 4 wheeling you may never use the feature other than a snow bank or two.

Not sure about the 05/06 engine differences. 2000-mid 2001 there was an issue with the head cracking in some 4.0's that I know about but that was fixed by a mid year re-design in 01 I believe.

I haven't driven a TJ 5 speed so I can't speak to the difference between it and the 6 speed. The 6 speed is more expensive to deal when when its end of life from all accounts I can find.

As for getting more power.... the 4.0 is tough in that respect. There are superchargers that bolt on but that's about the only way to jump the power up much that I know of. Maybe someone else here knows more about than me but this engine was not built for high RPM's.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, yes mods would just be intake and exhaust for a modest increase.
I am not looking for a fast or high speed car but if you are using it as a daily power is a consideration.

The locker however is interesting in snow which is dangerous territory as far as I know.

If you could hazard a guess say I was on a heavy trail with maybe some massive pot holes, corrugations and maybe use max clearance available. Would I notice a difference?
 
AUtoUS said:
Thanks for the reply, yes mods would just be intake and exhaust for a modest increase.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. If you do the research you’ll see neither of these mods will yield any real HP gains on a TJ. Plenty of threads on the forum about this 👍

An intake in particular will do more harm than good.
 
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G
Chris said:
Incorrect. If you do the research you’ll see neither of these mods will yield any real HP gains on a TJ. Plenty of threads on the forum about this 👍

An intake in particular will do more harm than good.
Click to expand...

Great thank you I will look into it. I am searching these things but I read somewhere a 15hp gain for those combined that’s why I mentioned that. Again sorry to be a newbie.
 
FWIW my 6 speed 4.0 will hold 75-80 on I-25 all day. I'm in an LJ so Dana 44 with 3.73 on 33"x13.50's. It runs way better down the highway than my buddy's 97 with 5 speed also on 33's. Also intake and exhaust will do pretty much nothing on these unless you're just looking for sound.
 
AUtoUS said:
G


Great thank you I will look into it. I am searching these things but I read somewhere a 15hp gain for those combined that’s why I mentioned that. Again sorry to be a newbie.
Click to expand...
The air intake myth has been proven multiple times to be false. The "washable" filters allow more air in and more particulates as well.
 
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bstrobel64 said:
FWIW my 6 speed 4.0 will hold 75-80 on I-25 all day. I'm in an LJ so Dana 44 with 3.73 on 33"x13.50's. It runs way better down the highway than my buddy's 97 with 5 speed also on 33's. Also intake and exhaust will do pretty much nothing on these unless you're just looking for sound.
Click to expand...

Great to hear I won’t need to spend the money!
 
Rooscooter said:
The air intake myth has been proven multiple times to be false. The "washable" filters allow more air in and more particulates as well.
Click to expand...

Great to hear I won’t need to spend the money! Save it for some nice tyres.
 
Zorba said:
Someone tell me where you can go 85 MPH without getting arrested on the spot?
Click to expand...

I recently drove xcountry mostly on I40 and there were place where the speed limit was 80MPH. In those areas, you can pretty much go 85-89 with no issues at all. But probably not in a TJ ;-)
 
AUtoUS said:
G'day guys,

I am in the process of moving to MA from Australia to be with my fiance\wife.

I have a lot of experience with V8 and rotary sports cars however I have never had a 4wd so be kind.

I am definitely sold on a TJ however I really am not sure what model I require. I could pay the extra for a Rubicon, I am seeing a lot for around 10k USD and Sports for around 8k so its not that big of a difference for a better vehicle.

Now here is the the thing.

I probably would never use it past heavy trails or beach driving and can guarantee I would never rock climb in it because it will be my daily and i wouldn't want to risk crashing it or snapping stuff but it will deal with heavy snow as I will be living in MA.

I notice a Rubicon has bigger wheels, stronger and lower diff ratios and "locker" I am not sure about the locker because my common sense would assume any 4wd would have an LSD? Also I note the 05-06 has the 6 speed.

Is there anything wrong with the 5 speed and honestly which would be the best model to drive at 85 mph on the highway with?

I want to get the "best" model however I still want to be able to take heavy trails and feel like I have a real machine.

Mod wise I will be doing engine mods to get more power and putting fat tires on it but not taller.

I feel like I should get the newest model because of the 6 speed but really can enjoy a 5 speed just as much as long as the ratios are nice.

Summary:

- Wanting the "best" model
- Highway RPM a factor, 0-60 mph a factor (lol)
- What RPM is 85 in high gear on rubicon v sport
- Heavy trail use, Heavy snow, no rock climbing
- Unsure what locker means or why DANA 44 is better apart from low ratio
- Unsure about the difference in transfer case
- Is the 6 speed worth restricting myself to 05-06
- I saw someone saying 05-06 are not good, I saw the engine was slightly modified. What is the reason they are controversial?

Thank you so much, sorry to be a full on newbie and I hope this makes sense.

edit: I see someone thought my reference to 85 was stupid I will be going the speed limit so should have asked 60 or 70.
Click to expand...

Spend some time on this forum and you'll absorb a lot of useful info (after filtering out some noise hear and there). Don't decide on anything at this point. Just start reading and educating yourself and start looking at Jeeps for sale just to get an idea what various specimens cost.

The #1 concern is rust, especially the frame. No matter what else you might like about a specific specimen, don't overlook rust. There are clean TJs out there but a lot more of them are pretty badly rusted.

Read, absorb, then ask questions after you start to gain some knowledge. There is tons of good info right here on this site. And some of the members here are recognized experts (not me) on the TJ platform.
 
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g.hayduke said:
I recently drove xcountry mostly on I40 and there were place where the speed limit was 80MPH. In those areas, you can pretty much go 85-89 with no issues at all. But probably not in a TJ ;-)
Click to expand...
Yea, I drove that road 3 years ago when I escaped from California. But not in a TJ.
 
I say if your not really going to be doing major off roading but want the best of the stock TJs to go off road without spending big $$ on modifications the Rubicon is the way to go. Once major modifications start happening, the axles with lockers and the transfer case the Rubicon kinda wasn't worth it.

And watch out for rust hidden INSIDE the frame and between the frame and center skid plate.

Yellow= not good but MAYBE fixable
Red= RUN FAST AND FAR

Screen Shot 2019-07-04 at 4.07.00 PM (1).jpg
 
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Welcome to 'Merica!

I have very little experience so the only thing I'll say is +1 to all the suggestions about rust. Search this forum for rust, how to spot it, where it usually shows up, how to prevent it, etc. There are tons of resources and a ton of very knowledgeable and helpful people here.

I'll also say it's my understanding that tires tyres make more difference in inclement weather than ground clearance and drivetrain. For the past few Michigan winters I've driven my FWD Honda Accord that's even been lowered a little, and I can start, stop, and turn faster than most other cars (and SUVs) on the road because I wear proper winter tires tyres in the winter. I'll take my FWD Honda on good tires tyres over any 4WD on bad tires tyres any winter day.

And finally I'll try starting a war by suggesting that a good AWD like a Subaru Outback will probably be better in most of the snow and slush you'll encounter on the road than a Jeep Wrangler, all else being equal. I wouldn't take an Outback too far away from the pavement though, so take that for what it's worth.

And finally finally I bet a lot of people around here think the most bestest TJ is a red Unlimited Rubicon (aka LJR) in mint condition. They may deny it and tell you that the Jeep they own is the most bestest, but deep down inside they know they'd rather have a red LJR :)
 
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