Black Diamond Bronco Thread

[mdepll]

I’ve had my 2 door BD for a month now and can say it is capable and fun off road. Before I elaborate, it’s important to note that I have the 2.3 with the 10 speed and advance t-case. I also had the dealer swap out the wheels and tires to 33” (285/70R17) Falken AT3Ws.

After driving it around town for week, I took it out to the desert west of Salt Lake City and played around on the rutted, potholed and rocky roads/trails. The base suspension surprised me with how well it soaks up rough terrain. We were tearing down unmaintained dirt roads at 45-50 mph and could have pushed it more but had some cargo I didn’t want bouncing around. It’s nimble, quick and solid. That day and last weekend we also climbed up and down steep, loose hills, off camber side hills and narrow passes. It easily tackled everything. I’m hoping to get out to “Little Moab” or Rattlesnake Gulch this weekend to see how it does at crawling. I expect it will do very well.

Before taking delivery, I had the mindset that I’d have to upgrade the suspension ASAP. After playing around off-road, I’m not in a rush. The only thing I’d like is more ground clearance, but I’d have the same want if I had ordered a BL.

Based on my experience with my 2 door and the 4 door BL 2.7 I drove at the Moab Off Roadeo, if I had a 2.7 or a 4 door I’d lift it at least 3” right away, because of the stupidly placed transmission brace under the 2.7 and the longer wheelbase of the 4 door.

Hope this helps answer your question.

not sure i will lifting my 2.7 non sas, so trying to get a sense how truly capable this truck is on stock suspension and grabber tires. how much of an issue is ground clearance, etc.

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[BRBUSTER72]

It’s such a small detail. Have you seen one up close? The marine grade vinyl is the best. It’s better than leather. There’s so little blue accent and it’s really well done. It’s only on the louvers for the AC handles the to grab handles and the seat stitching. I’ll take the bisher rear locker and gears and off road readiness and dye the blue thread if I where you.

The MGV not only looks good but it feels good as well. I am not a leather fan but I like this just fine, even in cold weather, (no heated seats). Don't know what everyone's problem is with the blue accents, looks fine to me with VB color. That's what I have.

 

[Liberty]

I’ve had my 2 door BD for a month now and can say it is capable and fun off road. Before I elaborate, it’s important to note that I have the 2.3 with the 10 speed and advance t-case. I also had the dealer swap out the wheels and tires to 33” (285/70R17) Falken AT3Ws.

After driving it around town for week, I took it out to the desert west of Salt Lake City and played around on the rutted, potholed and rocky roads/trails. The base suspension surprised me with how well it soaks up rough terrain. We were tearing down unmaintained dirt roads at 45-50 mph and could have pushed it more but had some cargo I didn’t want bouncing around. It’s nimble, quick and solid. That day and last weekend we also climbed up and down steep, loose hills, off camber side hills and narrow passes. It easily tackled everything. I’m hoping to get out to “Little Moab” or Rattlesnake Gulch this weekend to see how it does at crawling. I expect it will do very well.

Before taking delivery, I had the mindset that I’d have to upgrade the suspension ASAP. After playing around off-road, I’m not in a rush. The only thing I’d like is more ground clearance, but I’d have the same want if I had ordered a BL.

Based on my experience with my 2 door and the 4 door BL 2.7 I drove at the Moab Off Roadeo, if I had a 2.7 or a 4 door I’d lift it at least 3” right away, because of the stupidly placed transmission brace under the 2.7 and the longer wheelbase of the 4 door.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Thanks for the report. I have the same 2D BD setup as you. I went to the OffRodeo in Austin recently and drove a 4D nonSAS BL. It had the standard 33” setup and handled the course well without using the front locker or stabar disconnect. It gave me confidence that I won’t have to much tweaking to conquer the flatlands here in Central Illinois.

 

[MoabRox]

not sure i will lifting my 2.7 non sas, so trying to get a sense how truly capable this truck is on stock suspension and grabber tires. how much of an issue is ground clearance, etc.

The 4 door Badlands I drove at the Moab Offrodeo was a non-sas. Had the 33” KO2s. It was very capable (I never needed the front locker or sway bar disconnect), but I kept bashing the stupid transmission brace on what I consider small rocks and ledges. It was particularly bad on the downhill. I’m a very experience off road driver and I seriously tried to not hit it. Near the end it was pissing me off. The SAS Broncos seemed to do better. So, if my Bronco was a 2.7, I’d be lifting it right away and putting at least 33s on, because we routinely drive roads like or even rougher than Dome Plateau and I don’t like to routinely hit the underside. However, it all depends on the roads and terrain you drive, and your driving skills/style. On Forrest Service/BLM roads, the BD with the 32” ATx will do just fine. Roads/trails with bigger rocks and ledges (12” or so), you’ll want to go with bigger tires and at least a small (1-2”) lift—unless you don’t mind beating the crap out of that low hanging brace, the skid plates and the rear control arm and shock mounts.

 

[MoabRox]

Thanks for the report. I have the same 2D BD setup as you. I went to the OffRodeo in Austin recently and drove a 4D nonSAS BL. It had the standard 33” setup and handled the course well without using the front locker or stabar disconnect. It gave me confidence that I won’t have to much tweaking to conquer the flatlands here in Central Illinois.

I had the same mindset as you, when I chose to drive the only non-SAS Bronco in my group, and I took the same approach to not use the front locker and disconnect. Driving that 4 door BL confirmed what I was thinking—that a 2 door BD with the 2.3 and 33” tires will go anywhere a 4 door SASed Bronco will, and, more importantly, will get me to the places I want to go. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Hope you get it soon!

 

[Liberty]

I had the same mindset as you, when I chose to drive the only non-SAS Bronco in my group, and I took the same approach to not use the front locker and disconnect. Driving that 4 door BL confirmed what I was thinking—that a 2 door BD with the 2.3 and 33” tires will go anywhere a 4 door SASed Bronco will, and, more importantly, will get me to the places I want to go. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Hope you get it soon!

Thanks and I’m happy to report that I have been enjoying mine since early October . The recent OffRodeo experience reaffirmed my BD purchase choice. Some others there who had purchased BBs or OBXs without the rear locker and 446 gear had some remorse about theirs.

 

[mdepll]

I can’t believe this truck isn’t great off road. That’s why they built the damn thing ! Even as a base model it should be far superior than most others off road. End of story. If it’s not then What’s the point ? Ground clearance, suspension, tires, etc all should be geared toward success off road.

 

[Tarheel_Wes]

Did everyone see this?

Also bumping up this thread. I’m holding fast on a Jan. 3rd build date!

 

[Compta38]

Still my favorite trim...love the grille, lights and mgv colors. I really wish they would have put high package on it.

 

[mdepll]

Still my favorite trim...love the grille, lights and mgv colors. I really wish they would have put high package on it.

Me too! Still worry about ground clearance however

 

[NVCowboy]

Probably, or if it doesn't you can just use an adaptor.

Adapting a 7 pin truck to a four pin trailer is easy. The other way around is probably the same way, however you will not have any trailer brakes. The factory harness 7 pin accepts a trailer break controller so the Bronco can get some help slowing everything down. My 6x12 Cargo conversion has no breaks now because F350. it will by the end of Broncos break in period. I did not end up with Basequatch because of the trailer brake situation.

 

[Tarheel_Wes]

Hey All: As I'm nervously hoping my Jan 3rd build week holds, I was looking at some accessories. I wanna add some of those nice after-market tow hooks you see (pictured below), but can't for sure tell if my standard CAPABLE bumper has the recovery points "turned" the right way for the after-market tow hooks, or if I need an adapter. A photo of the capable bumper is below (is this how my BD will come stock?)

 

[grayshadow]

Hey All: As I'm nervously hoping my Jan 3rd build week holds, I was looking at some accessories. I wanna add some of those nice after-market tow hooks you see (pictured below), but can't for sure tell if my standard CAPABLE bumper has the recovery points "turned" the right way for the after-market tow hooks, or if I need an adapter. A photo of the capable bumper is below (is this how my BD will come stock?)

Yes, that is the bumper you will receive .

 

[Tarheel_Wes]

Yes, that is the bumper you will receive .

Awesome, thanks.....so, after-market tow hooks like the ones above will fit properly out of the box?

 

[PowPow]

Me too! Still worry about ground clearance however

Yeah. I'd say it's a solid concern. Depending on what you plan on doing, of course.

I went this weekend to an off road park with my stock BD and everyone else was either lifted or squatched. And I did a lot of scraping, where everyone else was like nope. Crawled under there yesterday... It's all on the bash plates. So that's nice. That is what they're for and all. But still hearing that sound while driving makes me cringe a bit.

Oh and the control arm in the rear. That guy banged up pretty good. But no critical damage.

As added context. I'm a total novice. So, some of that banging could certainly be from me taking bad lines. However, 2 other dudes in squatches were just as novice and had no issues. So they may have taken just as shitty lines, but the bigger tires and lift compensated.

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