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Black Diamond vs Rubicon

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JMiles74

JMiles74

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A must? No, not hardly. Nice to have for sure if your uses need it, but we've been wheeling for many years without such a device. Plenty of ways around it if you don't get the disco.
That's good to hear, i think I've almost jumped off the Badlands "need to have it" mentality. I've liked the Black Diamond since I first saw the various trims. Think I am gonna stick with my first instinct. Thanks for the response.
 

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I wasn't sure, but was thinking as much. Thanks for the reply.
Check out the thread How Extreme are You? On stuff 6+ SBD is handy, maybe 8+ required. (Speaking as a newb to IFS 4x4's) I have a Rubicon with manual disco (SFA though) and have actually never used it, been on 7 ish stuff.
 

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Two reasons I went to the BL was the camera (in my experience, being able to see the trail is huge, it’s a pita getting in and out all the time to spot) and the sway bar disconnect. It may seem odd, but the better ride on trails at low speeds was as much a bonus as the improved articulation. A smooth ride is a comfortable ride and that means more time on the trail and in the woods for me and the Mrs.! Everyone loved our LJ with the top down on smooth roads, no one enjoyed their heads slapping back and forth during trail riding (no sway bar disconnect). Bronco\IFS is a huge improvement, sway bar disconnect on low speed trails is just the next level of comfortable. BD SQ will still be better ride and off road than my LJ or a “Willys” with rear limited slip and 33s (and that LJ was ridiculously competent off road).
 

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Two reasons I went to the BL was the camera (in my experience, being able to see the trail is huge, it’s a pita getting in and out all the time to spot) and the sway bar disconnect. It may seem odd, but the better ride on trails at low speeds was as much a bonus as the improved articulation. A smooth ride is a comfortable ride and that means more time on the trail and in the woods for me and the Mrs.! Everyone loved our LJ with the top down on smooth roads, no one enjoyed their heads slapping back and forth during trail riding (no sway bar disconnect). Bronco\IFS is a huge improvement, sway bar disconnect on low speed trails is just the next level of comfortable. BD SQ will still be better ride and off road than my LJ or a “Willys” with rear limited slip and 33s (and that LJ was ridiculously competent off road).
Yep, riding in my LJ all day can be tortuous. I've had back seat passengers swear off jeeping.
 

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JMiles74

JMiles74

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Two reasons I went to the BL was the camera (in my experience, being able to see the trail is huge, it’s a pita getting in and out all the time to spot) and the sway bar disconnect. It may seem odd, but the better ride on trails at low speeds was as much a bonus as the improved articulation. A smooth ride is a comfortable ride and that means more time on the trail and in the woods for me and the Mrs.! Everyone loved our LJ with the top down on smooth roads, no one enjoyed their heads slapping back and forth during trail riding (no sway bar disconnect). Bronco\IFS is a huge improvement, sway bar disconnect on low speed trails is just the next level of comfortable. BD SQ will still be better ride and off road than my LJ or a “Willys” with rear limited slip and 33s (and that LJ was ridiculously competent off road).
Thanks, I've read somewhere on this forum that some have used the SBD even on the most tame of offroad trails to smooth out the ride. Not that its necessary, but helps on overall ride quality off road at low speeds.
 
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JMiles74

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Check out the thread How Extreme are You? On stuff 6+ SBD is handy, maybe 8+ required. (Speaking as a newb to IFS 4x4's) I have a Rubicon with manual disco (SFA though) and have actually never used it, been on 7 ish stuff.
Thanks i will check it out.👍
 
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Thanks i will check it out.👍
So i looked, my first year or two...nothing more than a 4. With some experience and a few years of experience...the highest I'd ever go is a 6. No desires to try conquering a 7,8,9 or a 10! 😁
 

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Yep, riding in my LJ all day can be tortuous. I've had back seat passengers swear off jeeping.
Did you try manually disconnecting the sway bar at the links? Assuming you did but just checking. Night and day in my TJ as far as comfort on the rocks with the sway bar disconnected. Certainly not as convenient as the new electronic disconnects but still effective. Buy a set of quick disconnects and it's very easy.
 

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In most cases the larger tires would perform better than smaller tires with sway bar disconnect. Certain rocky trails ebbing the possible exception. My next guess, in most situations the SQ Bronco be more capable. It is likely down to driver being the biggest variable.
Who would have smaller tires? Jeep says you can put 35’s on a stock Rubi, and 2” of lift to 37’s is comparatively very affordable.

The answer to the OPs question is in intended use. Both vehicles will be very capable.
 

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dgorsett

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Did you try manually disconnecting the sway bar at the links? Assuming you did but just checking. Night and day in my TJ as far as comfort on the rocks with the sway bar disconnected. Certainly not as convenient as the new electronic disconnects but still effective. Buy a set of quick disconnects and it's very easy.
I installed the manual disco, but never needed it to maintain forward progress so never used it...it sounds like I should have. :)
 

Jwall

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How hard is to manually disconnect and reconnect? Is it a real pain when off-roading?
On my Jeep, they could be kind of a bitch to reconnect if it was all muddy; in that case, i would just air up, leave, then reconnect at a gas station or some where on some dry ground.
i am going to actually wheel mine, so i went base with Sasquatch. I can’t justify spending any more money on shit i don’t need to run it through the woods, lol.
As far as not having all the goat modes, I’ve never had any of that stuff, and I’ve been fine, lol.
On my Jeep, the disconnects made a HUGE difference. On an IFS it doesn’t make near the difference, but a manual disconnect is a must for me.

8C90828C-641B-4A49-926E-2E1CE737A5AF.jpeg
 

Mattwings

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Who would have smaller tires? Jeep says you can put 35’s on a stock Rubi, and 2” of lift to 37’s is comparatively very affordable.

The answer to the OPs question is in intended use. Both vehicles will be very capable.
Stock BD SQ vs. Stock Rubicon. 35” vs. 33”. Whether a tire “fits” and it has the proper gearing comes into play as well. In most cases the Jeep is on the low end of the power spectrum. Adding 35” tires without re-gearing will cost some capability, even more so in the rocks. So to come back to “par” add $1k for tires and $1.5k for gears and labor. At that point, Jeep probably still only exceeds the Bronco in the rocks. BD SQ comes geared appropriately out of the box. That’s the question the OP seemed to ponder.
 

Mattwings

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On my Jeep, they could be kind of a bitch to reconnect if it was all muddy; in that case, i would just air up, leave, then reconnect at a gas station or some where on some dry ground.
i am going to actually wheel mine, so i went base with Sasquatch. I can’t justify spending any more money on shit i don’t need to run it through the woods, lol.
As far as not having all the goat modes, I’ve never had any of that stuff, and I’ve been fine, lol.
On my Jeep, the disconnects made a HUGE difference. On an IFS it doesn’t make near the difference, but a manual disconnect is a must for me.

Ford Bronco Black Diamond vs Rubicon 8C90828C-641B-4A49-926E-2E1CE737A5AF
NF v
 

Mattwings

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Did you try manually disconnecting the sway bar at the links? Assuming you did but just checking. Night and day in my TJ as far as comfort on the rocks with the sway bar disconnected. Certainly not as convenient as the new electronic disconnects but still effective. Buy a set of quick disconnects and it's very easy.
I never did. At the time we lived in GA and the Jeep spent most of its life as a fun convertible “car”. Kids were playing tons of sports and we spent weekends doing travel basketball, softball and hockey. We are back in MI now and kids are in college, so time to play!
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