Drag Race by TFL: Bronco First Edition 2.7L vs. Jeep Wrangler 4XE vs. Toyota FJ

[mcdoogs]

In the TFL live show yesterday they seemed to implied that the bash plates on the Defender weren't up to par and they might have snapped something on the trail when testing against the other vehicles.

That makes a lot of sense, I just went back and skimmed this video:

Their defender does not even have the most basic optioned/accessory front bash plate (it protects the radiator and such as well as exposes the front recovery loop). It's just that soft felt stuff. It's really a pretty purely 'road spec' defender

this is what it looks like: https://www.powerfuluk.com/vehicles...-front-undershield-plate-easy-tow-access.html

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[omega145]

Where is that skinny Waldo dude who decided to get a 2-door jl with literally nothing over a 2 door bronco with way more for same price..

Could he really go buy a Bronco right now and have it on the road for 35K right now? That's the main guys son Tommy Mica and he posts over on the JL Wrangler forum.

 

[VictoryLights]

Thank God I got the six cylinder. The four-cylinder Broncos must be absolute pigs.

 

[MSparks909]

Evidence of poor transmission tuning? It's a 10spd with super low gearing...

The torque management in 1-2 gears. It’s *very* conservative. 4.70 gears should help the Bronco, not hurt it. I’ve driven a 2.7 SAS Bronco and a 2.3/7MT Badlands. They’re both slow.

My good friend has a 2019 crew cab Lariat F150 with the 2.7/10 speed and 3.55s. He’s also running 35x12.50s and has ran numerous 0-60 runs in the high 6 to low 7 second range. The 2.7 engine impressed me in his F150 and I was expecting similar performance from the Bronco but it’s not there. Is what it is

 

[Gamecock]

That makes a lot of sense, I just went back and skimmed this video:

Their defender does not even have the most basic optioned/accessory front bash plate (it protects the radiator and such as well as exposes the front recovery loop). It's just that soft felt stuff. It's really a pretty purely 'road spec' defender

They all hang really low when you look under them, those rear control arms on that independent read look like they are barely off the ground...there is a ton of stuff they "don't count" when measuring the ground clearance on that thing, and it will struggle in tough spots with the way it's built...as these guys found out.

 

[Monster1926]

The 4.7 rear should help it get off the line quickly...appropraite for 35s and designed for low end; and they are light 35s, similar to the 33s that come stock on the Rubicon people are comparing it to.

It’s the way Ford has the tune set plus the weight of the bronco. I wonder if you’d start in 2nd or 3rd it would make a difference. Either way disappointing

 

[TheWoo]

2.7 auto?

Yep. 4-door Wildtrak.

Found it to be plenty for me. It's not quick off the start - and wouldn't argue that it is. But it has plenty of go for any degree of responsible driving in my opinion, and gets up really well after the turbos get spooled (as you've mentioned).

I'm interested to drive a Badlands with 33s (as that's what I'm getting) and I expect the smaller tires to have a reasonable impact.

 

[Dr.Dre]

I drove an Outer Banks with the smaller wheels. It had the 2.7 and auto. It only had 230 miles on it so the engine is not broken in. However, it was a dog. I'm trying to convince myself that it was maybe because my daily driver is a Kia Stinger GT. I just got out of 10 minutes before jumping into the Outer Banks. I'm also thinking that maybe I should have put it in Sport Mode.

I hope Ford with come out with an power upgrade. I don't want to screw with the ECU to make more power. A boost increase and gearing should make a difference.

Now is not the time to change your mind. With the current market anything else you try to buy will have an excessive markup.

 

[foremi]

The 4.7 rear should help it get off the line quickly...appropraite for 35s and designed for low end; and they are light 35s, similar to the 33s that come stock on the Rubicon people are comparing it to.

They are still taller with a majority of the weight farther from the center of the wheel which means its more difficult to accelerate even if it were the same weight. Plus rolling resistance will be higher with the sasquatch tires due to width as well, they are super wide.

The 4.70 gears help to a certain point, but you still need to factor in the higher drivetrain speeds and the shifts that the 10spd will need to do to account for it.

Especially if you are comparing to a standard f150 like the other person.

 

[foremi]

The torque management in 1-2 gears. It’s *very* conservative. 4.70 gears should help the Bronco, not hurt it. I’ve driven a 2.7 SAS Bronco and a 2.3/7MT Badlands. They’re both slow.

My good friend has a 2019 crew cab Lariat F150 with the 2.7/10 speed and 3.55s. He’s also running 35x12.50s and has ran numerous 0-60 runs in the high 6 to low 7 second range. The 2.7 engine impressed me in his F150 and I was expecting similar performance from the Bronco but it’s not there. Is what it is

He can hit 60 in 2nd gear with your claimed setup. A sasquatch will be at the top of 3rd.

The torque limiting is probably more of a factor with 4.70 diffs. In 1st gear with 415lb/ft you are talking about over 9k ft/lbs of torque going through the cv's and rear axle. In your buddies f150 its closer to 6500 in 1st.

 

[mcdoogs]

They all hang really low when you look under them, those rear control arms on that independent read look like they are barely off the ground...there is a ton of stuff they "don't count" when measuring the ground clearance on that thing, and it will struggle in tough spots with the way it's built...as these guys found out.

Sure I'm not arguing that, it's just not really a Defender specced for offroad missing all underbody protection, side protection, and rolling on 20s. It's too bad their first one was a lemon, it was much closer to what you'd want to try and tackle the same obstacles as a Bronco/Jeep (sas/rubicon or not). Also, don't rule out user error. It's not like it's the first truck ever with control arms, my guess is they took a bad line with it.

 

[Monster1926]

Yep. 4-door Wildtrak.

Found it to be plenty for me. It's not quick off the start - and wouldn't argue that it is. But it has plenty of go for any degree of responsible driving in my opinion, and gets up really well after the turbos get spooled (as you've mentioned).

I'm interested to drive a Badlands with 33s (as that's what I'm getting) and I expect the smaller tires to have a reasonable impact.

That’s the problem I have off the the line. Merging is fine and the fact my FE doesn’t have sport mode. It’s the way Ford set the factory tune up.

 

[BFizzy]

It's also PHYSICS. Physics don't care how much you paid.

Lots of physics deniers in this thread. There are an infinite number of variables that arrive at this 0-60 conclusion, but the only ones allowed to be discussed are the engine and the automatic transmission. The things that drivers do to achieve the lowest times are completely unrealistic and irrelevant in the real world, but here we are.

 

[5280Bronco]

Yep. 4-door Wildtrak.

Found it to be plenty for me. It's not quick off the start - and wouldn't argue that it is. But it has plenty of go for any degree of responsible driving in my opinion, and gets up really well after the turbos get spooled (as you've mentioned).

I'm interested to drive a Badlands with 33s (as that's what I'm getting) and I expect the smaller tires to have a reasonable impact.

Obviously I'm an idiot, but i was betting on the bronco being great off the line due to gearing, etc. and then running out of steam on the top end. Looks like it's the exact opposite. Trying to line up a demo test drive now.

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