Questions for the Community- New Bronco Owner in Waiting....

[CheapFish]

This is the option you want to get the 4.27 Axle and rear locking Differential without getting the Sasquatch package. I have this on my Big Bend and I love it. For only $795 it is worth it.

Sponsored

 

[lwilliams34]

I guess I wanted to ask about the Axle and Tires. From what I understand the bigger tires and more off roading equipment can create more road noise, reduced gas mileage, etc.
This vehicle will spend 80% of the time on streets. Yes, I would like to try some off roading, but where do you draw the line between street, casual off roading (not rock crawling) and budget. I see a lot of Jeep Rubicon's running around that look bad ass and cool but never go off road.
My son lives in Reno NV and took us off roading in his Four Runner. It was a lot of fun, but we never did anything terribly extreme. As I mentioned, just trying to figure out where to draw the line...

 

[Zstngz]

Hi Guys,
I just put in an order for a 2024 2-Door Big Bend, Cactus Gray with the 2.3L / 10 Speed Auto, Mid Pkg, and Step Rails. I plan on doing a bit of light off roading, but mainly city/country driving. Which is why I didn't get the Sasquatch pkg or the Black Diamond. Tried to steer away from the heavy tech pkgs because this is not a luxury car for me. I'm excited to be part of this community; I am registered on Mustang6g with my Shelby GT350 and found that to be a very rewarding experience.

Just had a few questions:
1. Is the 2.3L eco adequate for most situations? I see a lot of debate about the 2.7. Not sure if it is needed on the 2 door?
2. Any downsides to the 10 speed auto in your experience? I have a stick in my Shelby so would rather go auto.
3. Is the big bend adequate for light duty off roading?
4. Are these Broncos scalable if I wanted to eventually add more serious off roading gear?
5. I have an order in which they say is going take 6 months approx to fill, which is fine as I am in no hurry. Has anyone here had success finding what they want pre-packaged or used? Or is that possibility slim? If yes, are there websites/resources where I can go to seek out already built models?

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Lorne

I own a 2 door '22 Base, auto, with the 2.3 and pretty happy with it. Don't plan on doing much modifications ( just put on Badland wheels and tires ) and do some light off-roading only with my grandkids. Not a race car, but I got my Boss and my Z ,both stick.

 

[vrtical]

I guess I wanted to ask about the Axle and Tires. From what I understand the bigger tires and more off roading equipment can create more road noise, reduced gas mileage, etc.
This vehicle will spend 80% of the time on streets. Yes, I would like to try some off roading, but where do you draw the line between street, casual off roading (not rock crawling) and budget. I see a lot of Jeep Rubicon's running around that look bad ass and cool but never go off road.
My son lives in Reno NV and took us off roading in his Four Runner. It was a lot of fun, but we never did anything terribly extreme. As I mentioned, just trying to figure out where to draw the line...

A Big Bend mid package without sasquatch really only needs the rear gear/locker option and you will be perfectly fine. Even if run up to a 32" tire, it will be more than enough and you will not have issues with the smaller M190 diffs.

 

[Bluedoggie]

Hi Guys,
I just put in an order for a 2024 2-Door Big Bend, Cactus Gray with the 2.3L / 10 Speed Auto, Mid Pkg, and Step Rails. I plan on doing a bit of light off roading, but mainly city/country driving. Which is why I didn't get the Sasquatch pkg or the Black Diamond. Tried to steer away from the heavy tech pkgs because this is not a luxury car for me. I'm excited to be part of this community; I am registered on Mustang6g with my Shelby GT350 and found that to be a very rewarding experience.

Just had a few questions:
1. Is the 2.3L eco adequate for most situations? I see a lot of debate about the 2.7. Not sure if it is needed on the 2 door?
2. Any downsides to the 10 speed auto in your experience? I have a stick in my Shelby so would rather go auto.
3. Is the big bend adequate for light duty off roading?
4. Are these Broncos scalable if I wanted to eventually add more serious off roading gear?
5. I have an order in which they say is going take 6 months approx to fill, which is fine as I am in no hurry. Has anyone here had success finding what they want pre-packaged or used? Or is that possibility slim? If yes, are there websites/resources where I can go to seek out already built models?

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Lorne

Answers
1 yes absolutely
2 No, Auto is awesome
3 yes, I use my 23 big bend on beach. 4.27 locking, mid pkg, side rails. Non sas. Awesome on the beach using sand mode and 18 psi air.
4 Not sure don't want to ruin a good thing that's suitable for me.
5 12 months for me from order date.
Enjoy !!

 

[Zstngz]

I own a 2 door '22 Base, auto, with the 2.3 and pretty happy with it. Don't plan on doing much modifications ( just put on Badland wheels and tires ) and do some light off-roading only with my grandkids. Not a race car, but I got my Boss and my Z ,both stick.

I would wait for my Build.

 

[Headsong]

I drove my first Bronco at a Ford event thru mud and trees and hills and dales in mud with turns! Got out and asked about something, discovered that I'd been driving a 2.3! 10spd 4 door!! And didn't know. Great engine, you'll be happy.

 

[Rspayde]

I had the 2.3 in my ranger and hardly noticed a bed full of wet mulch was in the thing. The engine will give you all the power to realistically need. The 2.7 while likely more fun was ultimately not necessary for my needs.

The rear locking diff is a must have if you are going non SAS. If $795 is the breaking point in your budget then I have to recommend you do not buy a bronco or if you do never take it off roading. Things break and things cost money. Also being IFS the cost to correctly upgrade the suspension is going to be higher than they Big Bad jeep could ever imagine.

 

[lwilliams34]

I had the 2.3 in my ranger and hardly noticed a bed full of wet mulch was in the thing. The engine will give you all the power to realistically need. The 2.7 while likely more fun was ultimately not necessary for my needs.

The rear locking diff is a must have if you are going non SAS. If $795 is the breaking point in your budget then I have to recommend you do not buy a bronco or if you do never take it off roading. Things break and things cost money. Also being IFS the cost to correctly upgrade the suspension is going to be higher than they Big Bad jeep could ever imagine.

THanks for the reply... $795 is not a hardship. I understand the risks and responsibilities of "fun" car ownership. I have Shelby GT350 which I track regularly. My point is that no matter what I purhase I want to be responsible with my finances. I have a limit to how much I want to spend, otherwise i'd just buy a bronco raptor or i'd be tracking a Porsche GT3RS. Just trying to ensure I have what I need to do light off roading (i'm not boulder crawling) and try not to get too much off road stuff that it makes it harder to live with as a daily driver (road noise, height for daily in an d out..comfort, etc.). That is why I purchased the 350, great car on the track without any after market mods, but comfortable on a cross country grand touring trip.

 

[mpeugeot]

THanks for the reply... $795 is not a hardship. I understand the risks and responsibilities of "fun" car ownership. I have Shelby GT350 which I track regularly. My point is that no matter what I purhase I want to be responsible with my finances. I have a limit to how much I want to spend, otherwise i'd just buy a bronco raptor or i'd be tracking a Porsche GT3RS. Just trying to ensure I have what I need to do light off roading (i'm not boulder crawling) and try not to get too much off road stuff that it makes it harder to live with as a daily driver (road noise, height for daily in an d out..comfort, etc.). That is why I purchased the 350, great car on the track without any after market mods, but comfortable on a cross country grand touring trip.

This is where a 2023 Bronco OBX 2.7 advanced 4x4 high or lux package really shines (and with 82k miles, I know what it's like to cross country a Bronco). I would also double down on making sure that you got the hardtop.

As far as factory tires go, the Bridgestone Duellers are great for the street, but have limited sidewall strength off-road, yet they are surprisingly grippy off-road. The Black Diamond steelies with the General Grabber X3's are better off-road, but surprisingly quiet on-road (almost as good as the Duellers). The OBX Duellers are my cross country tire of choice, but I have snatched up 2 sets of spare rims and tires taken off the OBX and Black Diamond for $500 and $600 respectively (where else can you get nearly new rims and tires for less)?

I also have a set of Milestar Patagonia M/T's (33.5") for off-roading mounted on RTR Tech 6 rims (17x9 +30 offset).

 

[Scott R Nelson]

Just had a few questions:
1. Is the 2.3L eco adequate for most situations? I see a lot of debate about the 2.7. Not sure if it is needed on the 2 door?
2. Any downsides to the 10 speed auto in your experience? I have a stick in my Shelby so would rather go auto.
3. Is the big bend adequate for light duty off roading?
4. Are these Broncos scalable if I wanted to eventually add more serious off roading gear?
5. I have an order in which they say is going take 6 months approx to fill, which is fine as I am in no hurry.

One more set of answers, don't know if this will add anything useful or not.

1. I consider the 2.3 to have plenty of power for all situations. I've had mine for a year and a half and 12,000 miles and never once wanted the bigger engine. I do a lot of off road driving.

2. I generally prefer a manual and have one in my Mustang, but I'm convinced that the 10-speed automatic is better for the Bronco, especially off road.

3. Can't help you there. I got the Sasquatch package because I didn't want to ever be missing a feature when I need it. Just last week in Moab I engaged lockers front and rear multiple times to get through some tricky stuff. Glad to have those.

4. There are now lots of aftermarket stuff to add to the Bronco. I wanted it all directly from Ford so that I don't have to worry about compatibility issues. Aftermarket lift kits and bigger tires tend to break things.

5. I had to wait a full year after placing my order. Six months sounds quick to me.

 

[lwilliams34]

This is where a 2023 Bronco OBX 2.7 advanced 4x4 high or lux package really shines (and with 82k miles, I know what it's like to cross country a Bronco). I would also double down on making sure that you got the hardtop.

As far as factory tires go, the Bridgestone Duellers are great for the street, but have limited sidewall strength off-road, yet they are surprisingly grippy off-road. The Black Diamond steelies with the General Grabber X3's are better off-road, but surprisingly quiet on-road (almost as good as the Duellers). The OBX Duellers are my cross country tire of choice, but I have snatched up 2 sets of spare rims and tires taken off the OBX and Black Diamond for $500 and $600 respectively (where else can you get nearly new rims and tires for less)?

I also have a set of Milestar Patagonia M/T's (33.5") for off-roading mounted on RTR Tech 6 rims (17x9 +30 offset).

thanks, yes I did order the hard top, never even considered the soft top. I am in WI with lots of snow, so would rather have the stability of the hard top. Thanks for all of the input on wheels/tires. I have read a few people say that going with the SAS pkg with bigger tires just increases raod noise and reduces gas mileage... not sure if that is accurate or not? I am also a bit concered about ride height in terms of getting in and out of the car as I do make numerous stops each day. This woudl be my daily for my business as well as a fun weekend car for driving excursions....

 

[AZ_Liberty]

Just trying to ensure I have what I need to do light off roading (i'm not boulder crawling) and try not to get too much off road stuff that it makes it harder to live with as a daily driver

Rear locker is for getting you unstuck in sand or mud. Useful even on allegedly maintained roads.

Higher gear ratio will theoretically give you a slight downtick on mileage, but given the gear ratios on the transmission, it probably actually helps a bit by keeping the engine from lugging in top gears.

 

[mpeugeot]

thanks, yes I did order the hard top, never even considered the soft top. I am in WI with lots of snow, so would rather have the stability of the hard top. Thanks for all of the input on wheels/tires. I have read a few people say that going with the SAS pkg with bigger tires just increases raod noise and reduces gas mileage... not sure if that is accurate or not? I am also a bit concered about ride height in terms of getting in and out of the car as I do make numerous stops each day. This woudl be my daily for my business as well as a fun weekend car for driving excursions....

Tire and wheels are one of the greatest impacts to gas mileage on the Bronco, more than 2.3 vs 2.7, by far. With my M/T's, mileage drops by as much as 25%.

My best freeway mileage is 23.5 mpg (22.5 typical) over a 350 mile trip at an average speed of 75 mph (I did that trip nearly every weekend for 2 years - 700 miles round trip) and my worst was with the Patagonia M/T's (17-18 MPG typical). The Bridgestone Duellers were typically good for 10-15% better mileage than the General Grabbers. All from the rolling resistance and weight of the steelies and the tires. The OBX wheels and tires are lighter by a significant margin.

Any increased lift isn't your friend either because of the impact of the aerodynamic impact of more air under the vehicle.

 

[dgorsett]

This is the option you want to get the 4.27 Axle and rear locking Differential without getting the Sasquatch package. I have this on my Big Bend and I love it. For only $795 it is worth it.

Best $800 you'll ever spend.

Sponsored