Underwhelming Offroad experience

[jensht]

I recently took out our new Bronco Badlands to the local offroad park to make sure that the new wheels and tires have sufficient clearance (315/70R17 on 8.5x17 ET30 with General Grabber AT3 and 35x12.5R17 on 8.5x17 ET30 with General Grabber X3) at full articulation, which it did. But to my surprise I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed with how it performed.

As a bit of background, I've had multiple of 4x4s over the years and have wheeled for the last 20 years. I would never consider myself an expert, but I think I am reasonably decent at it.

The last three 4x4s I've had where Ford Rangers (2017 Ranger, 2020 Ranger Raptor (1st gen), and 2021 Ranger Raptor (2nd Gen)). The two Ranger Raptors used the same tire and wheel combination I have on the Bronco now, so it should be a pretty equal comparison.

The Bronco bottomed out and dragged bits and pieces much earlier than I would have expected. While I was at the Offroad Park, a bunch of Mitsubishi Pajeros where there as well. None of them ran anywhere near a 35, or even 33. Yet, they didn't drag nearly as often as I did. At the same time, I struggled on some hills and needed both lockers, where they went with just a rear locker. Compared to my Rangers, the Bronco just felt like it was struggling for traction everywhere it went. I had the tires at 18 psi, which was the same pressure I used regularly on my Rangers.

If I consider some of my older 4x4s that I used to own (several commercial spec G-Wagens, and JK Rubicon) I wouldn't put the Bronco into the same capability class. It is way better on road, but Offroad I am left scratching my head as to why it performed so poorly.

Maybe the offroad park just didn't suit the Bronco. I am going on a trip to Corsica in December and will see how it performs there. At least it will allow me to directly compare it to the JK Rubicon, 2017 Ranger, and 2021 Ranger Raptor as I used those on the same trails in the past.

I am curious what everyone's experience has been so far, especially coming from other capable 4x4s. Based on reviews I expected the Bronco to be better.

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[ScLeCo]

2020 Ranger raptor huh?

There are a lot of factors that could have contributed to your experience.
What was your tire pressure etc…

 

[RagnarKon]

2020 Ranger raptor huh?

Overseas Ford has had a Ranger Raptor for awhile now. 210 horsepower, 2.0L EcoBlue diesel.

Was never available stateside.

 

[jensht]

Yup, we had a 1st gen Ranger Raptor. It was great, besides the constant problems with the Diesel emissions systems. We had to abandon three trips with it due to problems, then we sold it for the 2nd gen.

Tire pressure was at 18 psi, the same "default" pressure I run on all my rigs. In sand and other more demanding sections I lower as needed.

It was an odd experience as it just couldn't find traction in what I would consider simple conditions and just doesn't seem to have the ground clearance that I took for granted for a 4x4 on 35s.

 

[ScLeCo]

Yup, we had a 1st gen Ranger Raptor. It was great, besides the constant problems with the Diesel emissions systems. We had to abandon three trips with it due to problems, then we sold it for the 2nd gen.

Tire pressure was at 18 psi, the same "default" pressure I run on all my rigs. In sand and other more demanding sections I lower as needed.

It was an odd experience as it just couldn't find traction in what I would consider simple conditions and just doesn't seem to have the ground clearance that I took for granted for a 4x4 on 35s.

Sweet. I would love to have a diesel minus the emissions issues.
The only thing I can think of is that it’s the tires.

 

[V1Rotate]

Yup, we had a 1st gen Ranger Raptor. It was great, besides the constant problems with the Diesel emissions systems. We had to abandon three trips with it due to problems, then we sold it for the 2nd gen.

Tire pressure was at 18 psi, the same "default" pressure I run on all my rigs. In sand and other more demanding sections I lower as needed.

It was an odd experience as it just couldn't find traction in what I would consider simple conditions and just doesn't seem to have the ground clearance that I took for granted for a 4x4 on 35s.

I'd lower the pressure down to 13-15 or so.. shouldn't have a problem without bead locks still. Have you run those General's before?

 

[Oldhippie]

I had the same feeling driving the Bronco at Bronco Roadeo….it hasn’t changed…broncos are not as capable off road as jeeps…I have 3” lift and 37s and can now almost keep up banging skid plates with my brother’s TJ on 33s in the tougher stuff…but the on road performance and comfort make up for it in my old age…

 

[jensht]

Yeah, exact same tires and size and pressure as with the Ranger Raptors. That's what left me scratching my head. Even the weight between the two isn't that far apart. On my trip I'll be playing around with tire pressure and see if I can find something that works. It won't fix the clearance issue, but I might just have to change my lines from what I am used to.

 

[jensht]

The diesel sounds great in theory. But it was a bit anemic. I think the new 3 Liter V6 Diesel that the non-Raptors can be speced with outside the US would be better suited, but maybe a bit heavy for the front of the Ranger Raptor.

 

[V1Rotate]

I had the same feeling driving the Bronco at Bronco Roadeo….it hasn’t changed…broncos are not as capable off road as jeeps…I have 3” lift and 37s and can now almost keep up banging skid plates with my brother’s TJ on 33s in the tougher stuff…but the on road performance and comfort make up for it in my old age…

I agree.. probably the most capable IFS vehicle available but isn't competition for a true wheeler. It makes up for that with 99% of folks however with the last part of your last sentence as they don't need much more than that

 

[V1Rotate]

Yeah, exact same tires and size and pressure as with the Ranger Raptors. That's what left me scratching my head. Even the weight between the two isn't that far apart. On my trip I'll be playing around with tire pressure and see if I can find something that works. It won't fix the clearance issue, but I might just have to change my lines from what I am used to.

Yeah i'll be interested to see if you make better friends with it with a little more seat time. Are you playing with GOAT modes at all? Turning off traction control? etc I've found rock crawl mode to be nice at times with the delayed throttle response and softer steering. I found going to 37's helped a ton with clearance issues. A bronco on 35's and a Jeep on 35's are two different things.. more like a Jeep on 33's

 

[jensht]

Yeah i'll be interested to see if you make better friends with it with a little more seat time. Are you playing with GOAT modes at all? Turning off traction control? etc I've found rock crawl mode to be nice at times with the delayed throttle response and softer steering. I found going to 37's helped a ton with clearance issues. A bronco on 35's and a Jeep on 35's are two different things.. more like a Jeep on 33's

I did play with the GOAT modes, and also tried the crawl control. But I totally agree that a Jeep and Bronco are very different. The JK we had would seemingly go anywhere we pointed it, but on the highway there and back, the Bronco is the clear winner.

Overall we are still happy that we chose the Bronco over a JL as realistically Offroad will make up at best 10% of our driving profile.

In my heart I wish I never sold my 2001 Mercedes G290, that think would go anywhere, even with its little 31.7" tires. It was slow, but once I got in it, nothing else mattered

 

[userdude]

Is that a stateside BL? Do you have the yellow Bilstein shocks? Not a huge fan of the shocks. I have a BL non-Sas and I hit things underneath more than I would expect, and I think it's because the shocks squat more than I'd like. Put about 80lbs of armor (redistributed more to the center as well) and especially in the back, the shocks squat more than I would like.

On the other hand, I did keep up with three JKs on 37s at Mineral Creek in CO completely stock and aired down to 15psi, mostly just scraping armor. Clearance is clearance. The stock GY's and (IMO) KO2s aren't the best traction.

I have 11" of clearance, and going to some good M/T's (35" Maxxis Razr M/Ts) definitely improved performance. So changing the tires and possibly upgrading the shocks for more performance might help you out. Also you might try a rear sway bar upgrade (RockJock AntiRocks for instance or adding the stock sway bar if you don't have) and/or panhard relocation, which can help with plantedness.

 

[SierraBronco]

Somewhere in the thread of the APG Prorunner build you’ll see my response of “for only $200,000 you too can get your Bronco to be as capable as a stock Rubicon on 35’s.” My build included

Is the wheelbase difference between the bronco and ranger big enough for you to notice? And the shock mounts on the bronco are loooooowwwww. Not sure on ranger.

 

[jensht]

Is that a stateside BL? Do you have the yellow Bilstein shocks? Not a huge fan of the shocks. I have a BL non-Sas and I hit things underneath more than I would expect, and I think it's because the shocks squat more than I'd like. Put about 80lbs of armor (redistributed more to the center as well) and especially in the back, the shocks squat more than I would like.

On the other hand, I did keep up with three JKs on 37s at Mineral Creek in CO completely stock and aired down to 15psi, mostly just scraping armor. Clearance is clearance. The stock GY's and (IMO) KO2s aren't the best traction.

I have 11" of clearance, and going to some good M/T's (35" Maxxis Razr M/Ts) definitely improved performance. So changing the tires and possibly upgrading the shocks for more performance might help you out. Also you might try a rear sway bar upgrade (RockJock AntiRocks for instance or adding the stock sway bar if you don't have) and/or panhard relocation, which can help with plantedness.

It's a European spec BL, but suspension is the same as the Non-Sasquatch BL in the US. Same part numbers on the Bilstein shocks and springs.

I hope you enjoyed Mineral Creek. I was in Colorado August and September and we rented some Tacoma's from Colorado Overlander in Glenwood Springs. 33's and slight lift. We did a bunch of trails, Mineral Creek included. My wife actually just commented that we probably would have scrapped along more in the Bronco than we did in the Tacoma. But let me tell you how happy we are that we didn't buy a Tacoma. That 3.5 Liter is absolutely gutless at altitude, and the gearing pretty much non-existent.

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