A little comparison

Matt H · April 10, 2015, 12:56 PM

I think I will weigh the DI. I'm curious now. I should also weigh the Rangie although I'm not sure I want to know.

Red90 · April 10, 2015, 12:57 PM

Go to your local Jeep dealer and take a new 4 door Rubicon out for a test drive. All I can say is you have driven only broken trucks. Like I say, ours was faster than most cars on the road easily and the current engine has a lot more power than that one.

Matt H · April 10, 2015, 01:27 PM

I wasn't being funny. With that sort of power to weight ratio by rights the JK's should be rocket ships and be fairly indestructible. Perhaps I'll go take a new unit with that penistar V6 for a spin.

I only ever drive broken things. It's my job but it does leave you a little jaded when you see all the problems various vehicles have.

Trevor · April 10, 2015, 01:49 PM

Quote from: Matt H on April 10, 2015, 12:56 PM
I think I will weigh the DI. I'm curious now. I should also weigh the Rangie although I'm not sure I want to know.

I've been meaning to do the same with my Disco after the array of changes I've done to it, and this thread has got me re-motivated to get that done. A year or so ago I was looking through my owners manual and it was telling me (I think) 5500lbs wet...which seems a lot lighter than it feels when I'm trying to haul it up over a ledge (or it gets it in its mind that its going to go DOWN one!).

Will post here what I find out.

Red90 · April 10, 2015, 02:08 PM

Quote from: Red90 on April 09, 2015, 08:47 PMMy 90 is 5500 lbs empty...

I guess I was exageratting a bit. Just looking through my notes and I did write it down one day...

2008/5/10 "Weighed 2270 kg (5000 lb) loaded for weekend, 3/4 tank, Adam and John. 1120 Fr, 1140 Rr"

So, I don't know, maybe as low as 4500 pounds with no gear. No idea how Land Rover got that down to 3770 pounds in a hard top. I can't have 700 pounds of extra stuff on the truck.

Matt H · April 10, 2015, 02:44 PM

Just for sake of it I'm also going to weigh the 88" when its ready for its parade day. I'm running it topless with just the front seats in and a spare on the bonnet. Should be about as light as a stock Series III can get.

Red90 · April 10, 2015, 02:49 PM

My Lightweight: "3800 lbs with both tanks full, my regular gear for a day trip and myself." Should be around 3400 pounds as a curb weight basis.

Matt H · April 11, 2015, 11:45 AM

Just got back from test driving a brand new four door wrangler rubicon.........yeah, still crap.

#1 gripe, you can't see out.
It's too wide.
Despite the not insignificant price tag it feels cheap. Crappy materials throughout.

The low range T'case gearing is too low. Perhaps if you swap 35" tyres that would feel better?

Gearbox ratio's had a big gap between 4th and 5th.

I had a drive in a hard top and it was still very noisy.

Hard to believe it only supposed to wiegh a tad over 4,000lbs? Even with all that extra power the engine is working hard and the entire package feels heavy.

The back door and spare tyre arrangement is ridiculous.

Must have passed twenty other JK's on my 10 min test drive.

Sorry guys. I will stick to my Land Rovers.

Trevor · April 11, 2015, 02:48 PM

Quote from: Matt H on April 11, 2015, 11:45 AM

Sorry guys. I will stick to my Land Rovers.

No worries.

When you find something from LR that's as capable, new, and in the same price point, let me know. I would love to take it for a test drive. :)

Matt H · April 11, 2015, 05:49 PM

Forgot to say during the test drive there was a lot of vibration. Turning circle was not very good and that effected maneuverability. It was very pricey too. But the biggest drawback was the lack of vision out of the small windows.

I also felt an overwhelming urge to wear a ball cap backwards and chug down a couple of $5 energy drinks ;D

The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

In all fairness though it wasn't all that bad....just not THAT good. And again, had the JK been a Land Rover product I would probably cut it more slack. I'm harsh on new cars because I expect a lot and I'm extra critical on 4wd's that claim greatness. I still think the TJ was better.

B-Red · April 11, 2015, 06:15 PM

The challenge with the jeeps is the electronics. Rented a Grand Cherokee and drove it to Peace River. Hit a pot hole and the whole dashboard went black. Parked it. Shut it down. Five minte later, back to normal. Car had less than 600 km on it.

Yesterday, there was a great gathering of Jeeps in Sherwood Park by Timmy. Great looking trucks. Well tricked up with big tires, winches and the toys. My friend indicated his buddy have replaced the centre console three times under warranty so far.

With so many hands in the pot and outsourcing savings, the continuity and integrity of the design got compromised.
Comparing that to my old 1980 AMC Two door hatchback, which I loaded to the roof with news papers everyday and a straight line six cylinder, that car did a 150 km trip every day delivering news papers for good six month before I sold it and moved to Edmonton.

Hopefully, my current Defender will keep going until I stop driving ;-)