Jeep Wrangler JK 2 Door and 4
Door Trail Comparison
A side by side comparison of
the two JK's on the trail.
Last weekend a few of us tackled some
trails for the day at Rausch Creek Off Road
Park in PA. It was a beautiful fall day,
the leaves were changing and created
exceptional colors in the forest. The air
was cool but not cold and reached the mid to
upper 50's by mid-day.
The trip allowed
us to compare a 4 door JK Wrangler to a 2
door JK Wrangler...since there were both
kinds available. Two 4 doors and 1 2 door.
A Rubicon of both types and all three were
lifted with larger tires.
Specifics of the
Jeeps
Right off you
notice the length difference of the two
Jeeps. The 4 door is 20 inches longer
than the two. The whole difference in
length is in the center section of the Jeep.
The approach and departure angles are
identical.
In this
article we are only discussing trail
characteristics. We are not going to
cover street handling, cargo space, etc.
|
Rocks
Ground
clearance, traction, and low gears
are key to getting over the rocks
without damage. It seemed that
either model Jeep did just fine in
the rocky section. A 2 door
may have a slight advantage with a
better breakover angle. An
automatic transmission in a
non-Rubicon model will ease the
higher transfer case ratio.
Advantage - TIE |
 |
|
Mud
Ground
clearance and traction are key here
especially in the deep goo.
Overall length of the vehicle
doesn't show any clear advantage or
disadvantage.
Advantage - TIE |
 |
|
Hills
95
percent of the time a longer
wheelbase will be king on the hills.
Especially due to the fact that
CJ-7, YJ, and TJ Jeeps all share the
same wheelbase. Often ruts or
ditches in extra tough spots on
hills are exactly 94" apart, this is
where the 116" shines.
Advantage - 4 Door |
 |
|
Tight Spots - Maneuverability
The
reason you don't see Hummers or full
size trucks on Jeep trails. We
thought the 4 door would suffer in
this department but surprisingly the
Jeep is very maneuverable. In
spots where the 2 door could squeeze
through the 4 door did it with a few
extra backups.
Advantage - 2 Door |
 |
|
Tyler's 2 Door Rubicon
"lift those tires"
jeepfan.com 4 Door Rubicon
"listen to that skid plate scrape"
Christine's 4 Door Sahara
"watch those trees"
Final Thoughts
In
the end what makes the true determination of
which is better is your preference. Both
models have their pluses and minuses but both
are still true Jeep. Both models of the
new JK are a pleasure to drive both on and off
road. In the end regardless of the model the driver is
probably the most important part of what makes a
great trail vehicle.
Related Articles
jeepfan.com 2007 JK Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
Christine's
2007 JK Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
Rausch
Creek Trail Ride
TeraFlex
2.5" Budget Boost JK Lift Kit Install
Toyo
Open Country M/T Tires
|
