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Bare bones sport manual

869 KPH

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Yeah I would go Mojave if you can take the extra expense. My Mojave has just a few options, hard top auto trans and the extras it comes with as a Mojave. For the kind of driving I do as an archaeologist in California it is hard to beat. I looked at a Rubicon and have had a Rubicon JK Unlimited in the past, but if you are not rock crawling all the time (which a JT is not ideal for compared to the JL anyway) the reinforced frame etc on the Mojave really does set it apart. But you also loose a negligible amount of towing capacity with a Mojave. Idk man, its really all about what you can afford and how you want to build it out. Im sure you can aftermarket out a Sport to be just as beefed up as the Mojave.
It's true! Every archaeologist needs a swift getaway ... to the museum!

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Snatrog

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UM_Ftown

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I've contemplated ordering a base sport with the only option being the diesel, towing package, and block heater. I feel like the only thing I'd hate not having after having it is heated seats / steering wheel.
 

NachoRuby

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I test drove, and really enjoyed a base Willys sport manual with roll up windows and manual locks and manual transmission. It wasn't the baseness that took away from it, but rather the warranty and color. In short, my fairly basic Rubicon manual had all the "mods" I planned on doing already done, and fully warrantied. That's the main reason I ended up not doing it. I didn't want to end up doing something to void my warranty. Plus it was freaking bright orange, and I needed that in my life. But I really liked the base manual.
 
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Litfuse

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Drive the manual then the auto. Then go back and drive the manual again. Really make sure you drive it in all conditions. I owned a 2018 JLR with a manual for five months and had to get rid of it. Itā€™s such a horrible pairing with the 3.6 due to the spacing in the gears. 9.9 out of ten times, I will take a manual over an auto, but not with the gladiator. I ended up ordering my Mojave with the auto, and it is a very good transmission.
 

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FloridaMan655321

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I was somewhat in the op's position, though I was looking more towards the Willys v Mo'Jave. I ended up going with the mojave for a few reasons.
I like the fabric of the mojave vs sport or willys (I wanted fabric, Rubicon is also nice).
I found value in the suspension and ride quality that the mojave provides.
I really like the tires from the factory.
I didn't get the upgraded radio or leather seats or automatic transmission, so my out the door price was pretty decent. I ended up ordering mine because I wanted LED lights and the proximity handle lock/unlock (whatever it's called). I wasn't going to, but since I got mine in blue, I ended up springing for the painted roof and fenders as I thought it looked better. Initially I wanted the it in gator green with standard hardtop and standard fenders. One thing I almost wish I had done was go with black with hard top and standard fenders, mojave in black looks super sexy. I had a black vehicle once......in FL.....and said never again......but still very sexy!

Also, as 'shitty' as the manual is on this, it's still better than the automatics out there. For me, until I get an electric vehicle, the automatics still suck too much to buy.
 

kd1yt

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I've contemplated ordering a base sport with the only option being the diesel, towing package, and block heater. I feel like the only thing I'd hate not having after having it is heated seats / steering wheel.
If I'd ordered my truck (6MT Sport S) I would have not included heated seats and wheel. But I found a truck that was _exactly_ what I wanted, one state away, except it had the heated seats and wheel, and was missing the running boards (which were easy to add, and I added them). Now that I have the heated seats and wheel I am _really_ glad that I have them.
 

kd1yt

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Owner of a Sport S 6MT here, without a whole lot of options. I am delighted with my truck, favorite vehicle ever, no close runners up, even. I've added a few things, will add a few more, but none of it would qualify as a "build." The Mojave wasn't "out" when I got my truck in mid-2019, and even if it had been, it would have been beyond my comfortable spend range. But if it had been out and within my spend range, it would have been very appealing to me. I think the Mojave has more going for it than the Rubicon, but that's just my set of preferences.

If you like what the Mojave has and can afford the Mojave, I would say, hands down, get the Mojave. Reasons being: (1) if you anticipate trading-in in the coming years, a Mojave will have added value for being a Mojave, a bare-bones vehicle that you have spent a lot extra adding on-to will... still be valued at trade as a bare-bones vehicle; (2) whether or not you anticipate trading in, the Mojave has a lot of great features and why not start enjoying right away; (3) the Mojave has a lot of really high quality components, that are really configured well to work well together - to get to "truly the same" you will spend a_lot_ more; (4) I work in a field in which I get a lot of intel about upcoming manufacturing and transport supply chain issues (national and international), and the 'new abnormal' of interrruptions in product availability, escalating prices, etc. (driven by many things far out of the control or prediction of the USA, itself), shows no sign of getting much better in the next year or two at best (and may get weird-er)- and this is a niche vehicle- I hope it continues on the market for a long time, but it's niche enough that that's not guaranteed - if you find exactly what you want -get it- you may not have as good a chance, or any chance, later.

This assist in rationalization is brought to you as a public service announcement...
 

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I wanted a manual, was hell bent on it.

Then I drove it. Fourth gear, 45-50mph, to the floor and nothing. The manuals I've driven before would give you quite a bit of 'go' at that speed.

Then I drove the auto with the 3.6 and it was as if there was no transmission with how smooth it felt.

Then I drove the diesel, end of discussion.

Could I live with the base model with a manual? Sure I could. But that's not why I'm about to fork out over $40,000 for a new vehicle.
 

NachoRuby

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I wanted a manual, was hell bent on it.

Then I drove it. Fourth gear, 45-50mph, to the floor and nothing.
Simple. That's 3rd gear territory on these, if you want to floor it. 3rd gear tops out faster than the governor will allow it to go (103 mph on my Rubicon, higher still on the 3.73 models). 4th is 1:1 and 5th and 6th are overdrive. 1-3 are the accelerating gears. 6th for flat land at 65+, 5th for flat land at 55 or so plus. 4th for casual driving at 45+. 3rd for 30+, or when you need to run it on the interstate or for passing. The gears are so long that you'll still get good gas mileage driving it that way. RPMs stay nice and low until you drop a few gears and take off. A lot of folks find it disconcerting to rev that high, but peak torque is at 4400, and peak HP at 6400, so it's the only way. Drive it like a 90s Honda and rev it up when you need to. The 3.6 loves to be revved up. The short throws make it easy, quick and comfortable to downshift efficiently.
 

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Jefe1018

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Simple. That's 3rd gear territory on these, if you want to floor it. 3rd gear tops out faster than the governor will allow it to go (103 mph on my Rubicon, higher still on the 3.73 models). 4th is 1:1 and 5th and 6th are overdrive. 1-3 are the accelerating gears. 6th for flat land at 65+, 5th for flat land at 55 or so plus. 4th for casual driving at 45+. 3rd for 30+, or when you need to run it on the interstate or for passing. The gears are so long that you'll still get good gas mileage driving it that way. RPMs stay nice and low until you drop a few gears and take off. A lot of folks find it disconcerting to rev that high, but peak torque is at 4400, and peak HP at 6400, so it's the only way. Drive it like a 90s Honda and rev it up when you need to. The 3.6 loves to be revved up. The short throws make it easy, quick and comfortable to downshift efficiently.
Right.. these are essentially a 4 speed gear box with two over drives.

You combine this gearbox with a lack of low end torque on the 3.6, a compromised towing capacity due to the clutch / pressure plate rating and then the fact that 5th and 6th will become unusable without re-gearing with larger tires.....

I've driven manuals my whole life, this one is just not very good one for the truck platform in my opinion. Can it be reliable and fun? Yes I'm sure, heck I wanted to love it too... but I just couldn't.

Doesn't mean we can't be friends though. I love the manuals. This one is just not for me - my JT needs to be the jack of all trades for wheeling, hauling and towing.
 

NachoRuby

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Right.. these are essentially a 4 speed gear box with two over drives.

You combine this gearbox with a lack of low end torque on the 3.6, a compromised towing capacity due to the clutch / pressure plate rating and then the fact that 5th and 6th will become unusable without re-gearing with larger tires.....

I've driven manuals my whole life, this one is just not very good one for the truck platform in my opinion. Can it be reliable and fun? Yes I'm sure, heck I wanted to love it too... but I just couldn't.

Doesn't mean we can't be friends though. I love the manuals. This one is just not for me - my JT needs to be the jack of all trades for wheeling, hauling and towing.
I don't have much to tow, so can't comment there. The only thing I'll ever tow is less than 3k, and the truck is rated at 4500 so I'm good there. But it's fine wheeling and hauling. If I needed to tow more, yes, I'd look elsewhere. But for that matter, even the base (not max tow) sport doesn't tow very much either. For a heavier duty tow rig, I'm sure Max Tow Sport, any diesel (shame no manual available there), the automatic Overland, the automatic Mojave, or the automatic Rubicon are better choices. But I think it seems the consensus is a regear is recommended for all of the gas 3.73 models with either transmission when pushing tires bigger than 35". The 4.1s on the Rubi and Mojaves can handle 35s though. I don't dislike the automatic at all. It just gets tiresome seeing it disregarded so quickly when there are a few of us who enjoy it for what it is. Again I'm not disliking the automatic, just encouraging folks test a 6 speed and give it a try, with the understanding that it's not a close ratio transmission. I'm not hating or disregarding the automatic. But I just love the manual, probably the same way you like your diesel. I've had some high performance close ratio 6 speeds. And I've had some old school 4 and 5 speeds. But the manual JT is truly my favorite of all vehicles I've owned.
 

kd1yt

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If towing is a core need, no doubt that the auto, especially with max tow, is a better option. But rather than view this as a Gladiator-specific shortcoming, consider that there hasn't, for at least approximately 25 years, been any half ton MT that's a good candidate for even semi-serious towing. Last one I can think of would be an OBS Ford 150 from mid-90s. Most 1/2 ton pickups ceased having MT at all some years ago, and even Ram, which was the last MT offering in the 3/4 & 1 ton category, phased out MT several years ago.
 

sunrise089

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Simple. That's 3rd gear territory on these, if you want to floor it. 3rd gear tops out faster than the governor will allow it to go (103 mph on my Rubicon, higher still on the 3.73 models). 4th is 1:1 and 5th and 6th are overdrive. 1-3 are the accelerating gears. 6th for flat land at 65+, 5th for flat land at 55 or so plus. 4th for casual driving at 45+. 3rd for 30+, or when you need to run it on the interstate or for passing. The gears are so long that you'll still get good gas mileage driving it that way. RPMs stay nice and low until you drop a few gears and take off. A lot of folks find it disconcerting to rev that high, but peak torque is at 4400, and peak HP at 6400, so it's the only way. Drive it like a 90s Honda and rev it up when you need to. The 3.6 loves to be revved up. The short throws make it easy, quick and comfortable to downshift efficiently.
This is a great post.

Nothing against the excellent auto, especially considering the superior towing numbers. But I donā€™t understand ā€œyou have to downshift and rev the manualā€ comments given the auto will likewise downshift like crazy when accelerating on the interstate. Downshifts with a manual have this implication of being harmful somehow, as if the engine ā€˜knowsā€™ why itā€™s being asked to run at 4K rpm or whatever in one instance versus anotherā€¦
 

HomebrewJT

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I got a sport with the manual, the only gripes I have are the clutch feel and the lack of gearing from the factory, 4.10s shouldā€™ve been standard on all manuals IMO. I plan to deal with these by adding a center force clutch once they become available and then regearing. And maybe a super charger one day lol

I wanted to make it my own, I donā€™t plan on selling it but if I ever need to I should be alright.

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