Zander1ni

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Went out for the day to anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 big bend and drove through fish creek wash. The car performed well and got lots of interest until we got stuck on a rock reversing out of the wrong side of the trail lol. We bent the exhaust and that was no other damage. We had to use the jack and a strap to move the boulder we were stuck on.

Larger all terrain tires will be the next upgrade and will make a huge difference.









Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 5347721E-6334-4F6A-B6A0-702C047A7576
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend DF938DEB-7E0A-43E5-9956-1F958C58A58F
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 7E920D11-28A0-4632-846F-B6A518434DB6


Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 4D5E71A2-E984-49C1-B1C4-D35871E83A8F
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 049A5228-4248-45A3-877A-C644E9A5ABAF
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 7BD3FFE2-E85E-4720-94AE-71CAF418BD6C
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 048E7799-CAD8-46BC-9134-2C7E349929EC
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 336A371D-E26D-4C3B-8E2B-749FAAC898D4
Ford Bronco Sport Video: off-roading Anza-borrego desert in my Area 51 Big Bend 12EC5B07-0A05-4811-A65A-75DA4F1C85C7
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olly12

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Are those yakima cross bars? Would you recommend?
 
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Zander1ni

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Zander1ni

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robotfist

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Just out of curiosity, would you have avoided that boulder with an extra inch of ground clearance? It looks like it was stuck on the undercarriage.
 
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Zander1ni

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Just out of curiosity, would you have avoided that boulder with an extra inch of ground clearance? It looks like it was stuck on the undercarriage.
possibly but I’m not too sure. That boulder was at least 1.5 feet tall, What it hit was the exhaust which has a dent in the side of it. I don’t have a picture of the car on the jack but we had to jack it up over a foot to get it off of it.

there was sand up to undercarriage on the front wheels and more ground clearance wouldn’t have helped that

If you are into serious off roading I would not recommend the bronco sport in any trim for the price. At $38k there’s a lot more off road suitable vehicles. A ranger Fx4 will destroy a badlands off road no questions asked. More power, more clearance, better articulation. But for a road going vehicle that can do easy to moderate off road is highly recommend the vehicle
 

BamaBronco

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Thanks for the write-up @Zander1ni. There are not enough reviews on the Big Bend.

I have the exact same BS Big Bend you have in the same color. I bought it stock off the dealer lot; it was the only one they had! My question to you is about the tires. I have the same stock Continental tires you have but am looking to upgrade to slightly larger A/Ts. Do you know the size you are going to upgrade to? I have been looking everywhere online to see if there is a max tire size for the Big Bend without any suspension lift/cutting/trimming modifications.

I looked at the preliminary specs page linked below but it only shows 225/65R17 as an option for the Big Bend with 17" wheels. Further below it does show the 235/65R17 as an option for the Badlands. I was thinking about going with that size or possibly even 235/70R17 for a little more ride height and clearance but I'm not sure if they will fit without rubbing. What are your thoughts?

2021 Bronco Sport Preliminary Specs
 
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Zander1ni

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Thanks for the write-up @Zander1ni. There are not enough reviews on the Big Bend.

I have the exact same BS Big Bend you have in the same color. I bought it stock off the dealer lot; it was the only one they had! My question to you is about the tires. I have the same stock Continental tires you have but am looking to upgrade to slightly larger A/Ts. Do you know the size you are going to upgrade to? I have been looking everywhere online to see if there is a max tire size for the Big Bend without any suspension lift/cutting/trimming modifications.

I looked at the preliminary specs page linked below but it only shows 225/65R17 as an option for the Big Bend with 17" wheels. Further below it does show the 235/65R17 as an option for the Badlands. I was thinking about going with that size or possibly even 235/70R17 for a little more ride height and clearance but I'm not sure if they will fit without rubbing. What are your thoughts?

2021 Bronco Sport Preliminary Specs
I thought I read somewhere the very maximum tire height is 30.5 inches without modifications. I think rubbing will be determined not by height, but why width and tread pattern. A BFG K02 or k03 will run easier than something like a wild peak.

hahah take that as you will as I’m not a tire expert by any means
 

BamaBronco

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I thought I read somewhere the very maximum tire height is 30.5 inches without modifications. I think rubbing will be determined not by height, but why width and tread pattern. A BFG K02 or k03 will run easier than something like a wild peak.
Yeah, I read the article from Car and Driver where a Ford engineer said that, but I wasn't sure if they were referring to just the Badlands or all trim levels?

hahah take that as you will as I’m not a tire expert by any means
And no worries, I didn't mean to come off as assuming you were a tire expert ha! I was just wondering if you had a tire size in mind that you were considering upgrading too? Thanks for the response!
 


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Zander1ni

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Yeah, I read the article from Car and Driver where a Ford engineer said that, but I wasn't sure if they were referring to just the Badlands or all trim levels?



And no worries, I didn't mean to come off as assuming you were a tire expert ha! I was just wondering if you had a tire size in mind that you were considering upgrading too? Thanks for the response!
im thinking of getting the sumitomo encounter a/t 235/70/r17.

it has a tire height of 30.5 and a long treadwear rating. Only $150/per tire too.

I also might actually go to the dealer I bought the car and see if I can use my ford pass points. We get 42000 points for buying the car. I’m also going to ask if they can give some credit for the tires I have as they are basically new
 

Wyo

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I'm not sure the Ranger would outdo a BL Sport. Would be an interesting comparison. Ground clearance on the BL is 8.8" with the optional Wildpeaks and the Ranger is 8.9". Not sure the articulation is much better on the ranger. I believe the BS is 7-8". What is the ranger? Maybe another inch or so. Power is not that much different 250 vs 270hp and 277 vs 310 torque. After watching some of those Moab videos with the BS on Hell's Revenge and other areas, it convinced me it'll do just fine!

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