Mods required to turn the Sport BL into a respectable offroader?

[GroovyGeek]

First post, so please be gentle. I currently own a 2014 JK Wrangler that I am fairly happy with. However I am looking to replace it with something that a) I can sleep in and b) has some on-road grace. If I were to get a JLU it would meet the a) requirement but not b). The initial plan was to wait for the updated 4Runner to come out and then buy the 2nd or 3rd model year, but that has been getting pushed out for 3 years now and it looks like it is at least another 2 years out.

That made me take a closer look at the Big Bronco. Rented one this weekend and it has PLENTY of room to sleep in the back (I am 6ft tall), the handling is much better than a Wrangler, but the road noise is unbearable. I was clocking 80db+ in a BL-sas with a soft top, and the scuttlebut is that the hard top is not meaningfully quieter. So the Big Bronco fails the b) requirement miserably. This made me look at other alternatives and this is why I am currently looking at the Sport Badlands as an option. Drove one today and it is respectable in road handling, has a decent gas mileage, low road noise.

Now trying to figure out what I need to do to improve its offroad chops a bit. I was very happy to see that I can buy BFG KO2 and put them on the stock wheels. However, looking at the underbody I see some strange design decisions. The passenger side and rear of the vehicle are armored quite well. However the driver side has a whole section that is covered by felt, another one that is essentially aluminum foil, the exhaust system and cat converter is completely exposed, and the nose is all plastic.

Would appreciate the wisdom of this forum to help me make an informed decision. The hardest trail I am likely to contemplate taking the vehicle to is something like Valley of the Moon in SE California, and from what I have seen on YouTube, people have done much worse than that.

1. Which of the existing OEM skid plates on the Sport BL are flimsy and should be replaced?
2. What are the recommended after-market skid plates for the Sport BL. I see the most extensive collection from JCR. I see an evap and floor skid plate that should cover the location of the current felt, there is also a cat converter plate and a gas tank skid plate as well as rock rails that require some minor drilling. However, their bash plate and engine plate are not compatible with the BL.
3. What other vendors make these for the Sport. I see a bash plate from Rally Innovations and a more substantial one from HRG. Others?
4. Any other high quality all-terrain tires I should consider other than the BFG KO2 I have KO2 on my JK and have never ever had a problem with flats, even when doing 40-50 mph on rough gravel.
5. What is the biggest size tire that will fit a Bronco Sport that is worth having?
6. Not a big fan of lifts, but is there something I should consider?
7. Anything else?

Thanks!

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[DirtyLuke]

Not a big fan of lifts, but is there something I should consider?

If you want a "respectable offroader" then you are not getting around this. With a set of all terrains, the only thing stopping the BS from being an off-road juggernaut is ground clearance.

Consensus is that HRG makes the current best spacer lift to add 1.25-1.5". They make a subframe lift as well to add an extra inch on top of that, but I haven't seen much as far as user experience/reviews on that yet.

Or you could go with coilovers to add slightly more space.

 

[Sleddog]

You’ll be buying something different. Like a full size bronco.

 

[GroovyGeek]

If you want a "respectable offroader" then you are not getting around this. With a set of all terrains, the only thing stopping the BS from being an off-road juggernaut is ground clearance.

Per spec:

1. BS Badlands has a ground clearance of 8.8",
2. non-sas Big Bronco Badlands also has 8.8"
3. The JK Sport S on 17" rims has 9.2 inches of clearance

So ground clearance is not a big differentiator. Plus, I need the vehicle to be respectable, not a rock crawlling monster. I am never going on the Hole in the Wall in Moab... ever. But I want to be able to go on the White Rim road in Canyonlands and not have to worry if I am going to leave the cat converter somewhere on the trail.

Probably not doing a lift since I am not too worried about breakover angles on the trails that I go. Approach and departure angles? Maybe, but not breakover.

You’ll be buying something different. Like a full size bronco.

Not unless Ford does something dramatic in the road noise department. I can't be driving something that gives me a headache getting to the trail. For me going off-road is not a purpose in itself, but rather means of saving me tens of miles of hiking to get to a location to take pictures. If I had enough money to helicopter there I would do it every time .

 

[Meanderthal]

I should finally be getting around to installing the FlatOut Suspension GR40 kit that I purchased late last year (that arrived in late January) and the HRG subframe drop kit this weekend. I won’t have any actual experience with it offroad for a little bit. There is still a lot of snow in the mountains around here. I will probably take it out to some easier front range fire roads and such pretty soon though.

My plan is to try and document the installation procedure for both, since neither company has very good instructions. HRG has a pretty good video (combined with their 2.5” lift) but FlatOut is just a text document with numbered steps. I will post the installation steps with some pictures for both after I’m done.

You stated that you don’t plan on a lift kit, so maybe this is all useless to you.

You asked about tires. The biggest tire you can fit without cutting sheet metal is 29.5” diameter. On the stock wheels, that comes out to a 245/65/17 or a 235/70/17. These tire sizes do not change whether you have a lift or not because of where the rubbing starts to happen on the BS. The BFG K02 is a good tire but it is pretty heavy. That means a rougher ride on the daily commute, less fuel mileage, and they are also known to be a little noisier. Falken Wildpeak AT/3 are pretty popular, much lighter weight, better in snow, and quiet on the highway. I have Toyo Open Country A/T and I think they are pretty good. Two other people I work with also have the same on they SUVs.

I would not get the HRG engine skid plate because it is an add-on to the existing one. This makes it difficult to do oil changes because you have to remove an extra piece. I like that it covers the lower part of the front bumper but would prefer to have one that was one piece, instead of an add-on.

 

[RSH]

Depending on your definition of respectable offroader, the BS depending on model is capable of more things than most are willing to do with it. Unfortunately there is not much of an aftermarket supporting the Bronco Sport. Driver ability, tires and a lift can give the most improvement.

 

[GroovyGeek]

You asked about tires. The biggest tire you can fit without cutting sheet metal is 29.5” diameter. On the stock wheels, that comes out to a 245/65/17 or a 235/70/17. These tire sizes do not change whether you have a lift or not because of where the rubbing starts to happen on the BS. The BFG K02 is a good tire but it is pretty heavy. That means a rougher ride on the daily commute, less fuel mileage, and they are also known to be a little noisier. Falken Wildpeak AT/3 are pretty popular, much lighter weight, better in snow, and quiet on the highway. I have Toyo Open Country A/T and I think they are pretty good. Two other people I work with also have the same on they SUVs.

The vehicle at the dealership today had Falken Wildpeak AT/3 on it, these seem to be stock. I understand that the KO2 is heavier and noisier but there is not much snow in the Southwest where I will do most of my driving, and I do tend to have a lead foot on rough gravel trails. Every tire I have busted has been me doing 40-50mph on a rough gravel road. Did that 3 times, once in the Kofas, once on the road to Toroweap, and once on dirt roads around the Great Basin National Park. Never a problem after putting KO2's on there. They do sell 245/65 R17 KO2s, not interested in spending money on new rims so if these fit without cutting I will probably go with them for the fatter sidewall.

I would not get the HRG engine skid plate because it is an add-on to the existing one. This makes it difficult to do oil changes because you have to remove an extra piece. I like that it covers the lower part of the front bumper but would prefer to have one that was one piece, instead of an add-on.

Great advice. Do you know if the Rally one is any better? I can't believe they left all that plastic exposed up front.

Any opinion on skid plates? I am likely going to get the evap, converter and rock rails from JCR. Install looks reasonable but, unlike you, I don't have access to a garage and will have to pay someone to do it for me.

Kick-ass build thread by the way, thanks for the extra effort to document it all and help us lazy bums.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Depending on your definition of respectable offroader, the BS depending on model is capable of more things than most are willing to do with it. Unfortunately there is not much of an aftermarket supporting the Bronco Sport. Driver ability, tires and a lift can give the most improvement.

Yup. Here is an example of a trail that I would not contemplate taking my JK on

If a BS-BL can do this it will certainly cover all my needs. And since I am not nearly as skilled as this dude I want to put some metal under the vehicle as well as rock rails to protect me from myself.

 

[Bucko]

Depending on your definition of respectable offroader, the BS depending on model is capable of more things than most are willing to do with it. Unfortunately there is not much of an aftermarket supporting the Bronco Sport. Driver ability, tires and a lift can give the most improvement.

This. Ones definition of respectable is going to vary with others. Me? I think its respectable the way it is now. Then again, I did not buy mine to go offroading, but its nice to know it can do some types.

 

[jofer]

As far as the rally skid plate goes, it's functionally the same as the HRG one. Both bolt on in the same way and both come off during an oil change. (I have the rally one, as HRG hadn't come out with one at the time.)

However, I'd disagree with other folks and say that that extra bit of front protection is pretty vital. In fact, beyond making sure you have decent tires (falkens are fine, but the default pirelli's aren't), I think installing the HRG or rally skid (or equivalents) is one of the first things you should do. Here's why:

1) There's a gap in actual protection there, and a root or stick can easily go through the plastic and into the radiator otherwise. These aren't skid plates in the sense that they're not meant to take the full weight of the car, but that's okay. They're meant to keep roots/sticks from penetrating the plastic bumper underside. That's actually pretty important.

2) You're going to scrape there often, and otherwise you're tearing up the bumper. The approach angle is good, but you'll find its limits. Where you hit the approach angle limit isn't the nice big front engine skid scraping, but is the plastic in front of it instead. These plates are thin, but they keep that plastic getting getting shredded.

3) It's inexpensive and easily installed. We're talking ten minutes and a socket wrench to install here. Sure, it's extra steps during an oil change, but it's not that bad.

As far as clearance goes, keep in mind that the entire underside of the car is at about the same level because it's a unibody with independent suspension. I.e. the maximum clearance is about the same as the minimum, and therefore it's easy to drag on things that you wouldn't in a solid axle vehicle with the same minimum clearance. I also didn't put on a lift yet, but you will "feel" the lack of clearance somewhat frequently.

Oh, and also, FWIW, I think you're asking the right things and the sport really is a good choice given what you've said. You have to know how to pick lines due to limited clearance. But this thing can get a ton of places and the stock suspension on the badlands is great for the combination of heavily washboarded and rutted gravel roads and pavement that winds up being the bulk of what you take to get to the really rough stuff. It won't do everything. But it'll get you way further than anything that isn't a dedicated offroader. Yeah, a 4-runner is more capable, no doubt, but the sport is nicer in the city. It's all about trade-offs.

As for "respectable", people are always going to look down on it. If other folks opinions are the part that matters with making it respectable, you won't get that with a sport no matter how much aftermarket mods are there. It's very capable, and you'll have more capability than many more "respectable" vehicles, but folks never seem to respect it. People are weird.

 

[Mark S.]

3) It's inexpensive and easily installed. We're talking ten minutes and a socket wrench to install here. Sure, it's extra steps during an oil change, but it's not that bad.

Additionally, there's nothing that says you have to leave it on all the time. Put it on when you're headed offroad, otherwise leave it off.

 

[Meanderthal]

The vehicle at the dealership today had Falken Wildpeak AT/3 on it, these seem to be stock. I understand that the KO2 is heavier and noisier but there is not much snow in the Southwest where I will do most of my driving, and I do tend to have a lead foot on rough gravel trails. Every tire I have busted has been me doing 40-50mph on a rough gravel road. Did that 3 times, once in the Kofas, once on the road to Toroweap, and once on dirt roads around the Great Basin National Park. Never a problem after putting KO2's on there. They do sell 245/65 R17 KO2s, not interested in spending money on new rims so if these fit without cutting I will probably go with them for the fatter sidewall.


Great advice. Do you know if the Rally one is any better? I can't believe they left all that plastic exposed up front.

Any opinion on skid plates? I am likely going to get the evap, converter and rock rails from JCR. Install looks reasonable but, unlike you, I don't have access to a garage and will have to pay someone to do it for me.

Kick-ass build thread by the way, thanks for the extra effort to document it all and help us lazy bums.

Yes, Falken Wildpeaks are a stock option. The thing that only people around here know is that the 235/65/17 Wildpeak is different than any other size because of Ford. It's a little softer and less aggressive than other sizes in order to meet specs from Ford.

The K02 is definitely one of the toughest tires available. If you are comfortable with the tradeoffs and have good experience with them, I say that is your answer.

The build thread is there to help others, I'm glad you've found it informative.

 

[BiggerHammer944]

Typed this all out and realized I was just echoing jofer for the most part, so please forgive any repetition.

Outside of a nose bashplate, the best "mod" is really just to change your driving style when you're off road. These things are great, but you have to drive them differently than BoF Jeeps/Broncos. Throw the bashplate on to protect the nose (I would choose the HRG part over Rally Innovation just because it comes up a little higher) and then give it a season to figure out what you want to do with it next. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

As far as existing skids go, the Badlands already has fuel and Evap canister skids (canister shield is hidden by the fabric shield), so no point spending money on those at all. And if you're tearing off the cat, you've picked a really bad line and stayed with it way longer than you should have. You seem like you have some wheeling experience, I expect you'd know to back out and try again long before that point.

Engine skid is durable, but if you slam the nose into a rock or bash it into a dune at high speed, expect it to bend somewhat. But you'd need a real serious hit before you actually damage anything it's protecting.

For tires, get the factory Wildpeaks and run them until it's time to replace. That's a fantastic tire in the dirt and in the snow, and has reasonable tread on the sidewall edges so if you air down you're not risking punctures as the tire balloons a bit. It's a bit soft, expect it to wear out before a KO2, but it's light and durable and has great grip. You'll be happy with it while bombing gravel roads, for sure. Final point on tires, your spare tire will be the Pirelli, but you should be able to fit a 5th Falken in the spare tire well instead so you have a matching spare. If you go bigger than that, I don't think it fits nicely under the cargo floor.

And one last comment, those rear seats don't fold down 100% flat. Just know that when you're thinking about sleeping in the vehicle. I'm not saying it can't be done, just making you aware.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Thanks to everyone for the informative replies

However, I'd disagree with other folks and say that that extra bit of front protection is pretty vital. In fact, beyond making sure you have decent tires (falkens are fine, but the default pirelli's aren't), I think installing the HRG or rally skid (or equivalents) is one of the first things you should do.

Absolutely. That's the first thing that caught my attention when I first saw the vehicle - that low hanging completely exposed plastic that wraps around the the front of the vehicle. My JK also has a silly plastic "air dam" instead of a real bash plate, it has taken some licks over the years, but even if I tear it up completely it is detachable from the body with 4 clips.

As far as clearance goes, keep in mind that the entire underside of the car is at about the same level because it's a unibody with independent suspension. I.e. the maximum clearance is about the same as the minimum, and therefore it's easy to drag on things that you wouldn't in a solid axle vehicle with the same minimum clearance. I also didn't put on a lift yet, but you will "feel" the lack of clearance somewhat frequently.

Great point. I was wondering how the spec'd clearance is within 0.5 inch of my Wrangler yet there looks to be a lot more air under the Wrangler than the BS-BL.

As for "respectable", people are always going to look down on it. If other folks opinions are the part that matters with making it respectable, you won't get that with a sport no matter how much aftermarket mods are there. It's very capable, and you'll have more capability than many more "respectable" vehicles, but folks never seem to respect it. People are weird.

I should clarify that I did not mean "respectable" as "respectable in the eyes of others". Should have probably used the word "serviceable". In my eyes a BS-BL is not a serviceable off-roader straight out of the factory for those of us with moderate skill levels (i.e. we don't always pick the best line). The front plastic, the felt underbody panels and the completely exposed catalytic converter are a disaster waiting to happen on the first moderate trail. I don't care what others think of it, as long as it takes me places.

Yes, Falken Wildpeaks are a stock option. The thing that only people around here know is that the 235/65/17 Wildpeak is different than any other size because of Ford. It's a little softer and less aggressive than other sizes in order to meet specs from Ford.

Ahah! That explains why they are only 31 lbs. The 245/65/17 AT3s are 40 lbs each vs 34.6 lbs for the KO2

 

[GroovyGeek]

Outside of a nose bashplate, the best "mod" is really just to change your driving style when you're off road. These things are great, but you have to drive them differently than BoF Jeeps/Broncos. Throw the bashplate on to protect the nose (I would choose the HRG part over Rally Innovation just because it comes up a little higher) and then give it a season to figure out what you want to do with it next. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good advice

As far as existing skids go, the Badlands already has fuel and Evap canister skids (canister shield is hidden by the fabric shield), so no point spending money on those at all. And if you're tearing off the cat, you've picked a really bad line and stayed with it way longer than you should have. You seem like you have some wheeling experience, I expect you'd know to back out and try again long before that point.

Engine skid is durable, but if you slam the nose into a rock or bash it into a dune at high speed, expect it to bend somewhat. But you'd need a real serious hit before you actually damage anything it's protecting.

Thanks for the clarification. What is under the driver side felt cover? There was metal on the passenger side.

I had several email exchanges with JCR and they stated the following: the plates that are compatible with the BS-BL are floor+ evap, cat, gas tank, and rock rails. The floor + evap plates do not play well with the factory gas tank and require trimming. All of the above add to a healthy chunk of change ($1400 at list prices). I may start with the cat only because it is relatively easy to install and cheaper and go slowly from there

For tires, get the factory Wildpeaks and run them until it's time to replace. That's a fantastic tire in the dirt and in the snow, and has reasonable tread on the sidewall edges so if you air down you're not risking punctures as the tire balloons a bit. It's a bit soft, expect it to wear out before a KO2, but it's light and durable and has great grip. You'll be happy with it while bombing gravel roads, for sure. Final point on tires, your spare tire will be the Pirelli, but you should be able to fit a 5th Falken in the spare tire well instead so you have a matching spare. If you go bigger than that, I don't think it fits nicely under the cargo floor.

The Falkens are a $600 adder - which is half the cost of what a fresh set of KO2s would run me. At this point I am thinking of just getting a vehicle with the Pirellis, selling them for next to nothing on Craigslist as new takeoffs - or maybe I can talk the dealer into installing the KOs for me and giving me some credit for the takeoffs. Excellent point about the spare housing that I will have to research. The 245/65/17 fit in the spare compartment according to this thread

And one last comment, those rear seats don't fold down 100% flat. Just know that when you're thinking about sleeping in the vehicle. I'm not saying it can't be done, just making you aware.

WIll have to visit the dealer again. When I was there yesterday I made is a point to test out the sleeping arrangements and the rear seats folded almost completely flat.

Thanks for the detailed response!

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