2024 Badlands - to SAS or Not

[hemiblas]

I run 37's on my BL and it is non SaS. My Bronco is nowhere near sluggish, and a few V6 Mustangs and F150's have found out the hard way. Now admittedly I have the Ford tune, and I have a full intake system, down pipe, and exhaust. So yeah, not stock. But as I said, def not sluggish, not in the least.

I had a v6 mustang with the 3.7 a tune, throttle body, and the shorter gears. I loved that thing. It was fast and fun. Not as fast as my v8 mustang, but way more fun on the turns. Impressive you can keep up with 37s. Even stock it still ran pretty well.

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[Ninjak]

I had a v6 mustang with the 3.7 a tune, throttle body, and the shorter gears. I loved that thing. It was fast and fun. Not as fast as my v8 mustang, but way more fun on the turns. Impressive you can keep up with 37s. Even stock it still ran pretty well.

The secret to the sauce may be that the Ford Tune does way more for transmission. Yes, the tune adds power, but the transmission performance is head and shoulders above the stock tune. This may be the reason why I do not feel the sluggishness that others are speaking about.

 

[hemiblas]

The secret to the sauce may be that the Ford Tune does way more for transmission. Yes, the tune adds power, but the transmission performance is head and shoulders above the stock tune. This may be the reason why I do not feel the sluggishness that others are speaking about.

You are also at sea level and I'm at 6000 feet. I know we take a hit up here at higher elevations. Turbos help, but no air makes a big difference too. If I was in Florida and had the performance tune I'd probably have a rocket ship in my Bronco too. I gotta get that performance tune.....

 

[Agswin]

The SAS on my 2024 Heritage rides like a dream. Handing is superb and it rides smoother than many cars.
You’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.
With a great ride, a far broader capability spectrum and better resale value, opting for SAS is the prudent choice.

Just curious, do you think that having the 4.7 gear ratio and bigger tires is what makes your SAS ride like a dream, because that is the only thing that is different between a SAS and non-SaS.

 

[Agswin]

My opinion is if you are going to 37s and not planning to regear then go Sas, as the 4.7 gears will give you the best performance possible for stock drivetrain. I know others have said they are satisfied with 37s and 4.46 but that doesn’t change the fact that 4.7 will perform better. Selling the factory suspension and wheels/tires may not get you all of the Sas money back but if it gets you half of it then I think that the remaining is worth the upgrade for gearing, not to mention a wider fender for those 37s.

If you plan on regearing to 5.13s or something else anyway then non-Sas would be the most economical.

What do SAS wheels/tires sell for these days?

 

[Aonarch]

So here is where I am at, would love others input as it has been awhile since I have had a truck.

After researching the Hoss 3.0 and reading your comments, I will never be doing high speed desert off roading. I may be doing Moab/Big Bend sort of things, light trails, small boulders etc. It appears the WT is designed for high speed Baja.

My only real concern is street comfort (I know the Bronco is not built for comfort but also don't want it to ride like a Wrangler) and being able to fit 37's.

The only thing I am "missing" from a 24 Badlands build to a 23/24 WT is the Hoss 3.0 and the price difference in those builds for me is $3820 MSRP.

My thoughts are that I want the 24 Badlands, mostly because of the new interior and the upgraded front parts that are standard. Read that the Bilsteins are more for rock crawling too. And if the Bilsteins aren't comfy enough then I can get the Eibachs for $1900 or something nicer for $4000 right?

So the 2nd question is that if I do get the 24 BL, do I get the SAS on the 24 for an extra $3245? The only thing I would be getting is the 4.7, diff wheels/tires and slightly different fenders correct? So for me it is really just the 4.7 and fenders if I am keeping them since wheels/tires will be replaced.

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I haven't read any posts except the original.

If you do not need 4.70s then stick to non-Sasquatch.

4.46 work fine with 35s. For 37> I'd want 5.38s anyways.

Sasquatch suspension sucks. Go with Bilstein 6112, 6100, or the Ford Performance lift (Non adjustable but perfectly valved and sprung).

The factory wheels are 36-37 lbs each. HEAVY. They are also extremely front heavy, which makes balancing a bit awkward. I have them on my Ranger.

There are a lot better tires out there too. Mickeys, Kendas, Toyos, Falkens, KM3s, etc.

Method Beadgrips for mild to serious off-road use.

Legit beadlock wheels for extreme off-road use.

Or RTRs like I have for a 22 lbs wheel. They don't have any extra bead locking technology, but they can still air down pretty low and hold.

Then whatever tire size you want, use Forscan to adjust tire size in computer.

 

[mpeugeot]

My opinion is if you are going to 37s and not planning to regear then go Sas, as the 4.7 gears will give you the best performance possible for stock drivetrain. I know others have said they are satisfied with 37s and 4.46 but that doesn’t change the fact that 4.7 will perform better. Selling the factory suspension and wheels/tires may not get you all of the Sas money back but if it gets you half of it then I think that the remaining is worth the upgrade for gearing, not to mention a wider fender for those 37s.

If you plan on regearing to 5.13s or something else anyway then non-Sas would be the most economical.

I guess that is really my point, if you want 37s and want to rock crawl, you are probably going to want more than the 4.7's, especially if you think that 4.46 is definitely a no go. It's not enough of a jump to justify the cost, might as well get the non-sasquatch and put a set of 5.xx gears in it, or save up for the portals.

 

[Zeaks]

What do SAS wheels/tires sell for these days?

I’m not sure but others here that have bought or sold the Sas running gear could provide more detail. I’d say take a look on your local FB Marketplace and EBay. If I were in the market and was looking on Marketplace I’d want the the best deal possible but also a set that looked like new. I’d probably consider $1,500-2k a good deal, especially if they had less than 5k miles or so. I’m not sure how soon you’d be upgrading suspension and tires. They could be worth more but I’d think $1,500 would be the low. The suspension itself, not sure but probably a few hundred at least.

 

[indio22]

Sounds like you want street comfort, nice interior, and are willing to spend some $$ and only ever expect to do light wheeling.

May I direct you to Range Rover Defender my good gentleman.

+1. This seems yet another thread where light off-roading jumps the shark into HOSS 3.0 etc. HOSS 0.0 would probably work just fine.

 

[Zeaks]

I guess that is really my point, if you want 37s and want to rock crawl, you are probably going to want more than the 4.7's, especially if you think that 4.46 is definitely a no go. It's not enough of a jump to justify the cost, might as well get the non-sasquatch and put a set of 5.xx gears in it, or save up for the portals.

I agree, however, if one had no intentions of regearing but fully intended to go with 37s then 4.70 will give the better performance. For myself I probably wouldn’t think too much about it with 4.46 and 35s but a part of me would want the 4.70s since they are set up that way from the factory. If I was going with 37s I’d definitely want 4.70 if I knew I wasn’t going to regear. My uses would be fine with that combo. The OP will have to decide how far he will take his build and what is important to him. It sounds like it will be mild off road for the most part but he wants 37s and a nice riding suspension, beyond that he may not need or want to make a lot of mods to the drivetrain. Maybe he does want to get crazy and go all out to build a crawler, in that case even a BL wouldn’t be needed unless it was for a desired option that isn't available on other models. There’s a lot of good feedback here to help with OPs decision I think.

 

[mpeugeot]

You are also at sea level and I'm at 6000 feet. I know we take a hit up here at higher elevations. Turbos help, but no air makes a big difference too. If I was in Florida and had the performance tune I'd probably have a rocket ship in my Bronco too. I gotta get that performance tune.....

I am currently in Florida and my Bronco (4.27) runs in the low to mid 14's in the quarter mile on stock Black Diamond wheels and tires with nothing other than the Ford Performance tune.

Rocket? No, but certainly not a slug.

 

[Agswin]

Anyone consider bumping up to a Bronco Raptor?

 

[mpeugeot]

Anyone consider bumping up to a Bronco Raptor?

Not until it comes as a 2 door.

 

[CoolContractor]

Where did I say anything about Badlands ?

I said - '24 SQ includes the HOSS 3.0 steering rack
Which is correct

You're the one talkin about possible OBX or BD
Or maybe you're just contrary

Both our Broncos have mods to run 37's. The mods are not major since we started w SQ pkg

I read that the Badlands Sasquatch has only .4" of lift compared to the Badlands only. A 1" level kit on a Badlands is actually is higher than the BL Sas.

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

Just curious, do you think that having the 4.7 gear ratio and bigger tires is what makes your SAS ride like a dream, because that is the only thing that is different between a SAS and non-SaS.

The suspension is different, and that different suspension "works" with the larger and heavier tires/rims.
The axle ratio has nothing at all to do with ride quality.

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