2017 LA AUTO SHOW - Granite Crystal Jeep JL Sahara Unlimited

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
The very first Jeep JL Wrangler Cindy and I saw at the 2017 LA Auto Show was this granite crystal Sahara and in addition to its refined leather interior, we were pleased to see that it came with a hard top that came with a powered rag top and removable side panels. It was tough to get good shots of it with the crowds there but here are a few photos of what it looked like.
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The side panels are extremely light and super easy to remove.
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Here's what the powered rag top looks like fully opened.
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View of the sky from the inside.
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I really liked the optional cargo tracks that it had installed.
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Here are a couple of shots of what the ADJUSTABLE 3rd brake light looks like.
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For those of you who chose to get the safety package, the rear sensors are located in the black boxes that you see in the tail lights.
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As you'll notice here, the Sahara's come with a simple hood that has a blister but no vents like what you see on Rubicon hoods.
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Here's a shots of what the Sahara's look like from the front with LED head lights and their uniquely styled bumper.
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Here's a good view of what the standard front fenders look like on both Sport and Sahara model JL Wranglers.
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This is what the Sahara wheels look like.
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These interior shots show how the JL Wrangler Sahara's come with a leather dash complete with pop stitching.
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Unlike Rubicon models that have MOLLE on the backs of the front seats, the Sahara comes with traditional pockets.
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As you can see here, the side pockets have been extended and are now much more usable.
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JTCO

Meme King
Beautiful. Two questions if you happen to know the answer. Can the top still be removed if you decided to switch to a soft top later? And what are the rear cargo tracks for? I'm not understanding how they would be useful I guess.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Awesome! Thanks so much for all the coverage and info! It’s really great you guys are giving us such great looks and info.

We're so glad that you've been enjoying the coverage. We just hope we're doing a good enough job and cover the things you don't typically see in magazines and other news outlets.

The Wrangler is getting all fancy, looks good

LOL!! It really is and truth be told, we love it :yup:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Beautiful. Two questions if you happen to know the answer. Can the top still be removed if you decided to switch to a soft top later? And what are the rear cargo tracks for? I'm not understanding how they would be useful I guess.

Yes, the hard top "can" be completely removed but it isn't recommended. The tracks have mounts that slide into whatever position that would best allow you to secure rear cargo as needed.

Does the new retractable roof open above the second row as well?

Yes. Here's what it looks like.

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JAGS

Member
The top reminds me of the sandstorm/sandtrooper Jeep (or similar name) that was brought out a few years back. Pretty cool.

Picture after picture I've been really impressed with the R&D that went into the various models.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Before the 2018 LA Auto Show came to an end, I asked OverlanderJL if he could grab pics of a few things that I missed on this JL Wrangler Sahara and thought that some of you might be interested in seeing. First up are a few pics of the SKY ONE-TOUCH power top that give you a close up look at its tracks from above.
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This is what the SKY ONE-TOUCH power top look like when viewing the channel they slide through at eye level.
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Here you can what the SKY ONE-TOUCH power top support bars look like from the inside looking up.
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Here's the magic box that operates the SKY ONE-TOUCH power top.
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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Some of you might also be interested to know that this Sahara has the Selec-Trac Full Time 4WD and therefore comes with front axle shafts with CV joints instead of u-joints.

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Again, a BIG THANKS to OverlanderJL for getting this shots before the show ends :thumb:
 

JTCO

Meme King
Some of you might also be interested to know that this Sahara has the Selec-Trac Full Time 4WD and therefore comes with front axle shafts with CV joints instead of u-joints.

Do you have any idea why they do this? My WJ is AWD and it came with CV joints. When I installed the ProRock, it now has ujoint shafts and I don't notice a single difference.

:thumb:


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app

Thanks for the extra pictures.
 

13_gecko_rubi

New member
Do you have any idea why they do this? My WJ is AWD and it came with CV joints. When I installed the ProRock, it now has ujoint shafts and I don't notice a single difference.

It’s due to crow hop. You get a significant amount of crow hop on dry pavement with it in full time if you use cardan joints. cvs eliminate this. The folks most likely to buy the full time case wouldn’t accept even the minimal crow hop when driving it in 4auto.


Sent from my iPad using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

JTCO

Meme King
It’s due to crow hop. You get a significant amount of crow hop on dry pavement with it in full time if you use cardan joints. cvs eliminate this. The folks most likely to buy the full time case wouldn’t accept even the minimal crow hop when driving it in 4auto.


Sent from my iPad using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app

Thanks for the info. I just googled "crow hop" and I actually do feel this. I figured it was related to my new ARB lockers. I only feel it on sharp left turns like in a parking lot. It isn't obnoxious or worrisome, but I definitely feel it.
 

13_gecko_rubi

New member
Thanks for the info. I just googled "crow hop" and I actually do feel this. I figured it was related to my new ARB lockers. I only feel it on sharp left turns like in a parking lot. It isn't obnoxious or worrisome, but I definitely feel it.
Ya you'll mainly feel it during low speed maneuvers on dry pavement at sharp turning angles. Would it bother me? No. Would it bother a typical Sahara customer who just bought a new Jeep? Probably.

Sent from my SM-G930V using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Oh yeah, the crow hop is one of the things that RCV points out when trying to sell their shafts. Too bad for them that the lack of it doesn't fix the annoying loud snapping and popping you hear from them over time. :rolleyes2:

I can definitely see where a person who buys a Sahara with AWD would find this to be a problem. Me, I'll stick with my CTM u-joints :yup:
 

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