Are 3rd gens more capable than Jeep Cherokees??

G

Gumballf355

New member
I was having coffee at starbucks with a friend and a guy in a cherokee showed up with a buddy, jumped out of his car while saying that cherokees are better offroad stock for stock than 4wd 4Runners. Is that true? I had a 91 Cherokee limited and it was pretty crappy in deep snow. My 4runner is a champ in deep snow especially with the locker. What do you guys think?
 
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Gumballf355 said:
I was having coffee at starbucks with a friend and a guy in a cherokee showed up with a buddy, jumped out of his car while saying that cherokees are better offroad stock for stock than 4wd 4Runners. Is that true? I had a 91 Cherokee limited and it was pretty crappy in deep snow. My 4runner is a champ in deep snow especially with the locker. What do you guys think?
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my friend had a stock 91 cherokee (this week hes putting a 6in lift and 35;s) and he went up a hill in 2h that i had to do in 4h, could be driver idk, but i think the difference is pretty negligable
 
Gumballf355 said:
I was having coffee at starbucks with a friend and a guy in a cherokee showed up with a buddy, jumped out of his car while saying that cherokees are better offroad stock for stock than 4wd 4Runners. Is that true? I had a 91 Cherokee limited and it was pretty crappy in deep snow. My 4runner is a champ in deep snow especially with the locker. What do you guys think?
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this will NEVER end, lol IMHO its all about the driver.... Ive done and seen, other IFS driver do things, take lines that most say cant be done with IFS, and Ive seen where a solid axle rig cant do the same line as our 4runners, and visversa, there will always be places, lines, obsticles, and even trails, that you NEED a solid axle rig.
Ive taken my 99 completely STOCK places that a few jeeps wouldnt go with a lift and armour.
One time out in Ks, there was three of us, 2 4runners, mine just having a 2.5 spacer lift, and the E-locker, nothing else, and a jeep, well the jeep guy had something like a 6" lift, fully armoured, locked front and rear, all day, just bragging how our 4runners wont make it up this "rock hill", and that we wont even try..
Well we get to the bottom of it, he starts going up, has a couple issues, had to take different lines, took him awhile, but he made it. When he gets to the top, he asks his buddy if he was going to try ? he said no, the jeeper said, i didnt think a yota would make it, he looks at me, and asks the same thing, i say, ill give it a shot.. I walked right up it, took the line that he couldnt make, he was PISSED, he asked me what I have in it, i told him its stock except for the 2.5" spacer lift, he said your lieing, ive got 10grand in mine, and you walked right up, lets see what you got, i said sure thing, so i popped the hood, said you can check it out, look under neath, its STOCK, he called me a liar, i just said you cant wheel, you got out done buy a STOCK TOYOTA, he was pissed, and wanted to fight, lmao.... if his buddy wasnt there, im sure we would have thrown a few punches, he was a _______ never wheeled with either of them.
the moral of this, most of the time, It about the Driver..
 
RIC- I could not agree more. But come on be honest what did you have in that thing I think you were lying..LOL

Actually I used to frustrate my brother he had an 85 T4R wth dual cases low gears with an extreme travel kit and 35's but I took my stock 98 every where he went. On the street I cant touch him but in the dirt it is the other way around. 90% driver 10% machine most times.
 
Pikeman said:
RIC- I could not agree more. But come on be honest what did you have in that thing I think you were lying..LOL

Actually I used to frustrate my brother he had an 85 T4R wth dual cases low gears with an extreme travel kit and 35's but I took my stock 98 every where he went. On the street I cant touch him but in the dirt it is the other way around. 90% driver 10% machine most times.
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lol,,, ya that guy was REALLY pissed, when he looked under there, and did NOT see dual cases a front locker, and see the spacers, oh well.. I agree with with you though.
 
As with any motorsport I would say it's about 60% driver, 40% vehicle.

On a road course, an Evo with a beginner will take an Aveo with a veteran any day, so I would say the balance is a little further towards vehicle than 90/10.

That being said, I was wheeling with my friend, he had an 87 Cherokee, all stock...and he was right behind me the entire time...suprised me.
 
The only edge a Cherokee has over the 4Runner is the SFA. Other than that, 4Runners have the edge, IMO. Bigger stock tires, rear locker and a real truck frame (unibody on Cherokee). You should be able to go anywhere the Jeep can, and more. When we're talking stock, the SFA isn't that much of an edge anyway.
 
LINY4Runner said:
On a road course, an Evo with a beginner will take an Aveo with a veteran any day, so I would say the balance is a little further towards vehicle than 90/10.
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Um, No. I've seen too many cases where Turbo's (Porsche), C6's, Evo/Subaru, etc. get rolled by stock Civics/Hondas. It's more towards 95/5, IMO. You take a Joe Schmoe in the Evo and Jensen Button in an Aveo, I will bet on the Aveo on most road courses.
 
p nut said:
The only edge a Cherokee has over the 4Runner is the SFA. Other than that, 4Runners have the edge, IMO. Bigger stock tires, rear locker and a real truck frame (unibody on Cherokee). You should be able to go anywhere the Jeep can, and more. When we're talking stock, the SFA isn't that much of an edge anyway.
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:iagree:
 
 
I think the Cherokee has more potential capability because of the more powerful 4.0l I-6 motor and the SFA suspension, but out of the box, I think the 3rd gen 4runner was more capable. Certainly I've taken my 3rd gen on trails that a stock Cherokee would have trouble on just based on tire size (IIRC the Cherokee came with pretty small tires from the factory.) Also I don't believe the Cherokee was ever available with a locking rear diff.

I think it's something of an apples/oranges comparison. People generally don't 'wheel stock Cherokees, whereas it's pretty common for people to 'wheel stock 4runners.

But the Cherokee's advantage is that it is both easier and cheaper to lift than the 4runner, so once you lift it and put some decent tires on it, the Cherokee can go places a stock 4runner would have trouble with.
 
Martinjmpr said:
I think the Cherokee has more potential capability because of the more powerful 4.0l I-6 motor and the SFA suspension, but out of the box, I think the 3rd gen 4runner was more capable. Certainly I've taken my 3rd gen on trails that a stock Cherokee would have trouble on just based on tire size (IIRC the Cherokee came with pretty small tires from the factory.) Also I don't believe the Cherokee was ever available with a locking rear diff.

I think it's something of an apples/oranges comparison. People generally don't 'wheel stock Cherokees, whereas it's pretty common for people to 'wheel stock 4runners.

But the Cherokee's advantage is that it is both easier and cheaper to lift than the 4runner, so once you lift it and put some decent tires on it, the Cherokee can go places a stock 4runner would have trouble with.
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More powerful? Have you looked up the specs?

4.0 I6
181hp/222lb/ft

3.4L V6
190hp/220lb/ft

They're pretty much the same! (you should know this having owned two 3.4's!) The 4.0 is a work horse, but give me the 3.4L any day. They are both rated at the same MPG, but the 3.4L does way better. Also, HP isn't that big of a factor. You see 22RE's doing just fine.

Also, potential wise, that just goes down the tubes when you start modding. You can put a SFA on the 4Runner, you can ARB lock the diffs on the Cherokee, bigger tires, blah blah.
 
Driver being the same a factory locked 3rd gen is hard to beat truly right off the showroom floor.

The stock Cherokee Sports from the '90s sit so low in stock form and are limited to a smaller tire size. It is still the driver but having a slight edge in equipment makes that driver better.
 
p nut said:
Um, No. I've seen too many cases where Turbo's (Porsche), C6's, Evo/Subaru, etc. get rolled by stock Civics/Hondas. It's more towards 95/5, IMO. You take a Joe Schmoe in the Evo and Jensen Button in an Aveo, I will bet on the Aveo on most road courses.
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i agree.
if its not in a straight line race, thats when i'll bet on a the more experienced driver.
i have a friend that has a twin turbo 350z...a TWIN TURBO, yet he runs a freakin 13.9 in the 1/4 mile. He cant blame it on traction cause he is NOT spinning, even out of the hole.
then on the other hand, i've HAD (sold it to buy my 4runner) a sohc turbo hatch that was running 13.1's on streets. then 18psi later she went boom. hahaha
 
Gumballf355 said:
...a guy in a cherokee showed up...saying that cherokees are better offroad stock for stock than 4wd 4Runners. Is that true?...What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Who cares what he claims. I've owned both a CJ 5 and a Cherokee Sport and I wouldn't buy any Jeep now after owning a T4R. The design and manufacturing quality of the T4R is head and shoulders above any of the Jeeps.

Both are capable stock off-roaders, but my T4R has a rear locker that gives it a clear edge over the stock Jeeps I've driven.

Ray
 
anybody want to point out this question is null, if your buying a vehicle for off road capability out of the box you buy a rubicon not a cherokee or t4r.

stock rubi has:

Fresh out of the box,
Rubicon has:

* Best-in-class approach and departure angles[2]
* Best-in-class ground clearance[2]
* Solid front and rear axles
* Locking differentials
* Huge meaty tires
* Full-length rock rails
* Steel plate underbody armor

we buy suv's for a reason we prefer the utility portion of the title , so now to address the question, list from 4wheel off road of favorite stock rigs for off roading,
linky:http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/featuredvehicles/131_0908_best_stock_off_road_vehicle/index.html
The Staff's Top Four-Wheel-Drive Stockers
Chevy Blazer
Dodge Ramcharger
Ford Bronco (early or late models)
Ford Ranger
Hummer H1, H2, H3
International Scout
Jeep (any early model!)
Jeep Cherokee XJ
Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ
Jeep Wrangler TJ
Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon
Jeep Wrangler JK Rubicon (2- and 4-door)
Military Surplus Trucks
Nissan Frontier
Suzuki Equator
Suzuki Samurai
Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota Pickup (early solid axle)
Toyota Tacoma
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Toyota FJ 40


and another point to bring to this discussion is the sfa you say it's no biggie but if you were to drive a jeep cherokee and a 4runner straight from the showroom to the trail (both models are have every available factory off road option) and drove them till something broke it'd still have to go to the jeep,
jeeps reliability is great till you hit 120K then it's a free for all of broken parts,
the yota's ifs would give out on the trails way before you get to that mileage,
i know it's an unpopular pov here but i still think jeep out of the box to the trail.


as for the jeep being more powerful that's correct as a t4r is quit a bit heavier than a cherokee. the hp difference is a big deal when it comes to moving weight around, if you catch what i'm saying. i do think in reality and as a utility vehicle the 4runner wins every time,
reality=longevity of vehicle,operations costs,maintenance costs,drivability when souped up on the road (you guys ever hear of the famous jeep jiggle or death wobbles? i have experienced them not fun!) and well what a suv means, how sport utility is it? 4runner is by far more versatile than a cherokee. just becuase of size alone.
 
theizzardking said:
anybody want to point out this question is null, if your buying a vehicle for off road capability out of the box you buy a rubicon not a cherokee or t4r.

stock rubi has:

Fresh out of the box,
Rubicon has:

* Best-in-class approach and departure angles[2]
* Best-in-class ground clearance[2]
* Solid front and rear axles
* Locking differentials
* Huge meaty tires
* Full-length rock rails
* Steel plate underbody armor

we buy suv's for a reason we prefer the utility portion of the title , so now to address the question, list from 4wheel off road of favorite stock rigs for off roading,
linky:http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/featuredvehicles/131_0908_best_stock_off_road_vehicle/index.html
The Staff's Top Four-Wheel-Drive Stockers
Chevy Blazer
Dodge Ramcharger
Ford Bronco (early or late models)
Ford Ranger
Hummer H1, H2, H3
International Scout
Jeep (any early model!)
Jeep Cherokee XJ
Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ
Jeep Wrangler TJ
Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon
Jeep Wrangler JK Rubicon (2- and 4-door)
Military Surplus Trucks
Nissan Frontier
Suzuki Equator
Suzuki Samurai
Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota Pickup (early solid axle)
Toyota Tacoma
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Toyota FJ 40


and another point to bring to this discussion is the sfa you say it's no biggie but if you were to drive a jeep cherokee and a 4runner straight from the showroom to the trail (both models are have every available factory off road option) and drove them till something broke it'd still have to go to the jeep,
jeeps reliability is great till you hit 120K then it's a free for all of broken parts,
the yota's ifs would give out on the trails way before you get to that mileage,
i know it's an unpopular pov here but i still think jeep out of the box to the trail.


as for the jeep being more powerful that's correct as a t4r is quit a bit heavier than a cherokee. the hp difference is a big deal when it comes to moving weight around, if you catch what i'm saying. i do think in reality and as a utility vehicle the 4runner wins every time,
reality=longevity of vehicle,operations costs,maintenance costs,drivability when souped up on the road (you guys ever hear of the famous jeep jiggle or death wobbles? i have experienced them not fun!) and well what a suv means, how sport utility is it? 4runner is by far more versatile than a cherokee. just becuase of size alone.
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the question was CHEROKEE NOT Rubis :ybrick:
 
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