Auto news on Youtube Oct 26 2017

I'm Ryan from extremeterrain.com and today I'm gonna be telling you about my favorite

side steps in a couple of different categories, fitting your 4-door 2007 and up JK.

For more videos like this, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Now, it's important to note that today we're talking about side steps and not armor.

Now, side steps generally will hang down a little bit lower and stick out a little bit

further from your Jeep which can make them a bit of a detriment when you're off-road.

Also, this is gonna be my opinion on the side steps that I like best and also a lot of your

feedback, but there are a lot of great side steps to choose from.

Today, we're gonna be talking through some round tubular side steps and my pick in that

category is the RedRock 4x4 3-inch Curved Round Side Step.

In more of a running board category, I like the Barricade Extreme HD Rocker Steps.

And finally, in the hybrid two [SP] drop-step category, we have the RBP RX-7 Wheel to Wheel

Step Bars.

So, let's get into it.

So, for a tubular side step, again, I really like these Redrock 4x4 3-inch Round Curved

Side Steps.

And these come in a couple of different finishes.

What have in the front of is here is the textured black finish.

And a tubular side step is really some of the most basic and the most traditional style

of side step that you can get.

These are going to hang down and sit away from the Jeep, just enough that you can get

your foot on these plastic stepping surfaces here.

You are gonna have a little bit of grip, so even in the snow, rain, mud, whatever it might

be, you're gonna have a nice sure footing.

And these ones do have that curve on the end of them.

Again, they're available in different configurations, but these ones have the curve which I think

is really nice visually, it curves in, returns back into the Jeep, and just gives a really

finished look.

These steps from RedRock are also going to be similar to the less expensive steps on

the market while still giving you something that's a good usable step that will hold up

and last a long time.

And these are also very easy to install.

All you need to do is bolt the brackets that come with the side steps onto the Jeep in

existing holes to the bottom of the tub and the pinch seams, so there's no drilling or

major modification.

And then just bolt the step onto those new brackets.

So, install is very simple as well.

These Barricade Extreme HD Rocker Steps are more of a running board style step.

And I think you can see what I mean, they have a larger flat stepping surface where

the round RedRocks were just that, round, with a bit of plastic on the top for the stepping

surface.

So, this is gonna give you a much larger stepping surface.

It's also going to give you a bolder look on the side of the Jeep.

And in my opinion, this is a bit more of a modern look where the round ones are a little

bit more traditional.

Now, this is also going to be a steel side step with a textured black powder coat over

top of it.

The stepping surface has these holes punched in it which is going to help to keep weight

down a little bit, add a little bit of style, and ensure that any mud, snow, or water that

lays on top of these steps has a place to run to.

Now, there are also going to be a very easy install.

These are going to install on your body bushing bolts which are the two smaller bolts that

are to either side of your main body bolts.

And on this set, for the four-door, these do have three mounting points.

So, these are gonna be very, very strong.

Again, this isn't going to be armored.

This does stick out a good bit away from the Jeep.

So, there's a lotta leverage there and I wouldn't expect this to hold up if you drop your Jeep

off of a ledge onto a rock.

But as far as a step goes, this is going to be very, very strong for you.

And it is gonna give you some door ding protection as well.

The other thing I like about a step like this is because it sits up a little bit higher

than those round side steps do, this is gonna do a nicer job of covering up the pinch seam

which is gonna make the side of the Jeep look a little bit more finished.

And finally, for that hybrid tube/drop-step, we have these RBP or Rolling Big Power RX-7

Wheel to Wheel Step Bars.

And I say that this is a hybrid style because you're still getting a wheel to wheel tubular

side step, although that side step is up higher, tucked up closer to the body of the Jeep,

but then, to give you an easy to use step, this does have a couple of hoops that hang

down off of that main bar.

So, what that's gonna do for you is give you a very usable step, hangs down nice and low,

very easy to access, but also give you that wheel to wheel bar that's going to offer some

light protection against door dings and brush, but also going to change up the look of the

Jeep a little bit like covering up the pinch seam.

Now, this is going to be one of those steps that is not going to be good off-road at all.

If you are wheeling in an area where there's stumps, where there's rocks, where there's

anything that a side step can get hung up on, obviously these shooting down, protruding

off the side of the Jeep, they are going to get hung up, it is going to cause damage,

this is definitely not going to be for when you're wheeling.

This is also going to install very easily onto your Jeep by bolting to both the pinch

seam and the under side of the tub with the included hardware.

So, this is an install anyone can do in their driveway with just a socket set.

So, those were my top picks for a tubular round side step.

Again, I really like the RedRock 4x4 3-inch Curved Round Side Step.

For a more running board style side step, where I like the Barricade Extreme HD Rocker

Steps.

And finally, for the hybrid two drop-step category, my pick is the RBP RX-7 Wheel to

Wheel Step Bars.

Make sure you comment below to let me know which of those side steps you like the best

or if you disagree and you like one of the other ones in the category is a little bit

better.

For now, I'm Ryan, thanks for watching.

For more infomation >> The 3 Best Jeep Wrangler Side Steps For 2007 - 2017 Wrangler JK 4 Door - Duration: 5:31.

-------------------------------------------

The Jeep Wrangler Takes on What Could be Its Most Direct Competitor - Duration: 9:40.

The Jeep Wrangler Takes on What Could be Its Most Direct Competitor

By Stephen Elmer Oct 24, 2017 Photos by Brett Colpitts and Alex Beare. Video by Brett Colpitts and Alex Beare.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser was the last vehicle to come closest to the Wrangler's recipe, but even the Japanese Jeep has a fixed roof. No, there is nothing on the market that truly offers the Wrangler's combination of attributes.

But there is one unlikely competitor that comes pretty close.

With a four-wheel-drive system, plenty of off-road-specific driving modes, and a roof that opens to the let the sunshine in, the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Convertible offers most of the Wrangler's attributes, missing the body-on-frame bit.

But the Evoque also comes with a badge steeped in off-road history, so we took a Wrangler to lead the Evoque through some light off-road obstacles (well, light for a Wrangler, anyway), to see if the Range Rover could even keep up.

On paper, it doesn't look promising. You see, the Wrangler has all the basic off-road characteristics you want.

Like a 42.2-degree approach angle and 10 inches of ground clearance versus the Evoque, which sits just 8.3 inches from the ground and has a low approach angle of 19 degrees.

Our Wrangler Chief special edition was also fit with BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, adding grippy off-road rubber to already great clearances. What the Evoque lacks in old-school off-road traits it makes up for with its clever Terrain Response system.

You can choose between Loose Gravel, Mud, Sand and Snow modes, each adapting the four-wheel drive system for optimal traction.

For example, throttle response is dulled in gravel mode to hold traction, while traction control is quicker to intervene to prevent tire slip.

In sand mode, the throttle response will be sharpened and shifts are held longer to keep torque accessible, making sure the vehicle doesn't sink.

Other technological tricks up the Evoque's sleeve include a wade depth sensor that will show how much water you are driving through on the info screen and signal when you hit the Evoque's maximum wading depth of 19.7 inches, along with a hill descent control feature and All-Terrain Progress Control.

That last one is a different name for a feature that is becoming common in the off-road world.

All-Terrain Progress Control allows you to set the speed of the Evoque and forget about the gas and brake; so whether you're on a steep hill or crawling over big rocks, you can focus on your steering and forget about keeping progress smooth.

And while the Evoque's tricks didn't save it from some trail damage, it did help it get out without the need for a tow rope.

Making it Through in Nearly One Piece.

Our first obstacle was a long, muddy, water-filled trench and it proved tough for the Evoque's low chin. After the Wrangler walked through it with ease, the Range Rover also powered through the mud and water with only minimal wheel spin.

The issue was, the weight of the water managed to break loose a plastic valence on the bumper, dislodging the clips holding it together, unfortunate for a vehicle able to wade through so much water.

Next was a short hill descent with a tight turn at the bottom, edged by rocks big enough to get hung up on.

Even the Wrangler had to be gently driven through, but it was easy to do so without the need for a spotter, partially because the sightlines in the Wrangler are so good thanks to the high seating positions, but also because once again the clearances mean that the majority of the time, you'll make it over an obstacle unscathed.

In the Evoque, things progressed smoothly, but not quite as easily. While its clearance was enough to stay out of the rocks, a spotter was necessary to watch the low front end, though the Evoque's brains did help with the hill.

With the All-Terrain Progress Control set, the Evoque was smooth and calculated in everything it did, never slipping a tire or upsetting its calm demeanor.

So even on simpler terrain, the Evoque can be a bit of a handful to bring through unscathed, but it made it through without needing a tow or any major repairs, which is more than could be said for many luxury crossovers tackling this sort of ground.

And while off-roading may not be the strongest point for the Evoque, it takes a clean win in one area against the Wrangler: on-road driving dynamics.

The Evoque Convertible feels at home on twisting country roads, staying flat through corners and diving excitedly into corners, its all-wheel-drive system using torque vectoring to help it rotate and stick to the road.

Then theres the Evoque's powerful 20-liter turbocharged engine that makes 240 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque, numbers that feel underrated when you feel this Range Rover take off.

The Wrangler still has more power with the 285 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque from its 3.6-liter V6, but because peak power isn't available until higher in the rev range (4,500 rpm for peak torque; 6,400 rpm for peak hp), the Evoque feels like it takes off quicker and offers more low-end torque.

The Wrangler's power is there, but you have to really wring its engine out to find it.

And to top it off, the Wrangler is one of the worst vehicles on the road today when it comes to driving dynamics. It leans around corners, the steering is loose and it tends to wander all over the place.

So in the battle of driving down the highway, the Evoque takes it with no contest.

There is also the price gap to be considered here. The Jeep Wrangler Chief special edition sells for $39,340 while the Range Rover Evoque Convertible HSE Dynamic that we tested sells for $59,790, a difference of just over $20,000.

The Verdict: Fun-in-the-Sun Convertible Off-road SUV Comparison. Though few will likely actually compare these two, the takeaway from this proves that besides its luxury pedigree, the Range Rover Evoque Convertible isn't useless when you take it off-road.

Thanks to some engineering tricks, it turns out that poor clearance can even be overcome, to a point. Because at the end of the day, clearance is still king when the going gets rough.

Oh, and if you're buying a Wrangler and NOT taking it off-roading, you're doing it wrong.