rickyj

Never going to get the complaints. I take my JKU Rubi with auto, which is the heaviest one, over some of the least vehicle friendly roads in the US. They are high altitude (I have had mine at 14,110 slow, at 10,000+ fast) extreme grade roads. It is high desert climate. So you have very thin and hot (100*+ sometimes) air, with sustained high grades. Mine does fine. It isn't going to race up the hill, but it does fine. They use some of the roads out here to test vehicles, because they are the extreme.

The JK is never going to win a speed contest. But it does fine. There are some vehicles that actually struggle, 4 cylinder TJ, Uhaul, etc - but the JK doesn't struggle. It lags, but it is fine.

GeoJeep33

I agree with the person who brought up the gearing as the more critical issue, at least for those of us with autos. I am much less annoyed by the engine than by the four speed 42RLE.

zking1776

Yeah, it's not the 3.8's fault. It's the morons who didn't bother to tune it worth a damn. How come the Germans and Japanese can figure out how to get 400 horsepower out a 2.0L four cylinder but Chrysler can barley get 200 hp out of a 3.8L?!

TINMAN080

At $25,000 each a large number of Jeeps can be sold. At $60,000 plus only a handful would be sold. Different vehicles and different markets. The average JK owner howling for a huge horsepower increase wouldn't ACTUALLY pay for it. A classic case of bitchin' for what cannot be had....If you could get a new JK V/8 for $10,000 dollars MORE would you buy it? If so- then why haven't you? The conversions are available NOW.

zking1776

I absolutely agree with you. If the V8 was available when I purchased my Jeep I probably would have gone for it and included the price bump into the financing as I could afford it then. I just don't see why they use such a large engine to generate such little power. Why not use a 4 cylinder engine to generate similar power? Like the diesel they offer in Jeeps in Europe for instance. European car makers have been getting good power, and economy, out of small engines for a long time why can't American makers?

Yankee

Keeping the 4.0 would have made little difference, besides (big maybe) reliability. And part of the problem is the auto tranny the JK has, is IMO not ideal.

I am not even sure Chrysler could have put a V-8 in the JK without changing the engine bay dimensions. There is less than an inch clearance between the radiator shroud and the front pulleys on some aftermarket V-8 installs. Seems like that might affect front crash ratings. And the tranny has to be changed also. And maybe they could not meet fuel economy figures in the complex way they spread them across vehicles. Probably too much hassle for the numbers they could sell.

Each model of the Wrangler gets heavier, and unlike most vehicles, the first thing we do is add more weight to them.

Right now, the aftermarket takes care of it just like they always have. Superchips, supercharger, or hemi depending on your budget.

JeepDude90

i read a review for the 3.6 pentastar and the review was horrible. saying the engine sucked. same MPG and it lacked in power.

robsjeep9

Well sell your JK and pick up a TJ... Let us know how it goes and how happy you are.
I'm sure getting tired of these threads just bitching and complaining about the new JK's ..... I love mine wouldn't want anything else.

jjt

Horsepower is meaningless in anything other than a race car. All I care about is torque, and I want it down low. That's where the old 4.0L beats the piss out of the 3.8L. Also, straight 6 engines are torquey bastards due to the design. A V6 sucks in comparison. I hate my 3.8L and wish they would have just updated the straight 6.

jjt

Sucks for anyone buying one with that engine. That's like "upgrading" your Corvair to a Yugo.