You Like the Gladiator? Jeep Isn’t Done Tweaking It Yet. Meet HERCULES!

[Mike W.]

BMW is putting a 525hp twin turbo 3.0 in the 2020 X3. Toyota Supra is using the BMW motor in the new Supra..I would hazard to guess it is the same motor.

The 3.0 is a solid design, been around for decades. My X3 was pure pleasure to drive but pure agony to repair. It would be an interesting motor In a Jeep. Better torque curve and horse power than a lousy V6..

 

[shortbus4x4]

Seems I recall Jeep used to have a pretty dang good inline six. What was it again? The 4.something. I used to own one in a Cherokee as a daily driver.
Would love to see it in a new Jeep. The engine is the one part of my 16 JK I'm a little disappointed in.

 

[knoxswift]

I doubt there'll ever be a longer bed on a Gladiator. They'll direct you to a RAM offering for anything bigger.

Yeah, I've checked out the RAMs...meh...
Get the optioned up they are crazy money.
Short Cab 6FT Box is becoming a thing of the past and so is affordable pickups because of the trend.

 

[TrailWhalePowerwagon]

holy crap...if its the bmw I6...i would crap my pants.... i was just saying how much id love to hop in the new bmw X3m with the "New" N54 engine. It may not be an I6 diesel....a turbo i6 can crank out 30mpgs in a sedan, so 21mpg plus on a stock Herc would be a great performance nonV8 option. I6 gas engines are not extremely long.

nothing compared to the tuned 2010 335i Inline 6 twin turbo and low down torque...what a beast that sedan was....the wastegate rattle and 18psi uncontrollable boost spiking helped me decide to sell it.
the N54 engine was a drivers engine, and it may come down to the transmission on this one.


Same goes for the I6 of days past we had in the wranglers.
no turbo, which says even more about the low down torque capacity of an I6. I just acquired a 1989 YJ with the 4.2 carbed I6.
only reason i want to stick with it...low down torque/ throttle curve that even small block V8s cant match in stock form.

But looking at the 2.0l in the new JL wranglers? It is an incredibley torquey motor and everytime i get a loaner, i have a blast.....i would put that in my YJ just for MPG and turbo spool
The 3.6 in both the JKUs i had, 3.21 and 4.10 gearing were adequate stock...but 35s and gear it was a DOG

 

[Bobzdar]

I just don't see the need in a vehicle like this. When I'm towing I could see having more power but it doesn't struggle with the pentastar and certainly there's no need off road. Unless they decide to up the tow rating to 10000lbs (in a mid size?) I just don't see the point. I'd much rather spend the 5k extra they'll likely charge on stuff that actually makes a difference off road. In current state it will happily go down the road at 75mph loaded to its payload limit in 8th gear getting 18-20mpg. Unless you tow a lot of weight and often I don't see a benefit. It'll be less reliable and suck fuel once on boost. The only real argument would be if you travel at high altitude often while loaded.

 

[yfarm]

I just tried to tow a 2800lb Casita with a JKUR with 3:73 gears and it spent way too much time in 3rd gear running up to 4400rpm to get to 60 mph. Engine temps jumped 20degrees over normal range, turned around after 20 miles and switched tow vehicles. To tow 3500 lbs the 3.6 is inadequate, try 7500 not a chance. 10 mpg at 55 mph, Raptor was 12.6 at 70 and felt like no trailer was there.

 

[Bobzdar]

I just tried to tow a 2800lb Casita with a JKUR with 3:73 gears and it spent way too much time in 3rd gear running up to 4400rpm to get to 60 mph. Engine temps jumped 20degrees over normal range, turned around after 20 miles and switched tow vehicles. To tow 3500 lbs the 3.6 is inadequate, try 7500 not a chance. 10 mpg at 55 mph, Raptor was 12.6 at 70 and felt like no trailer was there.

Disagree, I tow a 5000lbs airstream with my JT and it does not struggle, even going through the Shenandoah mtns. You can't compare a 3.73 geared JKU to a 4.10 geared JT that has the updated pentastar and 8 speed trans with additional cooling. The slowest I've had to go is 55mph up Afton mtn. on the highway and that was getting dangerous due to the speed differential with trucks in the right lane. I get 20mpg empty, 12-13mpg towing 5000lbs.

That said, if you are going to regularly tow 7000lbs, you shouldn't be considering a mid sized truck, no matter what engine is in it. A 2800lbs Casita would not be a struggle at all in any model JT.

 

[moabian]

Agreed. I've seen a surprising number of JTs in Moab towing sizeable trailers. I spoke with one of the drivers who said he was very happy with the towing capabilities...and he had come over the mountains from Colorado. I rarely see JKs towing trailers that big. There's a reason for that. The JT towing capacity is listed as close to 7000 lbs. The JKU is half that.

 

[Ghetto Fab.]

I have find it hard to believe they'd stick a 525hp anything in a wrangler chassis, when they can barely cool the V6 as it is. Remember the JT has a completely different grill just to help the cooling issue when towing 7000lbs and the diesel they've said will tow even less because they can't cool it sufficiently.

Just seems like dumb internet magazine hype trying to sell advertising. They pretty much stated that they didn't know anything in the first few paragraphs anyhow.

Kevin

 

[AbleGuy]

I just don't see the need in a vehicle like this. When I'm towing I could see having more power but it doesn't struggle with the pentastar and certainly there's no need off road. Unless they decide to up the tow rating to 10000lbs (in a mid size?) I just don't see the point. I'd much rather spend the 5k extra they'll likely charge on stuff that actually makes a difference off road. In current state it will happily go down the road at 75mph loaded to its payload limit in 8th gear getting 18-20mpg. Unless you tow a lot of weight and often I don't see a benefit. It'll be less reliable and suck fuel once on boost. The only real argument would be if you travel at high altitude often while loaded.

So, speaking of towing...

It seems that the Gladiator with a manual tranny is NOT a chicken dinner winner in that category, according to a very recent article posted by disappointed Motor Trend test drivers, in “2020 Jeep Gladiator Sport Manual First Test: Unhappy Marriage, Pentastar V-6 and six-speed stick an imperfect match,”

(https://www.motortrend.com/cars/jee...eep-gladiator-sport-manual-first-test-review/)

“The clutch engages nearer the top of its travel than we're used to (note: we are not used to the Frontier or Tacoma), and the shifter features truckishly long throws. Most of us acclimated quickly, though Detroit editor Alisa Priddle declared, "It takes too much effort to slam into gear." MotorTrend en Español managing editor Miguel Cortina noted that the shifter is angled toward the driver instead of being oriented straight up as he prefers. Features editor Scott Evans found the Gladiator easy to stall: "If you live in hilly areas, you'll never get out of third gear.

It all gets worse when you hitch up a 4,000-pound trailer. The 0-60 acceleration time more than doubles, from 7.9 to 15.9 seconds. And Evans still found it easy to stall even with a light trailer. "First has no torque; once you're moving, all the power is on the top end, right where you don't want it when trailering," he said. "The dinky door mirrors make it really hard to see where your trailer is going and where obstacles are."

 

[Bobzdar]

So, speaking of towing...

It seems that the Gladiator with a manual tranny is NOT a chicken dinner winner in that category, according to a very recent article posted by disappointed Motor Trend test drivers, in “2020 Jeep Gladiator Sport Manual First Test: Unhappy Marriage, Pentastar V-6 and six-speed stick an imperfect match,”

(https://www.motortrend.com/cars/jee...eep-gladiator-sport-manual-first-test-review/)

“The clutch engages nearer the top of its travel than we're used to (note: we are not used to the Frontier or Tacoma), and the shifter features truckishly long throws. Most of us acclimated quickly, though Detroit editor Alisa Priddle declared, "It takes too much effort to slam into gear." MotorTrend en Español managing editor Miguel Cortina noted that the shifter is angled toward the driver instead of being oriented straight up as he prefers. Features editor Scott Evans found the Gladiator easy to stall: "If you live in hilly areas, you'll never get out of third gear.

It all gets worse when you hitch up a 4,000-pound trailer. The 0-60 acceleration time more than doubles, from 7.9 to 15.9 seconds. And Evans still found it easy to stall even with a light trailer. "First has no torque; once you're moving, all the power is on the top end, right where you don't want it when trailering," he said. "The dinky door mirrors make it really hard to see where your trailer is going and where obstacles are."

Yep, the JL/JT were the first vehicles I didn't even consider a manual on. The 8 speed is vastly superior in pretty much every objective way, especially for towing where it gets a significantly higher rating (up to 7600 vs 4500).

 

[rnArmy]

Back in 1980 I ordered a new 1981 Ford F-100 stepside with the 300 straight six. Wanted to hotrod it, so went to Clifford Research and ordered their intake manifold, headers, and put a Holley 390 four-barrel on it. (I'm feeling old right about now.)

Anyone remember Clifford's motto:

6 = 8

Maybe Jeep's figuring it out finally.

Clifford Performance - 6=8 Clifford Performance Intakes & Headers

In 1954, The Hudson flat-head 6 cylinder outperformed all overhead V-8s including Chrysler Hemi. It won 27 out of 29 Grand National Races. clifford performance

cliffordperformance.net

 

[Dan Grec]

Huh, it's hard to believe Jeep will offer yet another engine for the JL/JT lineup, but at the same time I think it makes perfect sense they'll have a Gladiator to compete with the Raptor.

-Dan

 

[Hilldweller]

"3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 "

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/10/14/am-general-jeep-gladiator-us-army/#slide-2176613