Hemi Wrangler or Gladiator or both?

sourdoughben

Well-known member
If /when FCA offers a Hemi JLUR, it and an Oliver trailer... will replace my current set up.
 
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jeepmedic46

Expedition Leader
Do we need a 400 plus horsepower Jeep? What will be next the Hellcat in a Jeep? I thought you needed good gas mileage for Overlanding not less.
 

Dhorn33

New member
Dan McKeag at Dakota Customs has been installing Hemi v8s in JL Wranglers and JT Gladiators for a few years now. I know people that own a 6.4l Hemi JL and another freind buying a 5.7L Hemi JT with a 6 speed manual in the near future. They do amazing work. They can do 5.7, 6.1, 6.4 or Hellcat installs, or sell complete kits including brand new crate motor and transmission if you want to do it yourself or have a shop do it for you. http://www.dakota-customs.com/
 

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dstock

Explorer
No, it's completely stupid. I'm way more interested in the 4xe.

I loved the idea of the Hemi right up until the 4xe showed up! I'm with you, the 4xe makes so much more sense on every level. I think a lot of people don't realize the power of electric motors and the torque associated with it. I know I didn't until I had a Fiat 500e as a commuter. It had 22k on it when I bought it and I drove it for 3 years. I put 25K on it and the only maintenance was wiper blades and windshield washer fluid! I sold it recently because my commute situation has changed but it definitely opened my eyes to the electric and hybrid platforms. The 4xe checks a lot of boxes for me, hopefully the pricing won't be outrageous!
 

js9234

Observer
That's a pretty stupid comment. So it's completely stupid to put more power in the Jeep? Who says it will get worse gas mileage? Possibly so but the Jeep absolutely needs more power and I would say a majority of Jeep people are looking forward to it.
No, it's completely stupid. I'm way more interested in the 4xe.
 

Bobzdar

Observer
That's a pretty stupid comment. So it's completely stupid to put more power in the Jeep? Who says it will get worse gas mileage? Possibly so but the Jeep absolutely needs more power and I would say a majority of Jeep people are looking forward to it.

Yeah, more power gains you pretty much nothing in a Wrangler except faster acceleration on road, which who gives a crap on a Jeep? As long as it can merge into traffic without issue and tow 3500lbs (which is all a Wrangler is rated for regardless the engine in it), adding more power just makes it more likely to break stuff and suck more fuel on the trail - and the Hemi absolutely sucks more fuel than the pentastar, it's one of the worst modern v8's fuel efficiency wise. That's why the 4xe is vastly more interesting to me - yeah it has the added power and torque but way better mileage and will likely be able to do a large portion of trail riding with zero gas at all - electrics don't lose efficiency at low speed, unlike gas, so it could do 2 days of the 22 mile Rubicon trail hardly using any gas at all while you'd probably suck down half a tank with a Hemi. The Hemi just makes no sense, which is probably why Jeep never put one in it. I don't know why anyone needs 500hp to crawl around at 2.5mph or do 30mph on a dirt road, when in reality even the most anemic mid 70's 4cyl is fine for what a Jeep does best, especially with the 4:1 low range in a Rubicon. The better engines just make it more livable on-road - and the pentastar doesn't struggle, even in the larger Gladiator rated to tow 7500+lbs. So what's the point of the Hemi? I get it when the Jeep had that awful 3.8 pushrod v6, especially when it only had 4 gears to work with. It was a chore on-road (but still fine off-road), but with 300hp and 8 speeds to work with I just see zero point to a bigger engine - unless you want to do burn outs or 1/4 mile runs, but then a Jeep is probably the wrong vehicle. Probably all those guys that throw 8 thousand lights and a loud exhaust on a Jeep - they'll probably all line up for a Hemi with 40" tires and just roll over everything in their path making as much noise and tearing up as much trail as they can. Awesome - and I'll be trying to get as far away from them as possible.
 

abart

New member
Not everyone rock crawls, needs a 4:1 or does 30 mph on a gravel road. Some people might do mud races and need high horsepower to spin the mud off their tires and don't trust an electric vehicle in those situations. Doesn't matter why they prefer gas over hybrid really. I have zero interest at this point in any hybrid or full electric vehicle, I don't have 8,000 lights or 40" tires but I love the sound of a good V-8 and you couldn't give me an electric/hybrid vehicle. I have nothing against them for other people, I just don't want one plain and simple. Hybrids can tear up a trail just as easily and a gas motor too, just not as loud.
 

jadmt

ignore button user
more power is always better..I made the mistake of test driving a Gladiator Rubicon and a Power Wagon back to back...If I would have just drove the Gladiator I would have been happy but no I screwed up and drove the Power wagon..more power feed me more power...yesterday I actually drove a Fiat 500e it was scary and kind of freaky. I could probably stack 8 of them in my garage tho.
DBB46AFB-A475-4699-82AE-DC29174E1EE6.jpeg
 

Bobzdar

Observer
Not everyone rock crawls, needs a 4:1 or does 30 mph on a gravel road. Some people might do mud races and need high horsepower to spin the mud off their tires and don't trust an electric vehicle in those situations. Doesn't matter why they prefer gas over hybrid really. I have zero interest at this point in any hybrid or full electric vehicle, I don't have 8,000 lights or 40" tires but I love the sound of a good V-8 and you couldn't give me an electric/hybrid vehicle. I have nothing against them for other people, I just don't want one plain and simple. Hybrids can tear up a trail just as easily and a gas motor too, just not as loud.

Horses for courses, Jeep is the wrong horse for that course. I have powerful vehicles along with the Gladiator, but they're ones that actually can meaningfully use that power, in the Jeep it's mostly just a waste of gas for no meaningful performance increase where it matters (for a Jeep). I guess there are enough people that want one that they'll build one, just seems stupid to me. I'd rather the 4xe as that actually gives a meaningful improvement in something the Jeep can make use of (range and mileage), especially for overlanding/expedition travel. If I want to go fast and burn tires I'll drive something else that does it much better.
 

abart

New member
Horses for courses, Jeep is the wrong horse for that course. I have powerful vehicles along with the Gladiator, but they're ones that actually can meaningfully use that power, in the Jeep it's mostly just a waste of gas for no meaningful performance increase where it matters (for a Jeep). I guess there are enough people that want one that they'll build one, just seems stupid to me. I'd rather the 4xe as that actually gives a meaningful improvement in something the Jeep can make use of (range and mileage), especially for overlanding/expedition travel. If I want to go fast and burn tires I'll drive something else that does it much better.

I don't need to go fast or burn tires but I'll take the V-8 and get a bigger gas tank if I need to. I'll be happy and you will be happy in yours as well. Enjoy.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
Also, for what it's worth,
AEV's official line so far is they won''t be doing HEMI kits for the JL or the JT because there are already enough engine options to choose from.
Good insight but I have a different conclusion.
AEV won't do a Hemi because they know Chrysler is going to do it.
 

jeremydepp50

New member
The Bronco coming out, might be the best thing to happen to Jeep and 4runner fans in a long time. It's going to force them to listen to us, and try some more aggressive designs. LR will most likely bow out and make more station wagons.


Jeep doesn't need a v8. But I'm not goong to complain if they pull it off. A GM GW 383 in a custom YJ is priceless. But I'm not going to tow anything with one. Make me a bulletproof, small turbo V6, with a manual trans and monstrous axle gears.. No cam rocker nom nom, nonsense. V6's have been the kings of power for a while now. Lose the hybrid junk until super capacitors are viable.

The other elephant in Jeeps deck of cards. Dana 60's cost nothing more than the Dana 44's.

Was looking at the ''pedestrian safety'' of my Super Duty a few seconds ago. The bumper will completely remove your legs, but the grill is like a giant squishy bean bag. So you might have a point there. Read more here: https://jeepequipment.com/
From the teaser, it's nearly impossible to tell if this is a Gladiator or a Wrangler, as their front ends are basically identical from this angle. But we can see a new hood with a large scoop that has "392" written on the side, a clear indicator of what's sitting in the engine bay. A Hemi-powered Gladiator seems like it would be the more likely offering, especially because recent rumors have pointed to a Raptor-fighting Gladiator called "Hercules." However, if Jeep's gonna put the Hemi in the Gladiator, why not just stick it in the Wrangler, too?
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
As we all suspected, Jeep just confirmed it's going into production!


No word on the Gladiator

-Dan
 
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