Is the diesel gladiator worth it?

[rpres62]

I don't know, the more I think about it the more I believe the EcoDiesel is superior to the Hemi. The Hemi makes significantly less torque and gets 50% less fuel economy.

Last night on the way home from a big car show, my cousin and I raced (in Mexico) from about a 40 MPH roll. His truck is a F-150 with the 5.0L Coyote V8. He's on 35" tires with aftermarket exhaust. I'm on essentially a 35" tire with a winch bumper and winch catching air. We were literally door to door until around 90 MPH when I had to let out for upcoming traffic. The only difference is that his engine consumed a lot more fuel during that run.

Im a big fan of the ecodiesel had one in a 2015 1500

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[JCC]

I'll take the diesel over the '17 JKU I had six days a week and twice on Sundays. Taking the JK into the mountains was borderline dangerous on the highway due to the 3.6's total lack of power. Now I can cruise at 65 over a pass and even pass other cars without hesitation when needed. It also tows our 2k lb camper with ease where the JK was a bit sketchy. Sure the JKU was better on the rocks but all of my offroading these days is more overlanding style. To each their own.

 

[guarnibl]

I have a 2020 Gladiator rubicon that I was going to lift and regear to 4:88’s and run 37” tires. My question is do you think it’s worth it to trade in for the same truck but with the diesel power plant instead of spending the money on upgrading the gasser?

If you're not towing and you just want more torque for the added rotational mass you're adding, yes, I believe so.

 

[guarnibl]

With primarily highway, and if you drive at 65 mph, you will easily see an average of 27+ mpg with EcoDiesel. MPG drops significantly at 70+ mph.

Never saw that on my Rubicon, even bone stock, flat road at 65. More like 23. My first 3500 miles were 90% highway. With 37's (KO2) on stock wheels, winch up front and 4 1/2" springs I'm at 21-22 mpg. So only a 1 mpg drop, same conditions. Assumes light wind... out the door in strong winds.

 

[Oilburner]

Never saw that (27mpg)on my Rubicon, even bone stock, flat road at 65. More like 23. My first 3500 miles were 90% highway.

I have done 26/27mpg but had to be very 'Gentle' to do it, which does not give me smiles...

 

[guarnibl]

I have done 26/27mpg but had to be very 'Gentle' to do it, which does not give me smiles...

I literally couldn't even go 55 on a flat road and get that lol. No idea... ha. I believe people are getting it, I just wasn't able to. Maybe I wasn't using being soft enough on the gas.

Also summer has killed my mileage because I've been mostly city driving lately with high temps and no stop/start due to the AC running. I'm around ~19 atm. It will pick back up on longer trips, again assuming no wind.. wind murders mileage for me because of the lift.

 

[Capricorn]

Never saw that on my Rubicon, even bone stock, flat road at 65. More like 23. My first 3500 miles were 90% highway. With 37's (KO2) on stock wheels, winch up front and 4 1/2" springs I'm at 21-22 mpg. So only a 1 mpg drop, same conditions. Assumes light wind... out the door in strong winds.

I should have clarified. I was posting from my experience with Wrangler 3.0L.

 

[guarnibl]

I should have clarified. I was posting from my experience with Wrangler 3.0L.

Ohh, gotcha. That makes more sense. I think the Wrangler gets better fuel economy than the truck in general.

 

[KW80]

After 3k miles I am at 24mpg hand calculated at a roughly 50/50 split between city and highway, haven’t really towed or hauled much yet, but performance is pretty much as advertised so far. Also, I don’t drive like a grandma and don’t actively worry about fuel economy.

I had a gas Pacifica with the 3.6 and test drove a few gas Gladiators, so I have a good sense of what it can do. IMO the 3.6 is a solid but uninspiring engine, dependable but not that good for either power or fuel efficiency. For me, the diesel completes the Gladiator, gives it a lot more pep, and a little bit of soul with that distinctive sound. Is it the perfect solution for all use cases? No, as always YMMV.

All that said it is laughable to suggest, as some have here, that you can get the same or better daily driver performance out of the 3.6 without significant investment in new gears or forced induction. The $4k upcharge gets you 182 more ft lbs of torque, 70% more, which you feel every time you take off from a dead stop or need to quickly merge into traffic.

Bottom line, if you are on the fence, you should test drive the diesel and really evaluate your use case. If you are consistently towing up long/steep grades in high heat, the diesel is probably not for you. Likewise if the diesel doesn’t call to you, i.e. the driving feel and sound don’t put a big smile on your face, then keep the 3.6 and spend the extra $ on gears or something else.

 

[Gladiator Overland]

I absolutely hate when I see a comparison of a 3.6l Petrol vs the 3.0L Diesel and the first things out of the mouth of the person trying to do a comparison is that its a $6k upgrade over the 3.6L. What a fallacy here. Along with regular costs for oil changes being extravagantly more. I disagree on so many points.

For the poster. Probably not worth it at the point where you are at with your build.. But if you where looking at it as a new purchaser or able to get back in trade what you have in it. Then absolutely can be worth the $4000 upgrade costs. Especially given that you are running 37" tires. You will never get the equal power and torque of a diesel no matter the upgrade. Not to mention you would be getting fully loaded out with 37" around 23mpg compared to around 13mpg, a 10mpg boost. Perspective that a range of 286 miles in the gas till empty compared to a range of 420 miles till empty.. Thats a huge difference. Given diesel where I am at is the same costs as regular gas or within .10 then it definitely is a game changer. If you turn over your vehicle every few years nothing will be worth the difference except for drive-ability. At $3.00 a gallon lets say for each fuel about the average where I live. gas over 50k miles at $3 a gallon is $11,538 and diesel over 50k miles at $3 a gallon is $6500. I know that gas fluctuates yes but dont say it isnt worth it.. Id say you can easily recoup your costs here..

Disclaimer: I do see some issues with a modern diesel given the emissions systems. Yet given the fact that one can easily warranty both over the 50k period then it should not be a issue. For longer term ownership one could say that the gas engine would experience more wear overall, but in the diesel the emissions system being the weak point. That given the right circumstances one could always delete these systems. The only other downfall is some loss of available cargo capacity. Yet again that is also a trim level issue.

Whatever one chooses. Please dont justify your purchase of a gas engine cause you will never recoup the costs. Unless your a stock a vehicle and only mall cruise then maybe.. But if your here make your choice but know the truth behind your purchase. Be happy with what you have. They are both good options. Yet it is much harder to get more power out of a existing engine costs wise than it is for a different engine option. IE a supercharger will be lots more than the costs difference between the two and mileage would suffer even more. Though for that performance I would rather have a hemi conversion.

 

[JDawg11]

I absolutely hate when I see a comparison of a 3.6l Petrol vs the 3.0L Diesel and the first things out of the mouth of the person trying to do a comparison is that its a $6k upgrade over the 3.6L. What a fallacy here. Along with regular costs for oil changes being extravagantly more. I disagree on so many points.

For the poster. Probably not worth it at the point where you are at with your build.. But if you where looking at it as a new purchaser or able to get back in trade what you have in it. Then absolutely can be worth the $4000 upgrade costs. Especially given that you are running 37" tires. You will never get the equal power and torque of a diesel no matter the upgrade. Not to mention you would be getting fully loaded out with 37" around 23mpg compared to around 13mpg, a 10mpg boost. Perspective that a range of 286 miles in the gas till empty compared to a range of 420 miles till empty.. Thats a huge difference. Given diesel where I am at is the same costs as regular gas or within .10 then it definitely is a game changer. If you turn over your vehicle every few years nothing will be worth the difference except for drive-ability. At $3.00 a gallon lets say for each fuel about the average where I live. gas over 50k miles at $3 a gallon is $11,538 and diesel over 50k miles at $3 a gallon is $6500. I know that gas fluctuates yes but dont say it isnt worth it.. Id say you can easily recoup your costs here..

Disclaimer: I do see some issues with a modern diesel given the emissions systems. Yet given the fact that one can easily warranty both over the 50k period then it should not be a issue. For longer term ownership one could say that the gas engine would experience more wear overall, but in the diesel the emissions system being the weak point. That given the right circumstances one could always delete these systems. The only other downfall is some loss of available cargo capacity. Yet again that is also a trim level issue.

Whatever one chooses. Please dont justify your purchase of a gas engine cause you will never recoup the costs. Unless your a stock a vehicle and only mall cruise then maybe.. But if your here make your choice but know the truth behind your purchase. Be happy with what you have. They are both good options. Yet it is much harder to get more power out of a existing engine costs wise than it is for a different engine option. IE a supercharger will be lots more than the costs difference between the two and mileage would suffer even more. Though for that performance I would rather have a hemi conversion.

I completely agree!!
I had a Pentastar in a JK and ripped it out and installed a 6.2 HEMI. Loved every minute and dollar spent.
I then had a launch edition JTR with Pentastar. Went ahead and tried the RIPP supercharger. Worse mistake ever. I had to run premium gas with about 12mpg tops. The tune would never stay because these transmissions self learn so it always screwed up and was horrible. Most regrettable purchase ever.
fast forward I ordered my sarge green JTR with diesel and after one month installed the Banks pedal monster and Derringer. Best money EVER spent. I run 37 Nittos and smile every time I drive it. Pushing 10k miles and best purchase ever.
BTW I had a eco diesel Grand Cherokee 2017 that I ran 188k miles on….never had a problem and loved the performance and mpgs. To each their own but the diesel to me is well worth the money every time I hear that turbo whistle

 

[Saltymedic]

Looks like you're getting a bunch of responses from purchasers of gasser's. You should have placed the same post in the diesel section of the forum to get actual owner's experiences.

Here's my Eco-D towing with 37's and no regear, in the mountains. I would buy the this same Jeep again over and over. No regrets!

As for overheating? It heated up once. Never actually "overheated", but I had my foot to the floor for the majority of the climb, towing up a long 8% grade mountain pass, temps in the high 80's to low 90's, trying to hold 65mph, while towing a full truck and camper. Backed off the throttle and BAM, back to normal. I have the Tazer but didn't need to utilize the fan option since all I had to do was drive at a more reasonable pace.

BTW, I average 22-23mpg with the 4" lift and 37's in a foothills area. So there's always that.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

Looks like you're getting a bunch of responses from purchasers of gasser's. You should have placed the same post in the diesel section of the forum to get actual owner's experiences.

Here's my Eco-D towing with 37's and no regear, in the mountains. I would buy the this same Jeep again over and over. No regrets!

As for overheating? It heated up once. Never actually "overheated", but I had my foot to the floor for the majority of the climb, towing up a long 8% grade mountain pass, temps in the high 80's to low 90's, trying to hold 65mph, while towing a full truck and camper. Backed off the throttle and BAM, back to normal. I have the Tazer but didn't need to utilize the fan option since all I had to do was drive at a more reasonable pace.

BTW, I average 22-23mpg with the 4" lift and 37's in a foothills area. So there's always that.

this is what I desire, minus towing a camper.

 

[sharpsicle]

Looks like you're getting a bunch of responses from purchasers of gasser's. You should have placed the same post in the diesel section of the forum to get actual owner's experiences.

I'd say he's getting a good mix of both which is exactly what you'd want for a thread like this. Just like guys who bought a diesel did so for reasons, guys who bought gassers instead also have reasons. No need to try and hide it from half the owners when comparing the two.

 

[Saltymedic]

I'd say he's getting a good mix of both which is exactly what you'd want for a thread like this. Just like guys who bought a diesel did so for reasons, guys who bought gassers instead also have reasons. No need to try and hide it from half the owners when comparing the two.

You're right! What I meant to write was he should have posted in BOTH areas of the forum. It would appear I should have stayed in school a little longer.

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