Is the answer a good ole fashioned Over Drive?

[NC_Overland]

I got used to the lag and was able to work around it. The MPGs weren’t bad though.

Manually shifting with the paddle shifters was useless.

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[mr_bots]

Just flip the shifter over to M and find a gear that it likes to be in.

Also FYI, the 8 speed has two O/Ds and the 9 speed has four. I've never driven the 9 speed with a Chrysler/FCA/Stellantis tune but have no complaints about it in my Honda.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Just flip the shifter over to M and find a gear that it likes to be in.

Also FYI, the 8 speed has two O/Ds and the 9 speed has four. I've never driven the 9 speed with a Chrysler/FCA/Stellantis tune but have no complaints about it in my Honda.

I see that I typed 5th was direct - typo, 6th is direct. Correct, the automatic is a 6 speed with 2 over-drive gears.
Too many other trucks to remember what was direct and what was OD in.

 

[UnforseenWeather]

Manually shifting with the paddle shifters was useless.

Huh - didn’t realize you could get Cherokees with paddle shift!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Huh - didn’t realize you could get Cherokees with paddle shift!

Grand Cherokee had that several years ago - maybe 2015 or earlier. That was when they had the stupidest shifter I'd ever seen or used - that with no tactile feel and no way to know what gear you were in without looking at the dash display. You moved it forward and it popped back to center, move it back and it popped forward to center. It was the most dumb shifter I'd ever seen. They had to use paddle shifts because there was simply no way to do it with the shifter that wobbled like a damn joystick.
Once they got rid of that (after people died and complained - or complained and then died?) they went away from the stupid paddles.
When my wife had the first WK2 with the paddles she wanted me to go to my shop and put the cutting wheel in my dremel and remove them. Because of her hands (handicap from birth) she was always hitting them or they were in her way, and I was really close to cutting them off for her and she decided to trade it in. Luckily I hadn't fixed it for her.
I know it's "sport" and the best luxury and sports cars have them - but give me the current method any day even if I have trouble getting used to it. It's a TRUCK (and her's an SUV) not a lexus of bmw or mercedes or whatever.

 

[NC_Overland]

Huh - didn’t realize you could get Cherokees with paddle shift!

It’s been a year and a half or so, but I swear it did. It was a pretty well equipped 2020 2.0T 4wd. I drive a lot of loaners and rental cars so I could be confused. Regardless, the manual shifting, whether it was with the shifter or paddles, was useless. There was a huge delay and it still did what it wanted to and then did a slow, lazy shift.

the transmission stood out so much to me because I really liked that engine in it and the platform felt pretty solid driving it, but the transmission just ruined it. I felt like with a proper shifting transmission, a little suspension tuning, some exterior styling, and squeeze a little more power from the 2.0T and they could have made a SRT version of it. It was like 85% there and they phoned the rest and ruined it.

 

[Renegade]

The only way I know of to make the JT more fuel efficient is to lower it. That’s sacrilegious, so we are going to have to live with the fuel mileage. The JT’s transmission is excellent, and not the cause of the fuel economy.

 

[NC_Overland]

The only way I know of to make the JT more fuel efficient is to lower it. That’s sacrilegious, so we are going to have to live with the fuel mileage. The JT’s transmission is excellent, and not the cause of the fuel economy.

Lower it. Lighten it. Smaller, lighter tires with less rolling resistance. That’s about it other than extensive exterior body modifications for aerodynamics. None of those options are very practical. Other than that, slow down.

mine gets horrible gas mileage with the top off or roof panels off. That’s the only other thing I can think of. It literally drops from 21-22 mpg at 75-80 mph to 16-17. Huge drop.

 

[sharpsicle]

Gladiator MPG...

I have noticed as well as others that the Gladiator MPG sweet spot is right around 60-65 and below after that it starts to go down when cruising on the highway, at least that is my experience. Now I have had horrible experience with the F9 9 Speed Transmission found in the Renegade, Compass?, and Cherokee that tranny is garbage IMO and dangerous to boot but I digress... My 04 F150 came with a simple button on the stalk that turns on and off the Over Drive and I would think something like that would benefit the Gladiator to overcome those times on the highway commute, Thoughts?

Can you explain exactly what benefits you think you'd be seeing with such a switch? Because it doesn't really make sense the way you explain it here. I'm not sure you get the purpose of it.

 

[MrZappo]

He thinks that there is not an overdrive.

All overdrive is is a gear higher than a 1:1 ratio. Which is what 7 and 8 are.

It does not need a button. It goes into "an overdrive gear" all the time. Automatically.

In the really old days the overdrive "mode" used to also lock up the torque converter.

Don't know if that is applicable these days or not.

In any event, overdrive is part of the answer yes. It helps mileage. As the OP indicated.

But is a switch needed ? Nope.

If ya want to simulate a switch, drive around manually in 6th and "switch" to 7th and 8th when you want overdrive. Although this would be silly. Since it happens always anyways.

 

[Kevin_D]

In the really old days the overdrive "mode" used to also lock up the torque converter.

This is just too funny…

In the 1950s, the overdrive was a separate planetary gearbox stuck on the tail shaft housing of the transmission, typically actuated by a pull handle. It provided an over-driven gear to improve fuel economy.
Lock-up converters are pretty much the norm in modern automatic transmissions.

Kevin

 

[sass JT]

Cows or jeeps… which is better for mpg???

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In the really old days the overdrive "mode" used to also lock up the torque converter.

No, the converter lockup was automatic and occurred at a certain speed not related to overdrive. There wasn't a mode.

Not sure why people use the word "mode" for automatic transmissions because it's not a mode - it's simply more gear ratios that happen to be higher than 1:1
The only "mode" is trailer tow mode for Ford and Chevy. Different animals and it's not an "overdrive mode".
As far as lockup converters - MOPAR and AMC had that in the 80s with NO overdrive gears.
You got lockup converters in the ordinary 3 speed transmissions because the lockup converter was easier to do, few mods needed to the transmission but added mpg to automatics because it eliminated converter slippage. It was simple for the industry to add, it required only a valve body mod and some case passage modifications - of course along with a converter that had a locking clutch in it.
Even the automatics used by AMC in the 80s had a lockup converter but no "overdrive gears".
I've had them - you could feel the converter lockup if you paid attention - and that was in high or 3rd gear.
Overdrive gears were added to automatics later. That took a lot more effort and development time and money. But the lockup converter function isn't part of overdrive, it simply locks up when highway speeds are reached and that happens to time with being in the highest gears.
If I recall correctly, I believe the lockup converters were put in the 3 speed TF transmissions about 83 or 84? Will have to check my transmission books.

I also had a stick with overdrive. It was a unit that bolted where the normal tailshaft housing would go on a stick. There was a knob at the dash that pulled a cable that went to a lever on the side of the OD part of the transmission. There was also a governor and solenoid that controlled whether or not it would shift into overdrive when you had the knob pulled. If you left the knob pulled out OD would happen automatically at a specific highway speed. With the knob pushed in, it would not shift into OD. It also had a sort of on-way or overrunning clutch inside - if you had the control pulled out for OD mode you could literally shift the manual transmission without a clutch because the driveshaft wasn't directly connected to the output shaft of the transmission itself. Pressed in, it was all locked together and no OD.
I worked on a lot of them.

 

[MrZappo]

No, the converter lockup was automatic and occurred at a certain speed not related to overdrive. There wasn't a mode.

Not sure why people use the word "mode" for automatic transmissions because it's not a mode - it's simply more gear ratios that happen to be higher than 1:1
The only "mode" is trailer tow mode for Ford and Chevy. Different animals and it's not an "overdrive mode".
As far as lockup converters - MOPAR and AMC had that in the 80s with NO overdrive gears.
You got lockup converters in the ordinary 3 speed transmissions because the lockup converter was easier to do, few mods needed to the transmission but added mpg to automatics because it eliminated converter slippage. It was simple for the industry to add, it required only a valve body mod and some case passage modifications - of course along with a converter that had a locking clutch in it.
Even the automatics used by AMC in the 80s had a lockup converter but no "overdrive gears".
I've had them - you could feel the converter lockup if you paid attention - and that was in high or 3rd gear.
Overdrive gears were added to automatics later. That took a lot more effort and development time and money. But the lockup converter function isn't part of overdrive, it simply locks up when highway speeds are reached and that happens to time with being in the highest gears.
If I recall correctly, I believe the lockup converters were put in the 3 speed TF transmissions about 83 or 84? Will have to check my transmission books.

I also had a stick with overdrive. It was a unit that bolted where the normal tailshaft housing would go on a stick. There was a knob at the dash that pulled a cable that went to a lever on the side of the OD part of the transmission. There was also a governor and solenoid that controlled whether or not it would shift into overdrive when you had the knob pulled. If you left the knob pulled out OD would happen automatically at a specific highway speed. With the knob pushed in, it would not shift into OD. It also had a sort of on-way or overrunning clutch inside - if you had the control pulled out for OD mode you could literally shift the manual transmission without a clutch because the driveshaft wasn't directly connected to the output shaft of the transmission itself. Pressed in, it was all locked together and no OD.
I worked on a lot of them.

Yep, memory fails me ... I just remembered it that way ... I thought the two things went hand in hand ... Well, Live and learn ...

Thanks for the education ...

 

[NC_Overland]

I also had a stick with overdrive. It was a unit that bolted where the normal tailshaft housing would go on a stick. There was a knob at the dash that pulled a cable that went to a lever on the side of the OD part of the transmission. There was also a governor and solenoid that controlled whether or not it would shift into overdrive when you had the knob pulled. If you left the knob pulled out OD would happen automatically at a specific highway speed. With the knob pushed in, it would not shift into OD. It also had a sort of on-way or overrunning clutch inside - if you had the control pulled out for OD mode you could literally shift the manual transmission without a clutch because the driveshaft wasn't directly connected to the output shaft of the transmission itself. Pressed in, it was all locked together and no OD.
I worked on a lot of them.

I’m not sure exactly how the mechanics of it work, but it sounds like you’re talking about something like a gear venders overdrive.

I’m not sure of the manufacturer or design, but believe it or not, my dad installed an overdrive onto both of his Model As so they can drive at more reasonable speeds when on tours. Goes from like 45 mph to 55 lol. They’re original minus a few things like turn signals and overdrive.

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