3.6 with air intake vs. 3.0 ecodiesel

[Rusty PW]

I'm loving my Italian farm tractor engine. 22 mpg around town and 29 on a trip. And it hauls ass.

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[MF Comics]

Don't count on it............. not from the research I'm seeing.

Im not, not with the current regime and their cronies

 

[CrazyCooter]

Im not, not with the current regime and their cronies

Hey....no politics or you will get us banned!

 

[MF Comics]

Hey....no politics or you will get us banned!

Forgot to add I digress, my bad

anyone who wants to continue this discussion, dm me, otherwise lets get back on track

 

[Jteakus]

Truly love my Jl and JT Rubicons, both with the 3.0

 

[Jteakus]

OP do yourself a favor and drive one

 

[Motopilot0311]

OP do yourself a favor and drive one

This! Ya gotta find a 3.0 and drive it. I drove a 3.6 and Diesel back to back and my wife looked at me after 3 min in the diesel and said " yeah fuck the gasser, this is way more fun" Shes a keeper

 

[MF Comics]

This! Ya gotta find a 3.0 and drive it. I drove a 3.6 and Diesel back to back and my wife looked at me after 3 min in the diesel and said " yeah fuck the gasser, this is way more fun" Shes a keeper

Im Mr Save the Manuals and even I wanna diesel.

doesnt mean I wont find a way in the future to make it work, there’s crazier builds out there, but even if I can, could have it as a work vehicle and play with it by taking the doors off

mod it right and it’ll be sick anyway, you’ll hear the turbos and chatter

 

[upnover]

I went back and forth. I wouldn’t do a JT gasser. Maybe stock it’s fine for some, but not for me.

I very much dislike the extra maintenance on the diesel, but in the end it’s worth it.

 

[Vtur]

Hey all - looking to order my first Gladiator! Trying to determine which powertrain to get. I will be upfront and say cost is not a factor in the decision, just want the best performance for my application.

I will be ordering the Rubicon trim. Test drove with the 3.6 and it just seemed a little bit lacking on get-up and go power (merging on ramp, passing on interstate, going up mountain roads). Unfortunately there are not any Rubicon trims with the 3.0 ecodiesel that I can test drive to compare.
So I asked a guy at the dealership and he told me (based on his personal Gladiator Rubicon with 37's) he thinks the 3.6 would be better for what I described above IF an air intake is added to it. He says with the turbo lag on the ecodiesel, the 3.6 would be just as good with an aftermarket air intake due to the Rubicon having 4.10 gearing standard with the 3.6 pentastar. He said the 4.10 gearing is more important than the extra torque provided by the ecodiesel using 3.73 gears for going up the hills, passing acceleration, and such.

Just wanted to get others thoughts. The ecodiesel is more maintenance and finicky with the emissions, so if all other things are equal and there is not much of a difference after adding an air intake to the 3.6L then I guess the gasser route I would go.
Has anyone driven both setups (3.6L w/4.10+intake VS. 3.0L w/3.73) and could comment if they notice a difference between the two powertrains?

Will not be doing any towing.

The diesel is the answer to those go power issues with the 3.6 you mentioned above. See if any JL diesel around for a test drive.

 

[Vtur]

This! Ya gotta find a 3.0 and drive it. I drove a 3.6 and Diesel back to back and my wife looked at me after 3 min in the diesel and said " yeah fuck the gasser, this is way more fun" Shes a keeper

Same situation here, but i said it to myself instead

 

[Mr._Bill]

Hey all - looking to order my first Gladiator! Trying to determine which powertrain to get. I will be upfront and say cost is not a factor in the decision, just want the best performance for my application.

I will be ordering the Rubicon trim. Test drove with the 3.6 and it just seemed a little bit lacking on get-up and go power (merging on ramp, passing on interstate, going up mountain roads). Unfortunately there are not any Rubicon trims with the 3.0 ecodiesel that I can test drive to compare.
So I asked a guy at the dealership and he told me (based on his personal Gladiator Rubicon with 37's) he thinks the 3.6 would be better for what I described above IF an air intake is added to it. He says with the turbo lag on the ecodiesel, the 3.6 would be just as good with an aftermarket air intake due to the Rubicon having 4.10 gearing standard with the 3.6 pentastar. He said the 4.10 gearing is more important than the extra torque provided by the ecodiesel using 3.73 gears for going up the hills, passing acceleration, and such.

Just wanted to get others thoughts. The ecodiesel is more maintenance and finicky with the emissions, so if all other things are equal and there is not much of a difference after adding an air intake to the 3.6L then I guess the gasser route I would go.
Has anyone driven both setups (3.6L w/4.10+intake VS. 3.0L w/3.73) and could comment if they notice a difference between the two powertrains?

Will not be doing any towing.

I have a 2020 Overland purchased in July of 2019. It has 48k miles on it. So far, it has been great to drive. I put a Mopar CAI on it. It looks and sounds better, but does not provide a measurable performance increase. The 3.6 has plenty of power for freeway driving a stock truck. I have no problem getting around traffic on rural highways, and usually see speeds around 90mph when doing so. It drives straight and handles well.

I drove a Duramax diesel for thirteen years. It did well and I liked it. I don't like what the emissions requirements have done to current diesel engines, and choose to not own one.

 

[Marinertom]

Buy the diesel. Won’t regret it.
I have driven both 3.6 and diesel. Own the diesel with over 30k miles since 2021.
my suggestion is diesel.

 

[smlobx]

Hi OP!
I have both engines. The gas in my JT and the diesel in my wife’s Grand Cherokee. I have also had diesels for over 35 years in my construction business.

I also live near you having a vacation home near Asheville so I’m very familiar with the terrain you drive in.

Having said all that I can tell you that we love the diesel, particularly on longer trips. Diesels, any diesels, don’t do well with continued short trips so if you normal driving is a 10 mile commute than the gas engine is your best bet IMHO. Otherwise you’re going to have problems with the DPF clogging up.

The gas engine does fine if you’re not heavily loaded, by that I mean 500+ pounds. I ended up getting the gas engine due to the relative simplicity and proven track record of the engine but the choice is up to you.

If you can wait…there is a chance that Jeep will finally put the new straight 6 in the Gladiator in order to keep up with Ford and GM’s latest offering in the mid size market but that is just speculation at this point.

Also, as far as an intake making any appreciable difference, forget about it…not worth the coin.

 

[bod925]

Hi OP!

If you can wait…there is a chance that Jeep will finally put the new straight 6 in the Gladiator in order to keep up with Ford and GM’s latest offering in the mid size market but that is just speculation at this point.

Also, as far as an intake making any appreciable difference, forget about it…not worth the coin.

Yes I sure hope they do that in the 2024 model, we may be waiting until that model year anyways because I read they might also update the infotainment screen and other small refreshes. The new Canyon AT4X with the 2.7L really has my attention too. Haven't test drove one yet though, but the hp/torque numbers are right there with this 3.0 ecodiesel.
Love the mountains but it does get annoying trying to get up those roads with a weak motor!

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