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Gladiator JTRD vs Supercharged JKUR

Pattar

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Hey everyone, I currently own a 2017 JKUR with a stock motor, 3.73 gearing, and 35s. My jk is practically new with only 36,000 miles with a good amount of mods put into it.

I am considering trading in my jk for a Gladiator rubicon diesel mainly for the increased torque, and the fuel economy looks nice too. I also like the new interior which would be nice and I will most likely order it the way I'd like.

I am also considering keeping the jk and regearing to 4.10 or 4.54 and possibly supercharging it. Do a good amount of highway traveling at around 70-80 mph going up and down hills on the highway for about 7 hours. Obviously, with the setup I have currently, it's quite sluggish.

If anyone on here has supercharged their 3.6, how do they like it, and have you had any reliability issues?

I also do fill up the jk with all the way for these long trips. Would I lose any of that storage with the gladiator?

In the end, is it worth it to pay 60k to upgrade to the gladiator, or should I stick with what I got and make it more suitable for the highway. Also, I know a jeep with 35s isn't the best road vehicle, but I am stubborn, and it's what I like.
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brianinca

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A buddy of mine at work has a '14 JKUR that is built out with an MC 3.5" and 35's. He and his wife drive it back and forth to their Nevada ranch on the regular.

They did have a '19 Cherokee, recently replaced by a '21 Gladiator Overland Diesel. I see his JK in the parking lot almost daily now, I think his wife likes the Gladiator a LOT. Specifically though for long trips, he says they're getting 26 MPG on the round trip to the ranch (past Reno, so 6 hrs each way). That seems like spectacular mileage for a Jeep on California freeways.

I don't think a supercharger is going to do your mileage any favors, and if you put a topper on the JT you will have FAR more secured storage than a JKU or JLU. I just run a tonneau but that is a helluva trunk for a long trip.

Edit to add: I kept my Wrangler, just sayin', it's not like the Wrangler an Gladiator are the same kind of vehicle.
 
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Pattar

Pattar

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A buddy of mine at work has a '14 JKUR that is built out with an MC 3.5" and 35's. He and his wife drive it back and forth to their Nevada ranch on the regular.

They did have a '19 Cherokee, recently replaced by a '21 Gladiator Overland Diesel. I see his JK in the parking lot almost daily now, I think his wife likes the Gladiator a LOT. Specifically though for long trips, he says they're getting 26 MPG on the round trip to the ranch (past Reno, so 6 hrs each way). That seems like spectacular mileage for a Jeep on California freeways.

I don't think a supercharger is going to do your mileage any favors, and if you put a topper on the JT you will have FAR more secured storage than a JKU or JLU. I just run a tonneau but that is a helluva trunk for a long trip.

Edit to add: I kept my Wrangler, just sayin', it's not like the Wrangler an Gladiator are the same kind of vehicle.
Yeah, I am not too concerned about my fuel mileage as of now, I am going to regear my jk to see if it makes a difference on the highway. Like I mentioned I only have to make one stop which I don't mind and besides that, I would make short drives back and forth to college and the airport.

It's not the worst on the highway just when I go on mild inclines going 75 mph the jk shifts into fourth quite often but it's not the worst thing in the world. The supercharger is something I am thinking about if I am not happy with the performance with just the regear.

Also, I am glad to hear more people are getting great mpg with the diesel but I think of it as a bonus compared to getting better torque which would be why I'd get the diesel.

Did you mean you kept just your wrangler instead of getting the gladiator or do you have both of them?
 

brianinca

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Kept my old YJ and am enjoying my new JTR!

Yeah, I am not too concerned about my fuel mileage as of now, I am going to regear my jk to see if it makes a difference on the highway. Like I mentioned I only have to make one stop which I don't mind and besides that, I would make short drives back and forth to college and the airport.

It's not the worst on the highway just when I go on mild inclines going 75 mph the jk shifts into fourth quite often but it's not the worst thing in the world. The supercharger is something I am thinking about if I am not happy with the performance with just the regear.

Also, I am glad to hear more people are getting great mpg with the diesel but I think of it as a bonus compared to getting better torque which would be why I'd get the diesel.

Did you mean you kept just your wrangler instead of getting the gladiator or do you have both of them?
 

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Yeah, I am not too concerned about my fuel mileage as of now, I am going to regear my jk to see if it makes a difference on the highway. Like I mentioned I only have to make one stop which I don't mind and besides that, I would make short drives back and forth to college and the airport.

It's not the worst on the highway just when I go on mild inclines going 75 mph the jk shifts into fourth quite often but it's not the worst thing in the world. The supercharger is something I am thinking about if I am not happy with the performance with just the regear.

Also, I am glad to hear more people are getting great mpg with the diesel but I think of it as a bonus compared to getting better torque which would be why I'd get the diesel.

Did you mean you kept just your wrangler instead of getting the gladiator or do you have both of them?
Torque does look like the main benefit. And that's a BIG one. Torque is the source of so much goodness! A 70% increase in torque is no small benefit. The fact that it comes with an improvement in MPG is icing on the cake.
 

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I had a 2017 JK with 3.73s and the 6 speed manual and some bolt on engine mods for 3 years sold it with 29,000 miles. Just bought a JT EcoDiesel and put the mopar 2" and 37s on it.. I can't speak for the supercharger but I just don't think there is any way you can get the same amount of power out of that 3.6l... I freakin LOVE the diesel. Power is mega and I get 20mpg city driving all week when my JK was getting 13mpg. My vote is diesel.
 
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Pattar

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I had a 2017 JK with 3.73s and the 6 speed manual and some bolt on engine mods for 3 years sold it with 29,000 miles. Just bought a JT EcoDiesel and put the mopar 2" and 37s on it.. I can't speak for the supercharger but I just don't think there is any way you can get the same amount of power out of that 3.6l... I freakin LOVE the diesel. Power is mega and I get 20mpg city driving all week when my JK was getting 13mpg. My vote is diesel.
Thanks for the input! I just spoke with one of the technicians at the shop I might get my jeep regeared (if I were to keep it instead of getting the JTRD). They said the supercharger wouldn't be something that I would want for what I am doing which is high-speed travel(for a jeep). Pretty much meaning I would need more torque which is pretty much why I wanted the diesel in the first place bringing me back to square one. Also, I'd lose my warranty and if something goes wrong that's expensive I'd be out of luck
 
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Pattar

Pattar

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Torque does look like the main benefit. And that's a BIG one. Torque is the source of so much goodness! A 70% increase in torque is no small benefit. The fact that it comes with an improvement in MPG is icing on the cake.
Yeah, I agree even when I was looking at dyno runs of supercharged jk's the torque was still quite low compared to the diesel. Which makes it a no-brainer at this point to go with the JTRD because having that torque is great for the highway travel I am doing.
 

DAVECS1

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A positive displacement supercharger with the correct tuning will allow you to bring in part throttle boost at cruise speeds. I am on 4.10s and 35s and with 2-3 psi I can cruise 70 in 8th gear. I am seeing about 2.5mpg improvement over 2800 miles.
 
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A 21 JTRD is on order. Once it's here and the lift/gears are in, we plan on a side-by-side with the 20' supercharged JTR.
 

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dfwxjer

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Yes, it's absolutely worth it. I stopped driving Jeeps for a long time because I disliked the JK that much. The JL/JT is better in every possible way. Run, don't walk, to trade it in.
 

J_0ne

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A positive displacement aupercharger with the correct tuning will allow you to bring in part throttle boost at cruise speeds. I am on 4.10s and 35s and with 2-3 psi I can cruise 70 in 8th gear. I am seeing about 2.5mpg improvement over 2800 miles.
What supercharger system are you running?
 
 



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