Tuning and cold air intake

[BSchoeppel]

So what's everyone doing/going to do about tuning their Gladiator ecodiesel?
Any leads on a cold air intake available yet? I'm guessing ones for the 2020 Wrangler ecodiesel may work?

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[tcramer11]

What will a cold air intake do for the diesel' tow capacity? Would it increase this? So if these intakes increase MPG and horsepower what is downside? Why doesnt everyone go get one or the OEM put them on?

 

[WXman]

Some people say a "cold air intake" won't do anything on a turbo-charged vehicle. I disagree. The engine is still drawing in air, and the less resistance that air has to being drawn in the better. Having said that....the gains from a CAI will be minimal on this engine. You likely won't even notice it.

As for tuning, it's a brand new animal so it'll take a while. But there are companies working on it right now. It appears that the new tunes for Gen 3 EcoDiesel are going to fall into two camps:

1 - GDE tune, made in the USA, fully EPA compliant, very trustworthy tuning, but will NOT allow deletion of the horrendous EGR, DPF, DEF, and SCR systems.

2 - Tunes from Canadian companies, not EPA compliant, not as trustworthy as GDE, but will allow deletion of the horrendous EGR, DPF, DEF, and SCR systems.

Making a choice on which to go with is going to be hard and will have a lot of things to ponder and consider.

 

[Jeepasaurus_Rex]

I'll be waiting for a snorkel option and the GDE tune options

 

[Rooney58]

I know this is a rather late reply, but I just ordered a Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel in September and have been looking into this question a lot.

From the last I saw, Banks Power is developing a CAI for both the Wrangler and Gladiator EcoDiesel. They don't have any ETA for it which is a bummer but still good news.

As far as CAI are concerned, for Diesel motors especially it is a quality upgrade to get because Diesel thrive off of cold air. That is why a lot of bigger diesel motors have large CAI systems. But like mentioned before you can only tell in 1-3 MPG, and little in noticeable power gains. For instance, my 2013 Golf TDI has a CAI in it and I gain 3 MPG and 10 HP and 23 Torque. It is a 2.0 L though.

 

[CCOlotti]

I know this is a rather late reply, but I just ordered a Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel in September and have been looking into this question a lot.

From the last I saw, Banks Power is developing a CAI for both the Wrangler and Gladiator EcoDiesel. They don't have any ETA for it which is a bummer but still good news.

As far as CAI are concerned, for Diesel motors especially it is a quality upgrade to get because Diesel thrive off of cold air. That is why a lot of bigger diesel motors have large CAI systems. But like mentioned before you can only tell in 1-3 MPG, and little in noticeable power gains. For instance, my 2013 Golf TDI has a CAI in it and I gain 3 MPG and 10 HP and 23 Torque. It is a 2.0 L though.

I've always been a fan of the AFE products. They have a decent list of things coming for the JL and I've asked about JT fitment. The JL/JT share the same engine bay setup for the intake and downtubes as best I can tell but they are working on testing them for JT compaitbility.

https://afepower.com/vehicle-platforms/jeep/wrangler/2020-jl-v6-3-0l-td

 

[Mac]

Hard to believe VW or any other car company would leave that much mpg and power on the table if all it took was an CAI to achieve it.

 

[Rooney58]

Hard to believe VW or any other car company would leave that much mpg and power on the table if all it took was an CAI to achieve it.

Only one word, "Emissions."

 

[Oil_Burner]

This thread relates to the diesel, but regarding the CAI's on a gas Gladiator, you can find a good link to real world testing here:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/cold-air-intakes-are-a-waste.38496/

Diesels love a lot of cold air. Cold air is denser than hot air, so it contains more "air" for the same volume. It seems to me that the challenge with the Gladiator is how do you get more of that. The turbo gives you the quantity of air you need, but turning that compressed hot air back into cold air is a challenge. Jeep reportedly detuned the echodiesel in the Gladiator from the RAM truck because of heating challenges. There is limited space to work with to cool things (coolant, compressed air from the turbo (intercooler), AC, transmission) in the front of a Gladiator.

If you add a tune to give you more power, that power also makes more heat. That heat will increase the exhaust temperature, and put more heat into the turbo. After a tune, does the computer look at a temp sensor in the exhaust to ensure that if you are on a long pull at full power, it cuts back on power to ensure you don't cook the turbo?

If you want some short term power increase because you need it to get through an obstacle or away from a traffic light, you might get that with a tune. If you need more power to pull a loaded Gladiator up I-77 North coming out of North Carolina or I-70 up across Vail Pass, you may want to keep your foot to the floor for 10 minutes or more. A tune here to give you more power would likely cook your turbo....

 

[KHam]

Hard to believe VW or any other car company would leave that much mpg and power on the table if all it took was an CAI to achieve it.

They don't. CAI's have zero benefit for these vehicles. Don't believe me? Do a before and after dyno. (I have done lots of them). Getting more power out of your turbo diesel will involve upgrading the exhaust side starting with the downpipe, followed by more boost and more fuel into the engine which you won't be able to without replacing the locked ECU. There aren't any gains to be had on the intake side unless you start making a lot more power and need a lot more air for the engine.

 

[KHam]

This thread relates to the diesel, but regarding the CAI's on a gas Gladiator, you can find a good link to real world testing here:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/cold-air-intakes-are-a-waste.38496/

Diesels love a lot of cold air. Cold air is denser than hot air, so it contains more "air" for the same volume. It seems to me that the challenge with the Gladiator is how do you get more of that. The turbo gives you the quantity of air you need, but turning that compressed hot air back into cold air is a challenge. Jeep reportedly detuned the echodiesel in the Gladiator from the RAM truck because of heating challenges. There is limited space to work with to cool things (coolant, compressed air from the turbo (intercooler), AC, transmission) in the front of a Gladiator.

If you add a tune to give you more power, that power also makes more heat. That heat will increase the exhaust temperature, and put more heat into the turbo. After a tune, does the computer look at a temp sensor in the exhaust to ensure that if you are on a long pull at full power, it cuts back on power to ensure you don't cook the turbo?

If you want some short term power increase because you need it to get through an obstacle or away from a traffic light, you might get that with a tune. If you need more power to pull a loaded Gladiator up I-77 North coming out of North Carolina or I-70 up across Vail Pass, you may want to keep your foot to the floor for 10 minutes or more. A tune here to give you more power would likely cook your turbo....

This!

When towing with a modified diesel, I always watched my pyrometer gauge. You can pull as hard as you want until you start hitting about 1400 degrees then you need to slack up. You can't sustain those temps very long. I always tell people that the slow semi going up the hill has nothing to do with power... he could tow that load at 80 up the hill like nothing. He's watching his gauges.

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