I love the idea of the new V8 Jeep, but $75K is a bit dear to me. OK, a pipe dream to me. You can bump it over $80k though:
I love the idea of the new V8 Jeep, but $75K is a bit dear to me. OK, a pipe dream to me. You can bump it over $80k though:
I don't really see the point of a V8 in that vehicle. You've got a low gear transfer case for off-roading and you're not going to tow anymore with the V8 vs other engines because of the height and wheelbase.
People have been dropping V8s in Wranglers forever. There are off-road situations where lots of power/torque is the answer. But mostly it's just a way to force an upgrade of the rest of the drivetrain :)
man, I just... Dont get it (Wranglers). I've had first-hand experience with several, and unless you are beaching or off-roading it with frequency, they're just terrible vehicles. They're noisy, uncomfortable, they track like poop, they're heinously overpriced, and waving at people annoys me. My boss and mother both own unlimiteds, and both of them have burned through tires and full brake assemblies in less than 20k.
... not to mention the mall crawler, 'Just buy everything from the smittybuilt catalog and bolt it on' crowd just makes me... sad? Annoyed? I dunno. Sure, you can take the doors and top off. I guess that's cool sometimes... but is it really, REALLY, worth all of the crap you have to put up with otherwise? I know, I know, it's a lifestyle...
I have thoughts of LS swapping my XJ. While the 4.0 is a decent engine, it is extremely outdated and really gets E36 M3 for fuel economy. The LS would be 100 extra HP, 100 lb-ft of torque, and probably better fuel economy to boot.
$80k for a Fiat built Jeep is crack price territory. They won't sell one to me.
2 Door Wranglers start at $28k. Not too bad. To make sure that we're comparing apples and apples, here is the inflation:
$28,000 in 2021 was roughly:
$75,000 in 2021 was roughly:
Looking at the V8 4 door Wrangler, I'd say the closest comparison we have to that in the past would be the Defender 110. Back in the 90's, that MSRP'd over $40k. So this doesn't seem that crazy to me at all.
Toyman01 + Sized and said:I have thoughts of LS swapping my XJ. While the 4.0 is a decent engine, it is extremely outdated and really gets E36 M3 for fuel economy. The LS would be 100 extra HP, 100 lb-ft of torque, and probably better fuel economy to boot.
I've seriously considered it, but after talking to Matt Adair (races an LSXJ in Lemons) I have concerns about fitting AC. I'd love to know more from anyone who's managed to make it work in a street vehicle instead of a hammered ziptied trail toy.
My XJ gets about the same fuel economy as my M5, but has less than half the power :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
You're letting me down, Keith. I was counting on you to lead the way. 
I went from 3.55 gears to 4.11 gears and got a lot of my fuel economy and acceleration back. I'm going to be due for a rebuild before too long and have already determined it will get another 4.0. Maybe.
AMC was putting v8s in CJ's back in the 70s. I can tell you that a v8 cj5 with its 90ish inch wheel base is terrifyingly awesome.
But my favorite wrangler swap is a 4bt cummins.
There's a newer Cummins crate that's not out of a panel van that would be a pretty sweet swap.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
The Cummins R28 is super tempting as well but I figured it would be about $15k for the swap. I'm cheaper than that.
Hmmmm, is there another straight-6 that would swap into an XJ?
OK, probably not LOL.
After having ZJ I totally get the attraction of a Jeep. I'll probably own another one at some point. But where I live they're toys, and not toys I can really use anywhere near by. A stock height, 4 cyl jeep is massive overkill for anything within a 3 hour drive, and even then you'd be at a pay-to-play park.
Not a chance I'd own one I needed to use as an actual vehicle.
But they'll still sell plenty of those V8 models, likely at a sizable mark up.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:Hmmmm, is there another straight-6 that would swap into an XJ?
OK, probably not LOL.
If you're going to straight six swap an XJ, there is only one correct answer.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I have a rusty XJR-6 sitting behind the shed that has been looking for a purpose. That engine in an XJ is really, REALLY tempting.
My FIL bought a 4 cyl 2016 Wrangler and gave me the keys to go pick up pizza. I really didn't enjoy driving it on road. It is newer than any car I own and felt worse to drive than a 2001 Astro panel van. Plenty of power though. He did buy it to offroad though so hopefully he enjoys it there.
My brother has a "last generation" (not sure what that one is called) Wrangler, and he just loves the heck out of that thing, which for him consists of 99.9% on road driving.
I took it out for a spin, and am still not sure what the attraction is. Pounding ride, loud, didn't track particularly well, all with stock suspension / alignment with the exception of Fox shocks.
Just not my can of corn, I guess ... although I do think they look pretty good.
The majority of them are full-on Walter Mitty rides. You street drive a Wrangler because you think it's cool and because of what you imagine you could do, which means it makes you happy. Which really isn't that different from driving something like a fast Mustang around on the street in a lot of ways :) It doesn't make sense to judge their vehicle dynamics like you would a sports car, just like it doesn't make sense to judge a sports car by how well it handles a rocky climb.
The previous generation was very, very good to the aftermarket.
golfduke said:man, I just... Dont get it (Wranglers). I've had first-hand experience with several, and unless you are beaching or off-roading it with frequency, they're just terrible vehicles. They're noisy, uncomfortable, they track like poop, they're heinously overpriced, and waving at people annoys me. My boss and mother both own unlimiteds, and both of them have burned through tires and full brake assemblies in less than 20k.
... not to mention the mall crawler, 'Just buy everything from the smittybuilt catalog and bolt it on' crowd just makes me... sad? Annoyed? I dunno. Sure, you can take the doors and top off. I guess that's cool sometimes... but is it really, REALLY, worth all of the crap you have to put up with otherwise? I know, I know, it's a lifestyle...
It's a jeep thing. You wouldn't understand.
I really enjoy driving Jeeps without doors on.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:I love the idea of the new V8 Jeep, but $75K is a bit dear to me. OK, a pipe dream to me. You can bump it over $80k though:
For $1,297 per month, I feel like I could have a different jeep each month. not a wrangler, admittedly, but still.
Ever been to Gravelrama? You'll want a V8.
We're overrun with the mall crawlers around here. Between the Jeeps and the 4x4 trucks, I'd estimate that a pretty high percentage of them never get off of the pavement.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I suspect that LED lighting in the wheels, wheel wells and under the body doesn't really hold up off-road.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:I love the idea of the new V8 Jeep, but $75K is a bit dear to me. OK, a pipe dream to me. You can bump it over $80k though:
For $1,297 per month, I feel like I could have a different jeep each month. not a wrangler, admittedly, but still.
That's $200/month more than my mortgage. And that's including property taxes, insurance, etc.
In reply to z31maniac :
But you can't take your house up a slightly bumpy gravel road that a Kia Rondo could drive, now could you!
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