Why do you think Jeep has yet to offer a V8 option in the Wrangler?

Chris

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I was thinking about this today. Why do you think it is that Jeep still has yet to offer a V8 option in the Wrangler? I understand with the TJs why it wasn't an option, but with the JKs and JLs, I would have figured they would have eventually offered a V8 option for two reasons:

1) They could charge a lot more for it (and therefore make more money).
2) They must pay attention to the amount of aftermarket V8 swaps people do, enough to know that there's a strong interest.

So what am I missing? It seems like FCA is just ignoring the obvious here in terms of extra money. Do you know how many people would probably pay 5-7k more for a V8 option? That thing would sell like hotcakes!
 
I was thinking about this today. Why do you think it is that Jeep still has yet to offer a V8 option in the Wrangler? I understand with the TJs why it wasn't an option, but with the JKs and JLs, I would have figured they would have eventually offered a V8 option for two reasons:

1) They could charge a lot more for it (and therefore make more money).
2) They must pay attention to the amount of aftermarket V8 swaps people do, enough to know that there's a strong interest.

So what am I missing? It seems like FCA is just ignoring the obvious here in terms of extra money. Do you know how many people would probably pay 5-7k more for a V8 option? That thing would sell like hotcakes!

I brought this very question up in a different thread and I kind of got beat up by everybody saying they don't need one and the 6 cylinder is enough. I disagree. I would definitely consider a new Jeep if it offered a V-8. Hell I would v-8 my TJ if I wouldn't have emission issues. I totally agree with you.

My logical reason would be that I know there is some sort of government standard that lets so many cars get away with bad gas mileage. They can only sell so many, but it is less lenient on the big trucks especially the 4 doors. So manufactures try and stay in the standards so nothing gets held against them meaning they are not limited on what they can sell. That is what I am told by the dealerships, but that seems to me then at least offer the v-8 in the 4 door jeeps?

All I know is I paid way to much for a JK and my older cheaper TJ would kick its ass in any race known to man. I was pretty disappointed in the Jk's and don't think I would be any happier with the JL's.

I wish they would sell a retro early 70's CJ-5 with a V-8 You know like they did the Camaro's and Mustangs and Challengers? Wouldn't that be cool?
 
I brought this very question up in a different thread and I kind of got beat up by everybody saying they don't need one and the 6 cylinder is enough. I disagree. I would definitely consider a new Jeep if it offered a V-8. Hell I would v-8 my TJ if I wouldn't have emission issues. I totally agree with you.

My logical reason would be that I know there is some sort of government standard that lets so many cars get away with bad gas mileage. They can only sell so many, but it is less lenient on the big trucks especially the 4 doors. So manufactures try and stay in the standards so nothing gets held against them meaning they are not limited on what they can sell. That is what I am told by the dealerships, but that seems to me then at least offer the v-8 in the 4 door jeeps?

All I know is I paid way to much for a JK and my older cheaper TJ would kick its ass in any race known to man. I was pretty disappointed in the Jk's and don't think I would be any happier with the JL's.

I wish they would sell a retro early 70's CJ-5 with a V-8 You know like they did the Camaro's and Mustangs and Challengers? Wouldn't that be cool?
Can we say "HEMI".

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Probably due to the power to weight ratio. The 304 V8 in the 2700lb Cj-5 only put out 150hp. 40 less than the 4.0 is rated at. And the 3.6 is listed at 285 HP for a 4-5000 lb jeep. It seems there may be a replacement for displacement after all.
 
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Can we say "HEMI".

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
I guarantee if they made an SRT version focused more toward street performance they would sell plenty. 99% of current Wranglers are bought for highway use anyway, much like the SRT-8, G55 AMG… plenty of capable SUVs have been re-geared to be Autobahn cruisers.
 
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Why do you think Jeep has yet to offer a V8 option in the Wrangler?

Toyota Tacoma owners have also been asking this same question, for the last 13 years, since the 2nd generation Tacoma came out in 2005. They put a V8 option in the Tundra, in some of the 4Runners, but never offered it for Tacomas.
 
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Probably due to the power to weight ratio. The 304 V8 in the 2700lb Cj-5 only put out 150hp. 40 less than the 4.0 is rated at. And the 3.6 is listed at 285 HP for a 4-5000 lb jeep. It seems there may be a replacement for displacement after all.
In the early 60's .... General Motors (Buick) brought out an aluminum block/head V8. Weighing in at a mere 320lbs. .... this is 220lbs. lighter than a SBC.
 
With today's technology, the idea that they cannot manufacture a V8 that will meet MPG regulations is a bit silly.

BMW has the S65B40, a 4.0L V8 that produces 420hp w/295lb-ft of torque and revs to 8,300rpm.

That engine gets 14 city, 26 highway mpg. And that engine is 11 years old.

The idea they cannot manufacture/engineer a V8 that produces 300+ hp and 250+ ft-lb of torque (or more?) with a reasonable mpg is not giving technology enough credit.
 
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I really don't think MPG is the reason. Every V8 swap I have researched showed much improved MPG. With today's computer controls they could vastly improve MPG and add horsepower and torque at the same time.

Go back to the muscle car days of the late 60's and early 70's. Trying to get 1 HP per C.I. costs 1000's of dollars and MPG dropped to the single digits. Today they can get 2-3 HP per C.I. with MPG in the 20's. Computer control powertrains can do amazing things.
 
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I don't know if I would trust the general population driving around with solid axles, a high center of gravity, and a V8. Every soccer mom and teenager in the country would roll a JK with a V8 into the next county. I don't really think there is a use for a V8 wrangler anyway. Is anyone really lacking power while rock crawling? I can see needing more power in a buggy, but not really in a JK.
 
To continue my previous post, I'd say the reason they haven't is... we don't need one.

It would be a LOT simpler to have a factory option of a V8 rather than do an LS/Hemi swap, but for what the Wrangler does, does it need a V8?

I say no - which is why FCA hasn't done one. While it may sell well, I think they've crunched the numbers that they don't need to develop/engineer one.

Look at the travesty that has become Formula 1 engines - those tiny, 1.6L turbo engines can put out insane HP. The Pentastar, love it or hate it, puts out nearly 300hp. As often stated on here, what true trail runners/rock crawlers want isn't hp, it's torque to get over and out of those trail obstacles. While a V8 would have more by virtue of larger displacement/more cylinders, I'm willing to bet some engineer at FCA has crunched the numbers as to the weight of a new Jeep and what kind of torque it needs to operate as one would expect a Jeep to operate.

Those numbers show that they can create a V6 that meets the needs - and V6s are typically cheaper to produce than V8s.
 
In my odd way of thinking, I think GM dropped the ball when they didn't buy the "Jeep" name from AMC. With the popularity SB 327 back in the mid 60's, that would have been the way to go. I also think that Chrysler felt left out, so that's why they bid so much more than GM & Ford. And besides LS1 has a much better ring to it.

Steve
 
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Why don't they? I'd guess for several reasons starting with a point above that they must know how popular V8 swaps are. No they very likely don't and the ooh and ah factor that a lot of enthusiasts have when they hear about a swap gives them a warped perspective. Percentage wise of total JK and TJ models on the road, V8 swaps are but a few molecules of a water drop in the bucket.

They sell all they build, they build pretty much at capacity, what money are they leaving on the table by not offering a V8?

The space under the hood between the front of the engine and the front of the frame is there to meet crash test standards. They would have to redesign the whole rig around a V8 and then the V6 would look like the 4 banger does in the TJ with even more space in front.

The vast majority of Jeep owners don't really give a crap about the engine size as long as it gets them from point A to point B. If that were not the case, the dealerships would all be full of unsold Wranglers.

CAFE standards and the overall mileage of what FCA sells in total may come into play but I don't doubt for a second that they could keep the mileage at similar levels as the current power plant offerings.

And lastly, no one but an enthusiast asks this question which is again from a skewed perspective very much like all the folks that wet their pants when someone mentions diesel. You know why we don't get more diesel engines in this country? We are unwilling to accept what a diesel is in vehicles in the rest of the world. Small, cheap, slow, comparatively low performance and much higher polluting. We want diesels that are the holy grail. Big, powerful, high horsepower, low emissions.
 
Why don't they? I'd guess for several reasons starting with a point above that they must know how popular V8 swaps are. No they very likely don't and the ooh and ah factor that a lot of enthusiasts have when they hear about a swap gives them a warped perspective. Percentage wise of total JK and TJ models on the road, V8 swaps are but a few molecules of a water drop in the bucket.


They sell all they build, they build pretty much at capacity, what money are they leaving on the table by not offering a V8?

The space under the hood between the front of the engine and the front of the frame is there to meet crash test standards. They would have to redesign the whole rig around a V8 and then the V6 would look like the 4 banger does in the TJ with even more space in front.

The vast majority of Jeep owners don't really give a crap about the engine size as long as it gets them from point A to point B. If that were not the case, the dealerships would all be full of unsold Wranglers.

CAFE standards and the overall mileage of what FCA sells in total may come into play but I don't doubt for a second that they could keep the mileage at similar levels as the current power plant offerings.

And lastly, no one but an enthusiast asks this question which is again from a skewed perspective very much like all the folks that wet their pants when someone mentions diesel. You know why we don't get more diesel engines in this country? We are unwilling to accept what a diesel is in vehicles in the rest of the world. Small, cheap, slow, comparatively low performance and much higher polluting. We want diesels that are the holy grail. Big, powerful, high horsepower, low emissions.

Best summation I’ve ever read, on the corporate thinking on the V8 question. There are some real Jeep people designing and engineering your Jeeps. But trust me, their enthusiasm only gets them so far, they ultimately answer to a much higher power.
 
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Best summation I’ve ever read, on the corporate thinking on the V8 question. There are some real Jeep people designing and engineering your Jeeps. But trust me, their enthusiasm only gets them so far, they ultimately answer to a much higher power.
I've had 2 life altering epiphanies that cause me to view stuff in a different perspective than most. One turned me into a real cynical asshole early on, the other had to do with Jeeps. I got my broad "education" from the internet about the TJ and the supposedly "horrid" Dana 35 that must be removed at all costs or you will die or at least not garner the respect of your fellow Jeep owners who will look upon you very unfavorably if you still have one.

I have a good friend who worked at a Jeep dealer for many years including a period of time when the YJ was still in production. Chatting with him one day I asked him much of a pain in the ass it was to have to keep repairing and fixing all those terrible Dana 35's. He replied that they rarely if ever see them for repair which absolutely astounded me. If the internet were to be believed there should be a line of Jeeps out the door of every dealership just trying to keep that poor Dana 35 on the road and bailing wired together until the warranty expired whereupon they could foist the maintenance responsibility upon the owner forever. They almost never see them for repair. What? How it that even possible? I know that the vast majority of Jeeps have them, they must be working on them. Nope, not at all.

Well now, what does that mean? I know he isn't lying to me, what's going on? Then it clicked and the lightning bolt of understanding hit home hard. The popularity of myths and how if something sounds "true" because the author has an authoritative definitive posting style and sounds like he knows what he is talking about, make it is very easy to believe and perpetuate the myth if you don't have some knowledge or personal experience to refute or doubt it.

In fact, we just dealt with this yesterday solving a problem that has been going on for months for a Jeep owner. He developed some play in his steering. Internet buddy convinces him that it is his steering pump, plops in a generic from an XJ. Nope.
Gets convinced that it is his steering gear, plops a reman Saginaw in in place of his ZJ by drilling beside the bolt hole which was the correct thing to do according to Redhead. (do not do it that way)
Nope, now he has horrible return to center, it is twitchy, not fun to drive.
Removes Redhead and plops in a Durango box according to another internet buddy. Nope, no change.
Shops tell him it is his steering stabilizer, needs a drop pitman etc.

He brings it to us and we do a diagnostic and swap in take out parts we've kept that are good. ZF steering gear, matching pump and hoses, fluid and lower steering shaft.

He goes for a test drive and upon returning says it is better than it has ever been since he owned it. The initial problem was a worn lower shaft and he went through months of trouble because no one could diagnose the original issue and sub par and incorrect parts were thrown at it which only made it all worse and they were so bad that when he finally did fix the steering shaft, it wasn't enough.
 
With today's technology, the idea that they cannot manufacture a V8 that will meet MPG regulations is a bit silly.

BMW has the S65B40, a 4.0L V8 that produces 420hp w/295lb-ft of torque and revs to 8,300rpm.

That engine gets 14 city, 26 highway mpg. And that engine is 11 years old.

The idea they cannot manufacture/engineer a V8 that produces 300+ hp and 250+ ft-lb of torque (or more?) with a reasonable mpg is not giving technology enough credit.
Bring on start/stop technology :D
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Just kidding
 
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