Is it possible to get better fuel economy from a Jeep Wrangler TJ?

It should also be noted that a major contributing factor to gas mileage is aerodynamics. The TJ is probably one of the worst vehicles out there when it comes to aerodynamics.

So, even if you do stick a gas efficient engine in a TJ there's still no getting around the poor aerodynamics
 
Jerry Bransford said:
That's amazing mpg and twice what I get.
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Haha... Maybe I've just grown so used to it that it no longer impresses me. Most of my driving is city driving in which case it averages around 18mpg city, maybe a little less depending on driving style.
 
That's 24 for a CRV? We got around 27, same with our CX5.

I don't think anyone would buy a jeep with mileage as the main concern, but if it's a DD, I certainly wouldn't want 9-10 mpg. I'd sell it in a heartbeat.
 
Yeah, I don't daily drive my TJ. Part of me would like to, but it's almost more fun not driving the TJ for a week and then getting into it after that week of nor driving it... Makes it feel like a brand new car almost!
 
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Mine is a DD, just hate driving anything else. But the rare times I do drive our CX5, and then inadvertently wave to other jeep drivers outta habit, I get that half wave, half-"do I know you?" look.
 
Chris said:
Haha! I wave to everyone but JK guys seldom ever wave back.
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There are brand new JK's in my area that are equipped for the Rubicon Trail that have never seen a dirt road. Not much camaraderie amongst FJ Cruiser owners either.
 
Bermudacat said:
There are brand new JK's in my area that are equipped for the Rubicon Trail that have never seen a dirt road. Not much camaraderie amongst FJ Cruiser owners either.
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I guess in a way you can't blame them. If you spent almost 60k on a car the last thing most people would do is beat the piss out of it. Unless you're rich and you can afford to... But imaging financing an almost 60k car like that. It would be a stupid idea to finance it and then go beat the snot out of it off road.
 
Bermudacat said:
It's like the giant pickups that are lifted so high you cannot load the bed.
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Yeah, I never understood that, totally defeats the purpose of owning a pickup.

A Wrangler on the other hand, lift it as high as you want because it's not like there's any room for storage, haha.
 
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Chris said:
Haha! I wave to everyone but JK guys seldom ever wave back.
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That would be because unlike CJ/YJ/TJs which sold mostly to the fringe lunatics like us.... The JKU appeals to soccer Moms and IT dorks who wave only to their sisters. I can't wait to see the next Wrangler which is sure to focus on them.... not us.
 
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billiebob said:
That would be because unlike CJ/YJ/TJs which sold mostly to the fringe lunatics like us.... The JKU appeals to soccer Moms and IT dorks who wave only to their sisters. I can't wait to see the next Wrangler which is sure to focus on them.... not us.
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Yep, this is true. The JKU attracted a completely different demographic of Wrangler owners that we haven't seen in previous Wrangler generations. People who want to use them as cool looking SUVs.

Boy did Jeep cash in on the JKU!
 
I honestly believe that if Jeep had their way in making new Jeep Wranglers they'd still be more like the TJ.

It's the feds/EPA/FHSA who forced them into making the JK with their onerous safety requirements like higher impact & rollover resistance and side air bags, plus significantly higher mpg requirements. Jeep came out and said they couldn't simply meet all the ever increasingly difficult current federal requirements without a completely new Wrangler design.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I honestly believe that if Jeep had their way in making new Jeep Wranglers they'd still be more like the TJ.

It's the feds/EPA/FHSA who forced them into making the JK with their onerous safety requirements like higher impact & rollover resistance and side air bags, plus significantly higher mpg requirements. Jeep came out and said they couldn't meet all the ever increasingly difficult federal requirements any more without a completely new Wrangler design.
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I believe this as well. However, once Chrysler saw the amount of money they were bringing in from the mass popularity of the JKU I am sure that the corporate Chrysler guys were quite pleased. The JKU is a massive success for them.
 
Bermudacat said:
Jeep did not want to bring the 4.0 to current emission standards, so they made the JK wider so they could use their current mini van engine instead. :p
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The Pentastar engine in the 2012+ is actually a great engine (though I wouldn't want to own one since I like the simplicity of the 4.0).

However, the minivan engine (3.8) in the 2007-2011 models is plagued with it's fair share of issues. This is my theory on why you can find 2007-2011 Wrangler JKs sometimes for cheaper than a nice and clean TJ!
 
Has anyone fitted a locking hub conversion kit ?
Is there any fuel saving and is it enough to justify the cost of the kit (average $1,500)
I used to have a set of free wheeling hubs on an old Series2 Land Rover but never recorded any significant fuel saving.
 
Steve Wasteney said:
Has anyone fitted a locking hub conversion kit ?
Is there any fuel saving and is it enough to justify the cost of the kit (average $1,500)
I used to have a set of free wheeling hubs on an old Series2 Land Rover but never recorded any significant fuel saving.
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@Jerry Bransford has manual Warn hubs. You won't gain any mpg at all from a manual hub conversion though. At least not on a modern vehicle like the TJ.
 
Chris said:
@Jerry Bransford has manual Warn hubs. You won't gain any mpg at all from a manual hub conversion though. At least not on a modern vehicle like the TJ.
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True, I've had two TJs with manual Warn hubs. There's no difference in anything whether my TJ's hubs are locked or unlocked on the highway, I can't tell when they're locked/unlocked except by looking at them. Only offroad do the manual hubs make a difference.
 
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I was surprised that after all these years, they haven't really improved the mpg of the JK over the TJ. Several guys who own both a TJ and a JK (post 2013) told me, their TJ does as good or better in mpg. Of course it depends which model I suppose.

The lure of the Pentastar's 275 HP engine had me excited. I did test drive a few. on the JKU, on the two door it was nice, but not as much power as I thought. I guess the added weight of the JK counters it a bit of the power increase and mpg too.

I still believe tires really make a big diff in mileage. Since getting my dreadful (according to some here! lol) E load K2O's on the day before Thanksgiving, I've had to fill up only twice for my DD! On the stock tires I would have filled up 4 times by now. Immediately getting those tires put on, I drove 6' out of the garage and noticed the jeep was rolling almost effortlessly. Thinking back, I'm so glad I didn't trade for a JK, and decided to put a few grand into mine.
 
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