Seriously... 4 Cylinder Question

[TheDavidField]

Ok Guys. I need help. Please no B.S.
Point: I might have to buy a 2.4L 2005 Wrangler due to money issues and a lousy trade in. That being said...
I had a 2004 Nissan Frontier that had a little less power than this Jeep. It ran fine on the highway, although it definitly was not a six. Are these wranglers really that aweful on the highway in a 4 cylinder? Can someone please give me a little insight? I will use it as a daily driver to and from Temecula to Riverside CA. I will also do some offroading mainly on unmaintained Fire Access Roads (for backpacking).

Ok, so can I please have an honest answer. Is it REALLY that bad on the highway???

[xt master]

Depends on the tire size.I have a CAI and 31" tires and have no problem on the highway runs a nice 70MPH at around 3k rpm.Getting about 17MPG.Yes on hills you may slow down some key is to keep the rpm's high.If you have bigger tires you may run into some problems.

[CLIMBaMTN]

I have a 95 YJ 2.5liter with 33's and its hard to hit 60mph for me...if you have regular street tires you should be ok on the highway, you're not gonna accelerate like you have a V8 of course but you will at least be able to get up to highway speeds

[Saddle Tramp]

Bottom line… Any Jeep is better than no Jeep! If a 4 banner is all the piggy bank allows by all means crack that dude and run to the dealer with your pennies.

Yes you will get less for a 4 over a 6 when you go to sell it even though the dealers don’t want to admit it and will try to get the same for both motors but on balance the 4 should be worth $1,500 +/- less than a 6 on the used market.

I’ve owned both I4 & I6 Wranglers. I prefer the 6 but have no problem with the 4. It’s not as powerful but just how big a hurry are you in anyway? Also, the 4s come with 4.10 gears in the pumpkins and tend to get the same gas mileage as a 6 with the taller stock gears.

[88Wrangles]

Why not just wait a bit longer and get a 6 cylinder?

[jps4jeep]

Leave it stock and remember it is a 4 cyl jeep and not a porsche

it will do just fine.

[HiHood]

What, on the 215? You'll be lucky to hit 40 MPH on that anyways. Last time I was in Temecula, it took 45 min to get from Murrieta to the Rainbow grade. You'll have PLENTY of power at these speeds.

[JeepRox]

I run my jeep on the Garden State Parkway everyday about 50 miles. I get ok gas mileage I have a 2.5 litre 4 banger it's been good to me, I run anywhere from 70-80 depending on traffic. I have bigger than stock tires, but I get about 16 to 17 highway. Sometimes better. I have to agree with everyone the wind is a big factor, and it is a Jeep not a Porsche....But it's a jeep thing...love my jeep.

[JohnnyO]

Ours is a 4-banger automatic, it is very hilly here in western PA, and I think it is fine. Stock 225/75-15 tires (so far). On a long hill it will slow down to 60 mph with my foot to the floor, but it's better than the 3.0/stick/3.73-geared Ranger 4x4 I used to have. My main issue is that the automatic is only a 3 speed, so the engine is singing pretty good on the highway and mpg (for a 4 cyl) is pretty bad as a result. I'd recommend a stick so you have an overdrive gear.

[xt master]

Originally Posted by JohnnyO

My main issue is that the automatic is only a 3 speed, so the engine is singing pretty good on the highway and mpg (for a 4 cyl) is pretty bad as a result. I'd recommend a stick so you have an overdrive gear.

The stick is not much better.I may have 5 gears,and yes I can still use all 5,but I am still singing along at 3k RPM.any less and it will bog down on a small hill and I will be back in 3rd doing 40 MPH.

[mud4feet]

In answer to your question......no BS.....I have an '03 Wrangler 4banger with 139,000 miles. I bought it new in Florida, moved to North Carolina, and now live in Louisiana. Did fine in Florida (flat roads), did fine in the North Carolina mountains (as long as you don't care about 5th gear). No, I didn't pass anybody on the uphill grades and sometimes had to downshift to 3rd, depending on the grade, but that didn't bother me. I now drive it, 3-4 times a year, 1400 miles round trip back to the mountains to take care of my home. Most of it is interstate driving. She'll cruise all day long at 65-70 at around 3K rpms without a problem. Don't know what you require, but that suits me just fine. I never regret buying the 4banger. Get off the pavement and, with the 4:11's, it is never a problem. She's served/is serving me well. Don't listen to all the hype. Hope that helps.

mud

[colorado_jeeper]

I drove my '97 4banger from chicago to colorado when it was stock, 75mph the whole way. Now that i have 33's on it, 65 if i'm lucky, downhill with a tailwind. But hey, my 33" mtr's get me farther off the road than the stock 225/75's did.....

[jfrabat]

I also have a 4Banger, and also bought it in FL (Miami), but has since found a new home in Panama (Central America, not FL). I bought it with 31's and stock gearing, and even in FL (like stated above), I had to downshift to 4th to go up overpasses and when driving against the wind.

Then I regeared to 4.88's, and it was AWESOME with 31's; I could put it on 5th, activate the cruise control (I put one on mine), and would not need to downshift even when going up an overpass against the wind. Then I switched to 33's, and it was a little better than the 4.10 and 31's, but not great (I still have to downshift on grades and when running against the wind). If you dont mind loosing fifth, you will be fine.

Moral is, if you regear properly, it will do fine regardless of tire size. Ideally, for 33's, you'll want 5.13 (but to go any lower than 4.88, you need to change your axles, as neither the D35 nor the D30 will go any higher).

Felipe

[Sine Deviance]

I have a '95 YJ with the 2.5L, 2" Black Diamond lift, and 31" tires. I have the stock 4.11 pumpkin gears. I built a 3" short ram intake and I swapped a 4.0L throttle body on it. That's all the mods I have for the engine so far. I regularly hit 75mph on flat interstate in 5th gear with no 'help' from 4th to get there. On slight uphills I still have to downshift to 4th to maintain 65-70 but it does pretty well considering.

I can't figure exact gas mileage but before I did the intake and the TB swap I was getting about 16mpg, so it should have gone up because the engine simply doesn't have to work as hard. Also, both of those mods are extremely easy and cheap. I have about $75 plus a couple hours of time invested total. Another good upgrade is the e-fan swap. You can free up some ponies that were already in use by doing that one and it will cost you about $250 for everything you'll need to do it the right way. And then there's always high-flow exhaust systems, bigger injectors, and better ignition systems. If you want to get really serious you can spring for a regrind cam and some form of forced induction. All of those mods I mentioned without forced induction will already put you on par with a 4.0L. Add forced induction and you're going to be seeing low-end V8 power, maybe even better.

The 2.5L isn't as weak as most people will tell you, and if you want to spend a little time searching junkyards you can really get it purring. It's also usually more reliable than the 4.0L. Of course, if you really need to be doing 90-100mph at 18mpg and you're not interested in mods, you're going to want to go for something with the 4.0L 'High Output' engine (this is different than the normal 4.0L so keep that in mind.) Jeeps that have the 4.0L HO have the '4.0L High Output' badge on the back and they are more powerful than a regular 4.0L. They're also much more expensive. Mostly, these came in Cherokees, but I'm fairly certain there were some TJ Wranglers made with them too.

[TheDavidField]

Ok, WOW!!!

You have all been so helpful! I thank you very much for the imput! Guess what I did? I found a 2006 Wrangler X, 6cyl, 6 spd for 14k. Only had 50k miles on it. Has 31" tires. Everything else is stock. I started looking in Auto Trader and found it. I had to finance it, but I got a sick warranty, so I will run it till it breaks, and then get it fixed. Thanks for all the replies though seriously. I would have bought a 4 if this wasnt available, like you said Saddle Tramp, A Jeep is better than no jeep!!!

David

[gardengirl38]

Congratulations!

[jfrabat]

Congrats!

[xt master]

Gratz,It should not take to long to break it and start upgrading if you are doing it correctly.