3.6 or Turbo

GreekJL

New member
In the market for a new JL and deciding if I should go with the 3.6 or the 2.0 Turbo. Just sold my 13’ Jk rubicon sitting on 37’s, geared down to 5.13’s.
We go up to the mountains quite a bit, and more than likely will throw 37’s on the JL. Any recommendations/insights is greatly appreciated.
 

JTCO

Meme King
In the market for a new JL and deciding if I should go with the 3.6 or the 2.0 Turbo. Just sold my 13’ Jk rubicon sitting on 37’s, geared down to 5.13’s.
We go up to the mountains quite a bit, and more than likely will throw 37’s on the JL. Any recommendations/insights is greatly appreciated.

I just talked to a guy in a parking lot (here in CO) who has a JL with 37s, 3.6, and the 8 speed tranny. He said the power is amazing and he's even chirped the tires. He said that power train is badass. He said he goes up in the mountains around here nearly every weekend.
 

NFRs2000NYC

Member
Based on the sport I drove with 35s, a Rubicon with 37s should be plenty peppy....and from what I've seen, a Rubicon on 38s will be door to door with a JK on 40s with a ripp supercharger and proper gears. The turbo will probably have a bit more highway oomph, as well as EASILY get quite a bit more HP from exhaust, straight pipe, and tune, but that 48v system really scares me.
 

aug0211

New member
The 3.6 with the 8 speed is great. The power is excellent.

That said, I prefer (and went with) the 2.0 Turbo and 8 speed. I just love the torque. It’s slightly quieter than the 3.6, both while driving and at a stop - not sure whether I like that or not :)

Drive them both and see what you think! You should be able to find one of each (even if the options aren’t all the same) to compare.

The 8 speed is so underrated, it’s a massive improvement and makes both the 3.6 and 2.0T great options.


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OverlanderJL

Resident Smartass
Because it is a drastic improvement over the previous transmission options, and all of the talk out there is on the 2.0T vs the 3.6.

Many people seem to overlook the fact that both engines are great *and* the overall powertrain is a drastic improvement when selecting the 8-speed transmission.


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I wouldn’t say the 3.6 is a great engine.


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gonefirefighting

New member
well first of all the cardinal rule is "there is no replacement for displacement" and the 3.6 is a beast of an engine with the new transmissions in the JL. I am planning a turbo or supercharger kit down the road just to make the curve a bit steeper for my needs when I upgrade the axles and lift but in its stock form I truly believe the 3.6 is a great power plant for all around use.
 

NFRs2000NYC

Member
well first of all the cardinal rule is "there is no replacement for displacement" and the 3.6 is a beast of an engine with the new transmissions in the JL. I am planning a turbo or supercharger kit down the road just to make the curve a bit steeper for my needs when I upgrade the axles and lift but in its stock form I truly believe the 3.6 is a great power plant for all around use.

Sure there is, turbo > displacement. Turbo vs NA, turbo wins. Now, couple turbo WITH displacement, now we're talkin.
 

Rickorich

New member
I have a 2018 JL Rubicon Unlimited with 2.0L Turbo eTorque but it was a struggle initially for me to choose. I like the simplicity of the 3.6 but liked the power characteristics and mpg of the new 2.0L. My concerns are the new technology and 48v battery and cooling lines etc. I don't rock crawl gnarly terrain but I do take off road so its less of a concern but aside from banging up the undercarriage I have concerns with the new technology in general that only time will tell. The risk was worth it to me at time of purchase as it was the clear winner also considering the extra cost being an up sale option and higher future maintenance costs. Not to mention the 2.0L requires premium octane fuel. The 3.6 is a safer lower risk as well as lower maintenance cost and overall cost of ownership IMO. All that being said I still went with the 2.0L so follow your heart.
 

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NFRs2000NYC

Member
I am still fielding the supercharger/turbo options, it seems about the same gains for the top kits but still waiting to see if edelbrock will make a kit.

Complete waste of money on a wrangler (supercharger.) Turbo will work, but you are adding a LOT of heat to an already hot situation...wheeling offroad is slow going with not a lot of airflow. I would consider a rear mounted turbo setup but I doubt it would work well on a V6, just not enough displacement. You will get MUCH better performance on a wrangler with a simple regear.
 

gonefirefighting

New member
Complete waste of money on a wrangler (supercharger.) Turbo will work, but you are adding a LOT of heat to an already hot situation...wheeling offroad is slow going with not a lot of airflow. I would consider a rear mounted turbo setup but I doubt it would work well on a V6, just not enough displacement. You will get MUCH better performance on a wrangler with a simple regear.

I had a dual pass cooler on my last supercharged JKU and never had any issues with it and it proved much more efficient and powerful than any turbo available on the market at the time. I was running pro rock 60/80 with 5:38 gearing. It proved to be a very solid combo. There has been a slew of new products coming out for the JL so I will simply wait to see what the engineers come up with. At this point I am leaning at a turbo setup simply due to less noise and space under the hood. I have never seen such a cramped engine bay on a wrangler than the JL.
 

JTCO

Meme King
I love the whining sound of a supercharger on the drag strip or road, but after following a Jeep with one on a trail last year, it was so fucking annoying. There is no way I would ever put one on a Jeep that I use off-road.
 

NFRs2000NYC

Member
And they don't make any meaningful boost at low RPMs where you spend most of your time offroad, like I said, they are a waste offroad, add complexity, for no real benefit...in my opinion. I am all for adding forced induction, hell, I have a built FI vehicle, but IMHO the application of said FI matters.
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
I love the whining sound of a supercharger on the drag strip or road, but after following a Jeep with one on a trail last year, it was so fucking annoying. There is no way I would ever put one on a Jeep that I use off-road.

This^^^^^^
 

13_gecko_rubi

New member
I have a 2018 JL Rubicon Unlimited with 2.0L Turbo eTorque but it was a struggle initially for me to choose. I like the simplicity of the 3.6 but liked the power characteristics and mpg of the new 2.0L. My concerns are the new technology and 48v battery and cooling lines etc. I don't rock crawl gnarly terrain but I do take off road so its less of a concern but aside from banging up the undercarriage I have concerns with the new technology in general that only time will tell. The risk was worth it to me at time of purchase as it was the clear winner also considering the extra cost being an up sale option and higher future maintenance costs. Not to mention the 2.0L requires premium octane fuel. The 3.6 is a safer lower risk as well as lower maintenance cost and overall cost of ownership IMO. All that being said I still went with the 2.0L so follow your heart.
The 2L DOES NOT REQUIRE PREMIUM. It is recommended for maximum performance but only 87 is required. With DI knock isn't really an issue as can control with injection timing. It doesn't drop much performance wise running 87 or 89. I would still run premium just because I'm not buying a performance engine to not have it at Max but you don't need to.

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