Actually it could work better than you think off road with a 4 banger IF it had like 6.14 gears in it with those tires. It would never do well at a high speed cruise (not because of RPM but because of drag vs power availible but it would play fairly well off road. at times. I had a freind that had a 4 banger with 35's and 5.13's and it did surprizing well off road and surprized more than one person that looked under hood.
----------------- TheSnoMan.com
I have to agree with snow. Properly geared, the 2.5L does great off road. It will never do well in mud bogs or on the highway, but as far as trails and general wheeling, it does just fine.
Carl
It's easy to tell those that have never driven a Jeep with anything larger than a four bagger:
Bill,
That's a great video that I've seen a few times. I understand your point, but to someone less understanding, that could come across 'insulting'. I really dont give a rat's ass, but do you think comments like that could be part of the reason for the trouble you've been getting?
The fact of the matter remains that properly geared, the 2.5L provides adequate power off road while in low range.
Carl
Bill,
I suppose we have to agree to disagree here. I was very pleased with the
2.5L's performance in my 89 YJ, sprung over on 33's with 4.10 gearing. Highway included, I was not dissapointed. Drive it like a Jeep, not a sports car.Carl
Agreed. God Bless America, Bill O|||||||O mailto: snipped-for-privacy@aol.com
It is a great mill for this properly geared. Cheap to feed (longer wheeling time), easy to cool and weighs less too. Many years ago (in
70's) I had a freind that lived near NC/Tenn border that had a old 51 Dodge military truck that looked like a Jeep on steriods with a flat head six and a top speed of about 45. It weighed about 3 tons and had military type tires around 36 inches tall in it and a engine driven winch. It was a tank off road and would go anywhere you pointed it and had right amount of power and gears for off road too. (first gear low range was about 2 MPH tops) If hill was too steep to climb you could winch yourself up in short order with good line speed and never worry about battery dying or winch overheating. I had a chance to buy that things years ago and kick myself for never doing it. It was 100% stock and it great shape too. Once on a old loging road we feel through a old wood bridge about 4 or 5 feet into creak below with a few feet of water in it. We simply drove down the creek for a while until we found a place to climb out and blaze a trail through brush and small trees to get back hillside to old logging road. It was a blast to drive off road. A V8 would not have made it any more fun to drive or able. The silly thing even supported a snokle but we never used that feature.----------------- TheSnoMan.com
OK, I need to explain myself a bit more here. I agree that the 4 cyl will do OK in a rig set up properly. However, the picture I responded to was a YJ with 42" tires and obviously not much capability of articulating over rocky terrain. If that rig had even looked like it could off-road on more than a farm field or 2 rut road, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it. The rig in the picture looked like it would be able to go mudding with the tires it had, but then the 4 cyl would more than likely be inadequate. I guess I was analyzing the whole picture more than just the engine.
Personally, I wouldn't build a 4 cylinder Wrangler, but that is my personal preference.
Chris
Probably gets a few MPG less and has a bit of lugging in first. Doubt he ever sees top gear. Doesn't say if he regeared the diffs or has a locker but if he has a locker the axles aren't going to last too long if he puts any force on them.
Probably a swamper/mudbuggy.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.