FCA has reworked its line of Pentastar V6 engines found in a variety of its vehicles, including the Jeep Cherokee and Wrangler. It’s part of an effort to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations as they grower stricter between now and 2025.
The company has taken the 3.2-liter and 3.6-liter power plants and made them lighter while giving them a higher 11.3:1 compression ratio, two-step variable valve lift, improved variable valve timing, and cooled exhaust-gas recirculation. As a result, the Pentastars now produce, according to Green Car Reports, “15 more torque at engine speeds below 3000 rpm, and fuel-economy improvements of 6 percent.”
One thing FCA didn’t install on the new V6s is direct fuel injection. Although it increases fuel economy, it can also produce soot because it doesn’t completely mix gasoline and air in the combustion chamber, especially when the engine isn’t up to operating temperature.
The EPA doesn’t currently require gas engines to have the particulate filters found on modern diesels to trap that soot, but it may by 2017.
Ironically, it seems FCA is ahead of the game by being a little behind the times. Either way, the company should save on development costs and the next Wrangler is going to hit higher mpg.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
