I have read many posts how everyone wants a Hemi and I have to question if in the end as a whole we are better off without one.
First I have yet seen a place a person would go, or want to go, with a Hemi you can’t go with what we drive now.
I agree it would be nice to have a little more power when you get Grandma Moses in front you and you want to pass or when merging onto the freeway. Once I bought a new jeep with the small engine and hated it on the pavement but it did fine as soon as I drove it off pavement. I kept it one year and couldn’t wait to get rid of it.
The reason I question if a Hemi would be good is I wonder if everyone had that much power under the hood if more people would misuse that power and more people would be injured in accidents. Let’s face it Jeeps aren’t designed for speed in the first place and when you add lifts big tires etc. to the mix I wonder if you might be creating more of a safety hazard than a benefit. My wife has a Trans Am and when I drive it it is very easy to grow horns.

 

I would tear my driveline apart if I had that kind of hp and torque under my foot

 

I agree. A big V8 in a small vehicle like a Jeep (even a 4 door) seems overkill. I have been thinking if one were to need so much more power, why not redo the 3.8? I haven't researched it at all, but I would think one could bore the motor .20 or even .30 over, install higher compression pistons, do some head work, and have it retuned. I would think all that would cost MUCH less than a Hemi install. It wouldn't be as much power, but I think it would be PERFECT. I know that with a higher comp. motor you would have to run 91-93 octane, but in my own case it would be worth it. I wonder if any companies out there make aftermarket cams for these? Like I said, I haven't researched it, but it should be doable.

 

I just idle everywhere no matter what ive been driving. Never owned anything like a ta but ive owned trucks with 700 ft lbs and 600 hp. All big vehicles, most with 6 wheels. Never drove like a dick. I think most people will only drive what the vehicle will drive comfortably.

The ta handles like its on rails with no body roll, a lifted JK on 37's rolls, bounces, ect. Its just not as fun to drive fast.

And yea you would tear up your driveline. Thats why doing a hemi properly almost requires D60's and new shafts.

 

The reason I am happy with the 3.8 is because you have the potential to get half-decent fuel economy out of it and as many have pointed out it keeps you out of trouble by keeping the speed down.

Right now I would say my total average of fuel economy is about 18 or 19 mpg (including ALL the driving I have done in my JK). I also realize that when you start adding larger tires and heavy equipment it knocks it down into the mid teens (15 mpg seems like about the average people get after lifting their JK, putting larger tires, and regearing to the appropriate ratio, some get worse but some get better). However, my father currently owns one of the dodge rams with the 5.7 hemi in it. His BEST fuel economy he gets is 13 - 14 mpg on a good day, and his ram is completely stock with tires that are the SAME size as the tires on my JK!

Also I can say that I have actually been GRATEFUL for the 3.8's lack of power on a few occasions. When I'm not paying attention to my speed on the highway, come around a corner, see a police car sitting there and I am only going 65 - 70 mph I am glad that my JK doesn't have the power to easily accelerate far beyond legal speeds.

I look at a hemi as something if I had a LOT of money, it would be fun and cool to have in a JK. But as it is I don't make a lot of money, so the thought of spending nearly the same amount as I did on my JK (just over 20K out the door) to install an engine that gets worse fuel economy and results in more speeding tickets doesn't appeal to me. But of course to each their own!

 

I'm fine with the 3.8, at least for now. I don't drive the Jeep on the Interstate and my 5.13's make it fun enough around town. Off road, 4 low, baby, and my newbie a$$ won't get into trouble as easy as with 350 HP.

Now, next summer, when I'm driving to, and in, Colorado, I might sing a different tune. Last year when I was out there dual sport motorcycling, I drove my turbo diesel pickup. I was pulling my 22-ft. Haulmark with a TJ, 3 motorcycles, and bunch of gear in it. Plus, there were 4 people in my truck, too. Another TJ that was following us couldn't keep up in the hills...at all.

A little turbo on the 3.8 would be nice for stuff like that.

 

Well I have three Jeeps with Hemi's in them and I don't drive like a madman. They are Jeeps after all. Even with a Hemi the don't go or drive like a TA. My Jeep's all have 37"-40" tires and 5.38 gears and 60's in them too. They drive like a Jeep should drive. The extra power does come in handy in the mud, sand and big hills and yes you do have to be a little careful or you could break something but I broke stuff without the Hemi's and stock axles if I wasn't careful too.

 

A 3.8 in a JK with big tires, bumpers, lift and all the extra gear we put on them can't hold its own going down the road. That's why we put Hemi's in them.

 

If I had the extra cash I'd to the ripp s/c, the wife would murder me though. She's just getting over the 33's I bought 'her' for xmas

 

Id take a Hemi over this gutless minvan motor anyday.

This thread=FAIL