Jeep The JL 2.0 Turbo engine with e-Torque

[Greg]

I've been somewhat interested in this engine, after hearing that it makes 35 ft/lbs MORE torque than the Pentastar 3.6l V6.

Equipped with the 2.0T, the Wrangler is considered a mild hybrid. The core of the system is a 48 volt electric motor that adds 70 ft/lbs of torque, up to 1,500 RPM. I hear that this all but eliminates boost lag.

This system has 4 main components.

• MGU ( Motor Generator Unit )
• PPU ( Power Pack Unit )
• Cooling system
• Wiring

The MGU is belt driven and actually acts as the starter, in addition to providing a little extra torque on take off. The battery is a lithium-ion and has it's own water pump and cooling system to handle the heat it puts off. The battery is mounted under the body, behind the t-case and ahead of the rear axle.

Anyhow.... I thought this was a very interesting option for the Wrangler. I wonder if people will start tuning the gas engine and then getting more power out of the MGU in the future with more batteries... we may see 450 ft/lbs out of the little 2.0T in the near future! It'll be interesting to see how long the battery lasts, what it will cost to replace and what kind of issues the system is going to have over time.

Anyone driven one of these yet or have any more information?

 

[mbryson]

Nena Barlow has been posting about the 2.0L turbo. I think Joe @TeraFlex (or is that #teraflex) has one as well? Nena is quite impressed with the low end torque from her FaceBook posts

 

[Bart]

A friend of mine got to drive one of the 2.0 Wranglers at EJS last year and raved about it. Much quicker than the 3.6.

 

[Greg]

A friend of mine got to drive one of the 2.0 Wranglers at EJS last year and raved about it. Much quicker than the 3.6.

I could see how the added torque from the electric motor would be awesome with a lifted JL running bigger tires. Even re-geared, this engine combined with the 8 speed automatic transmission should be pretty impressive.

I'd love to see someone add a tune for the turbo engine, tweak the timing, boost and ignition curve for more power. That made a huge difference in my gas 1.8T VW.

 

[Anchor_Mtn]

I am worried about longevity of the e-torque system when used for rock crawling. Plus I know how much I hit the gas tank already.... Having a big battery bank down there sounds like it could be a problem.

 

[Johnny Quest]

I am worried about longevity of the e-torque system when used for rock crawling. Plus I know how much I hit the gas tank already.... Having a big battery bank down there sounds like it could be a problem.

i have heard of at least one of the e-torque systems having issues after a long day in 4lo. if the jeep rarely gets over rev limit of the system, itmay do some damage. will be interesting to see how these hold up over the next few years

 

[LJTim]

My good friend has one. His delivery was like 4 months behind production schedule because of the fire or something they had to investigate? We installed a 3.5 Metalcloak lift with 37's on it the week he got it. He has driven it to Moab twice, and they are very impressed with how well it is pushing those tires with the stock gears. He is a bit torn about what gears to get because it is doing so well, but he says he's sure it could do better with 4.88's or 5.13's. I drove it around a bit, and it is surprisingly peppy, even with the 37's. It sounds like a hovercraft with all that fan power, but the 3.6 JL's have the same issue. Not that it's an issue, but the fans are so loud, you swear it is going to lift off at any moment.

 

[gijohn40]

I drove one at the Bountiful jeep stealership and it was quite fast! I even spun the tires going around a corner! Nena is running 37 tires and stock gears and said that she has no intention of changing the gears. she found a skid plate that covered the battery. Its right in the same spot that the evap canister is on JK's

 

[Greg]

So, I test drove one of these 2.0T e-Torque Wranglers today....

 

[Tonkaman]

So, I test drive one of these 2.0T e-Torque Wranglers today....

...and then??

 

[frieed]

....

 

[Greg]

...and then??

....

And then, suspense was built!

Honestly, it's pretty impressive. I think the 8 speed automatic really makes it all come together. The e-Torque assist makes a big difference on taking off and the transition when it shuts off and the engine takes over 100% is virtually unnoticeable. The salesman that went with me on the test drive told me to drive it hard, especially from a stop. The turbo seems to be spooling up by 1,500 RPM and only helped with quick acceleration. When on the throttle hard, it runs thru the gears and gets up to speed quickly.

I did take it on the freeway and hammered it on the ramp and was quickly to 80 MPH. I slowed down, the passed a tractor-trailer and the freeway acceleration, when the e-Torque wasn't functioning, was still impressive. IMO the combination of a 2L engine with a turbo, plus 8 gears in the transmission is a winning combo. It seems like you're always running at or close to peak torque.

 

[TRD270]

How do you feel about the e-torque system being the starter when you're out in the middle of nowhere? E-torque scares me a little. My father just purchased a new Ram 1500 with that system, I'm curious about the longevity of it and trying to do a repair. Always a little apprehensive on new inventions introduced from Chrysler. If it goes out say even in Moab, I can't imagine it being stocked like a starter at a local parts shop.

 

[Greg]

How do you feel about the e-torque system being the starter when you're out in the middle of nowhere? E-torque scares me a little. My father just purchased a new Ram 1500 with that system, I'm curious about the longevity of it and trying to do a repair. Always a little apprehensive on new inventions introduced from Chrysler. If it goes out say even in Moab, I can't imagine it being stocked like a starter at a local parts shop.

That's one thing I don't know about.... I did read somewhere that this system is much easier on parts than a traditional starter and for that reason, should last a long time. I'd love to see the workings of the electric motor, belt and how it all works together in starting and adding the electric assist. The salesman I talked to yesterday claimed that this e-Torque system has been around for awhile and is proven, but it's the first time I've ever heard of it.

 

[Ashcat]

Correct me if I’m wrong since I cannot correct the rest of you at this time but isn’t eTorque only responsible for starting the engine during defined start/stop events? Ours is in snow Mexico right now or I’d climb under it to look for the starter myself. In the few times I’ve mall crawled it (9+ rated furniture store curbs) the eTorque is disabled below a certain operating temperature, amount of time after the vehicle has been started, during a light application of the brakes (just enough line pressure to hold the vehicle still on ascending to level grade) when the auto start/stop button is toggled off AND the real kicker is......when in 4 low. So, when you’re getting uber gnarz flex on Dillard’s revenge, you’re not going to be stranded from Starbucks Mesa because the eTorque took a dump on you.

It’s tinfoil thinking and the last thing fiat would do is sink their own battle ship with eleventy billion bad yelp reviews come April because all of Moab was plugged up with dead yeeps.

And pfa

 

[TRD270]

The salesman I talked to yesterday claimed that this e-Torque system has been around for awhile and is proven, but it's the first time I've ever heard of it.

I'm with you on that, I'd never heard of it until my father stopped in to show me his new truck. Told me about the feature, shortly after he left I had to hit google because curiosity got me.

Correct me if I’m wrong since I cannot correct the rest of you at this time but isn’t eTorque only responsible for starting the engine during defined start/stop events? Ours is in snow Mexico right now or I’d climb under it to look for the starter myself. In the few times I’ve mall crawled it (9+ rated furniture store curbs) the eTorque is disabled below a certain operating temperature, amount of time after the vehicle has been started, during a light application of the brakes (just enough line pressure to hold the vehicle still on ascending to level grade) when the auto start/stop button is toggled off AND the real kicker is......when in 4 low. So, when you’re getting uber gnarz flex on Dillard’s revenge, you’re not going to be stranded from Starbucks Mesa because the eTorque took a dump on you.

It’s tinfoil thinking and the last thing fiat would do is sink their own battle ship with eleventy billion bad yelp reviews come April because all of Moab was plugged up with dead yeeps.

And pfa

So this was my lack of education on the system, when I read it on Ram's website I was under the impression it was solely responsible for the starting. According to the video linked down below FCA "for now" has retained the traditional starter on all engines the etorque is available on since it has better cold starting

Fairly well done video about the system

 

[frieed]

One question I have would be about powering add-on electrical accessories. Would it power an onboard air system with the 48V to 12V charging system for the 12V starter battery? It's not as if you can go buy a beefier alternator and I'm betting the 48V-12V converter is not cheap if you overload and kill it.

 

[Hickey]

I don't have much to add, other than the fact that car salesmen don't know anything about the product they sell. I wouldn't put any faith in their words.

 

[Greg]

Correct me if I’m wrong since I cannot correct the rest of you at this time but isn’t eTorque only responsible for starting the engine during defined start/stop events? Ours is in snow Mexico right now or I’d climb under it to look for the starter myself. In the few times I’ve mall crawled it (9+ rated furniture store curbs) the eTorque is disabled below a certain operating temperature, amount of time after the vehicle has been started, during a light application of the brakes (just enough line pressure to hold the vehicle still on ascending to level grade) when the auto start/stop button is toggled off AND the real kicker is......when in 4 low. So, when you’re getting uber gnarz flex on Dillard’s revenge, you’re not going to be stranded from Starbucks Mesa because the eTorque took a dump on you.

It’s tinfoil thinking and the last thing fiat would do is sink their own battle ship with eleventy billion bad yelp reviews come April because all of Moab was plugged up with dead yeeps.

And pfa

View attachment 117018

Yeah, you're right... IIRC, there are a certain number of parameters that need to be met for the e-Torque system to begin working. So yes, there is still a traditional starter.

The JL looks good, I dig that color! Have you guys been pretty happy with the 2.0T on long freeway drives?

I'm with you on that, I'd never heard of it until my father stopped in to show me his new truck. Told me about the feature, shortly after he left I had to hit google because curiosity got me.



So this was my lack of education on the system, when I read it on Ram's website I was under the impression it was solely responsible for the starting. According to the video linked down below FCA "for now" has retained the traditional starter on all engines the etorque is available on since it has better cold starting

Fairly well done video about the system

Great video, answered a lot of questions!

I don't have much to add, other than the fact that car salesmen don't know anything about the product they sell. I wouldn't put any faith in their words.

While I do agree with this, the guy I talked to was pretty well educated on how the e-Torque system worked. He was a car guy though, not just a 'salesman'.

 

[Ashcat]

I’ll ask my wife when she gets back tonight. It was 20hr round trip. (I don’t have JK or other experience) I drive it around locally and love the feel of the suspension and steering. I admire the front geometry. It’s a blast maneuvering it around. Feels really good in your hands. I think it’s roomy for what it is and the seats feel good. I do remember JKs feeling kinda cramped riding in friends 4 doors.

I’ll second the salesman not knowing squat.

We test drove this 2.0 and the 3.6 back to back to back to back. The V6 was a charcoal metallic grey so naturally I favored it but couldn’t notice much of a power or driveability difference. It wasn’t as quick off the line but felt the same at higher speeds. I would get em up to 75 and smash on it and there wasn’t much difference between the two. They both pull really strong, again for what they are.

The internet claims how noisy the 2.0 is. I strongly disagree. The V6 was much louder as in a white noise from under the hood. It was bothersome under acceleration only. Idle, cruising was fine. The wind noise is louder at speed than what either of the drivetrains produce.

The auto start isn’t horrible however sometimes maybe the trans loses pressure or it wasn’t high enough prior to shut down so sometimes you get a little slip or slop upon take off. Could even be from getting too aggressive on the throttle before the engine/converter/pump have enough time to compensate? Perhaps.