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2012 0-60 Time Here

34K views 143 replies 39 participants last post by  roxbury29 
#1 ·
After scouring the internet for hours (multitasking) and not being able to locate one post or review listing the 0-60 times of the new Jeep Wrangler (2012) I decided it was time that I found out myself.

I own a 2011 and its great - 0-60 is a little slow - 11.3 or so - but it is a jeep so who cares. Around town its all I need - if I want a fast vehicle this should not be it - I have 3500 miles, sahara unlimited, 3.73 auto, soft top, full doors, side airbage, 430 nav - about 33k sticker last year. The perfect car.

I had been wondering was the new jeep a lot faster? How? its a brick.

I went to a dealer locally to drive one. Sahara Hardtop (heavier than mine) - 3.2 (not 3.73) gearing, auto, 730 nav, etc...

The 0-60 test consisted of me, a street, my iphone stopwatch and a heavy foot. I am pretty coordinated in timing the start stop feature.

No engine rev while holding the brake - good old release the brake and pound the gas like granny would. No manual shift the auto - just drive and go.

ready -- set -- go --

jam the gas and press start - 10 - 20 - 30 ... 60 --- 8.6!
round 2 8.7

The car had 8 miles on it.

that is significant. The difference is simple. both feel fine around town. the new engine just feels like any normal run of the mill car (which all do 60 in the mid 8's). The thrill is that it no longer feels like it is working. I am not saying it is good or bad - again -- its a jeep. But i have to give chrysler credit (or fiat) - they did a nice job.

I imagine if you do local driving you will not really notice - highway - if you care or need to drive fast - which i don't - it will be different. However, applying a little more gas will probably balance the feel.

I am not defending my 11 - i could bite the bullet and get the 12 for a small hit - i may - dont know - but I really wanted to post a 0-60 time as it seems a lot of people are curious. Good luck - if you get an 11 or 12 - its a jeep and its just plain fun - regardless of the 3.8 or 3.6 - but if you are still deciding - bite the bullett - spend the extra ching and get the 12 - that is an absolute no brainer.
 
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#2 ·
but if you are still deciding - bite the bullett - spend the extra ching and get the 12 - that is an absolute no brainer.
0% financing for 5 years on 2011s right now is surely something to consider.
 
#3 ·
I would hate to be the guy that purchased a "new" wrangler with 8 miles on it when those first 8 miles consisted of tire kickers testing 0-60 times...
 
#16 ·
Why has there not been one "first drive" of the 2012 Wrangler by Car and Driver or Motor trend, etc.? I have never seen a case where the new cars are in the hands of owners before any car rag got to do a test. Anyway, thanks to all you new 2012 owners posting up your reviews.
 
#22 ·
I have been offered a 2012 Wrangler press kit by a guy close to these rags. This tells me they are finally getting involved, although I'll have to dig and ask more details of him.

I may get that press kit later this week, I'll see what I can legally reproduce or at least report on.
 
#17 ·
That is the most unreliable way to measure 0-60 time short of a sundial to 4 decimal places. It seems in the ballpark, but I'll wait for a measurement that doesn't rely on human reaction time and is independent of any speedometer inaccuracy that may be present.
 
#19 ·
Your worried about the .1 second reaction time altering the results? Its a jeep... not like its a huge difference between 8.5 and 8.6. Its close and its a pretty big difference between the 2011 considering the gears as well.
 
#18 ·
I have the torque app which measures 0-60 exactly. I get 9.8 with my 2010 2 door. Have 4.88 gears though but also have heavy 33 MT/r's.
 
#20 ·
School me on this torque app you elude to. Is this similar to the CANBUS dash app that comes on the Challenger for instance? Did you flash/update your ECU for this?

I'm preparing myself for frustration caused by delays in getting ECU/Superchip options for the new 3.6l...
 
#21 ·
sprtplt11 said:
Why has there not been one "first drive" of the 2012 Wrangler by Car and Driver or Motor trend, etc.? I have never seen a case where the new cars are in the hands of owners before any car rag got to do a test. Anyway, thanks to all you new 2012 owners posting up your reviews.
I've been wondering the same thing about the car rags. It is like they don't even know of the changes. 
 
#26 ·
Reply

I agree with everyone. I race cars and understand the dynamic of being off on testing On my 2011 I get around 11.3 and that's a stomp start using the iPhone. Close to where most report. So I figured under 9 - that's good.

Also, my interest is not that I want a fast jeep but the 11 feels like it's always wheezing when getting up to speed (not the manual but the auto - I've owned both in the unlimited) The 12 just feels normal. Around town I barely notice a difference - 0-30 is negligible. I'm just a little bit of a torque junkie and the feel of power instantly and this motor offers a more rewarding feel.

You all have great insight and I thank you for your feedback. I know way about the 12 than I should at this point!
 
#27 ·
I tested the 0-60 today with my 2012 Rubicon Automatic with 4.10 gear ratio (fully loaded except side airbags and smoker's package). I weigh around 200. I measured the 0-60 with the VBOX PerformanceBox, which is considered very close to industry measuring standards used by journalists if not equal in terms of measuring performance metrics such as 0-60 and 1/4 mile times (according to the Car and Driver magazine review that is listed below). The measurements were taken without rollout.

My top two runs, during which I managed to get the best acceleration and traction, were both:

8.1 second 0-60 MPH

I'll put in a link comparing the VBOX PerformanceBox to the industry standard VBOX: Car and Driver DriftBox Review. The PerformanceBox is the same as the DriftBox in terms of performance metrics. Unlike the DriftBox, the PerformanceBox does not measure drift...
 
#31 ·
Looks like we got our new NASCAR pacecar selected here huh? Wow, 2-3 seconds faster than the boat anchor 3.8L. Ok, at the end of an entrance ramp, wow, you are two seconds AHEAD of where you would be if you were in a 2011. I saved 2-3 seconds in life, that is ASTRONOMICAL!

Where do I sign for these type of "speed of light" improvements?
 
#66 ·
Looks like we got our new NASCAR pacecar selected here huh? Wow, 2-3 seconds faster than the boat anchor 3.8L. Ok, at the end of an entrance ramp, wow, you are two seconds AHEAD of where you would be if you were in a 2011. I saved 2-3 seconds in life, that is ASTRONOMICAL!

Where do I sign for these type of "speed of light" improvements?
Your logic here is very flawed. 0-60 two seconds faster will not correspond to a Jeep getting to the top of the onramp 2 seconds faster, probably more like 4 or 5 seconds faster. On some of our onramps that 4 or 5 seconds could be the difference between a happy merge and bending metal. Actually, it isn't about the 4-5 seconds, it's about being at 45 mph at the top of the ramp vs. 65 mph at the top of the ramp and being able to safely merge with a concrete wall on one side and bumper to bumper traffic on the other side with no place to go if you can't get in line immediately. In this case, which is common here, the difference in speed could add years to your life, not seconds.
 
#32 ·
Good lord guys, I'm not really sure why we're going so hard at this.

Why isn't it okay for those with the 3.6 to be excited about whatever features they choose? They'll be threads about first time wheeling experiences too, are we going to jump on them then?

Bronsonbull's been pretty respectful in my opinion. I'm happy for him and hope he loves his jeep as much as we all do.

Stand down guys, stand down.
 
#72 ·
^^^
everyone seems to be fired up.... because from 11 to 12 the only real change is the engine/trans...

If it was a Hemi- I would be excited. / or if they could come up with an engine like ford has the V6-Supercharged Eco-boost / My dealer already said if I want to trade up from 11 to 12, I would likely not loose anything, Used vehicles are high demand, Jeeps hold value and 2012 I can still get supplier discount..

But for now, I will keep my Deep Cherry-2011 !!!
 
#35 ·
MTH: I am happy for anyone that buys a vehicle that they like no doubt, and have never been jealous of such a thing as i could get the same thing. I just give people a hard time when they start talking about 0-60 times of an offroad inspired machine that is made for offroading extremes.

Nothing against the 2012, hell it looks identical to mine, couldn't tell a difference going down the road. But, ironically...it seems to be this same group always grandstanding about their race times is why they catch hell, and some even down the previous models at the same time.....all the while buying an offroad vehicle. My 20 year old work truck does zero-60 in the same time, color me not amused.

Hope that explains it. I may get a 2013 if they get a diesel.......
 
#36 ·
kjeeper10 said:
But why is it all about speed in the 12's?
I can see why some are getting irked.
We want to see some of them covered in mud or crawling some rocks like a jeeps are supposed to be doin :)
I hear ya'.

I just think they'll get over it. Folks railed against the 3.8 (unjustly, IMO) as underpowered for so long that this is the natural response. It'll pass. They're just excited and I hate to see them getting pissed on for that.

There have been over the past year or so quite a few of "The 3.8 sucks how can you not hate it" guys. They needed to get pissed on and were mostly run off the forum. Guys like I've been seeing here who are just excited about the 3.6 don't seem so bad to me, so I say give'em a pass. They'll start wheeling and forget about the 0-60 stuff.

Just my two cents.
 
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