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Long rumored I-6 turbo might be real

7.2K views 51 replies 20 participants last post by  SecondTJ  
#1 ·
Ram had an owner survey earlier this year testing the waters on preference for V8 vs turbo 6-cylinder.

While this particular power train would clearly replace the Hemi, it’s not inconceivable that a smaller turbo I-6 could make its way down. Maybe it’s not the I-6 and they slap a turbo (or two) on the 3.6L, who knows.

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#43 ·
Yeah, the 5.7 HEMI is clearly in its last legs.

Let’s not forget there’s also the 3.2 V6 being used in the Cherokee.

I think Stellantis is more likely to turbocharge the 3.2L than the 3.6L Pentastar.
Look up the Tornado Inline 6 - it is coming and will replace the 5.7 Hemi.

After owning a Hemi Ram, I am glad it's going away, looking forward to the Inline 6.
 
#4 ·
both 3.2 an 3.6 are a V6 engines, not I6

Last gasoline inline 6 in a jeep i know of was the AMC242 in the 2006TJ
Plus 5.9l and 6.7 diesel in a ram truck
Nowhere on the survey says it is an I-6 or a V6. It only says "6 cylinder engine."

I doubt Stellantis is going to spend time and money bringing an all-new engine design at this point.
 
#9 ·
I6s are making a comeback. My car has a Turbo I6 and I really like it.

 
#10 ·
The linked article mentions the issue of the height of the inline six. Probably not an issue in the Wrangler, but if it were, Chrysler solved that issue over 6 decades ago with the slant six. I never owned one, but the induction and exhaust were more easily accessible, although the spark plugs on the down side were a bit more difficult to access.

The very first six cylinder vehicle I ever owned was the venerable AMC flat head six that was in a 1964 Rambler American that I bought used in 1968 (to take Scouts camping and keep my '68 Plymouth Sport Fury clean).
 
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#14 ·
The linked article mentions the issue of the height of the inline six. Probably not an issue in the Wrangler, but if it were, Chrysler solved that issue over 6 decades ago with the slant six. I never owned one, but the induction and exhaust were more easily accessible, although the spark plugs on the down side were a bit more difficult to access.

The very first six cylinder vehicle I ever owned was the venerable AMC flat head six that was in a 1964 Rambler American that I bought used in 1968 (to take Scouts camping and keep my '68 Plymouth Sport Fury clean).
My parents owned two Chrysler slant sixes: a 1968 Dodge Coronet and a 1980 Dodge Diplomat. The engine was so smooth you could barely hear it idling or feel it running. Both had the 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic. The front suspension used a torsion bar: it was the simplest setup; there was nothing to maintain or break.

They kept each vehicle 12 years. They just kept on going.

Imagine that: two vehicle purchases in 24 years! Nothing today is built to last that long. That’s where I got my loyalty for Chryslers from.

Of modern Chryslers I’ve owned, the three 2005-2010 300C SRTs were amazingly trouble free.
 
#11 ·
I have the Mercedes M256 engine and it’s not the I6 of yesterday. It has a lot of technology that quite frankly I don’t ever plan to work on myself. I’ll see how it goes, but my plan is to get another car after the warranty expires.
 
#13 ·
I would bet it would replace the Truck Hemis. The "Hellcat" (6.2L) and the "392" (6.4L) would probably live on as they can make significantly more HP than 400.
 
#20 ·
#22 ·
The flat plane is basically a racing engine and has all the issues associated with one. Be interesting if they can make it reliable for consumer use. The high end muscle cars have owners that can afford to spend big $ on reworking the engine. For the ones in races, they get rebuild after each race, providing they didn't blow up.
 
#23 ·
The only flat planes I was aware of are in Ferraris and boy do those sound sweet. I would like to hear the Corvette 5.5l when they come out. I’m just glad that car companies are continuing to spend money of development of V8s. I would like to get one more nice high output V8 car before they all go away.
 
#24 ·
What people fail to realize is that while a smaller displacement engine can make the same or more power, it has to work harder to do so. Cylinder pressures have to be much higher. And it almost always requires additional components such as turbo chargers, intercoolers, and additional cooling.

A small displacement engine will NEVER be as reliable or have the same longevity as a large displacement engine if power levels are the same.

This is one reason Ford went the opposite direction and increased their new engine for HD trucks to 7.3L in size. They purposefully designed it to be simple as pie to maintain and own, and last forever.

In addition to all that, fuel economy is never better with a small turbo engine. It takes X amount of fuel to make Y amount of power. Evidence of this is seen in the multiple lawsuits Ford is fighting over their "Eco"Boost engine MPG claims that don't pan out in the real world.
 
#31 ·
In addition to all that, fuel economy is never better with a small turbo engine. It takes X amount of fuel to make Y amount of power. Evidence of this is seen in the multiple lawsuits Ford is fighting over their "Eco"Boost engine MPG claims that don't pan out in the real world.
My wife is averaging 22 mpg as a dd with her '20 JLU Recon 2.0T eTorque vs 17 mpg when she had her '13 JK 3.6L Sahara. Same driving conditions, 4 dr vs 2 dr (heavier vehicle) and larger tires, too.
 
#25 ·
Lost of speculation on your part on the reliability of the new Vette. Only thing this new Corvette won't have is the torque of the LS7 down low, the will make that up with gearing and finally with more top end and govs more HP this new Vette will walk away from the LS7s it won't be funny. It'll require an LS7 to have ported aftermarket heads, camshaft and full exhaust to keep up.i think they make 700-730hp crank out of LS7s with that config. The new Vette is 760 crank HP with a 5 year warranty :)
 
#27 ·
There’s a thread today on another forum started by the owner of a 2019 JLUR 2.0T with 7,000 miles: his JL has been at the dealer for two weeks; it blew cylinders 3 and 4.

First such incident I read about. Hope is not the start of a trend.
 
#28 ·
The idea of a turbo 6 appeals to me a lot more than the idea of a turbo 4. I think it would work better offroad but still have more punch on the pavement at altitude. My 3.6/manual is kind of a pig in thin air. But if they are going to eTorque it, well they can just keep it as far as I'm concerned. Having to have a turbo or ET is bad enough, having both would be a hard no for me. Honestly they should just use a 4.7ish V8 in the Wrangler, but I know that isn't the direction everything is going.
 
#33 ·
I believe there is a Mustang with a flap plane crank with U tube info on line. I would take a I-6 turbo over a V-6 and perhaps a V-8 any day. Count the main bearings. I-6 has 7 and the V-6 has 4 and V8 has 5. There are many other reasons.
 
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#44 ·
Appears the turbo 3.0L I-6 is imminent

“It’s worth mentioning that saving space is not just needed to fit the engine into vehicles not originally designed for it, such as the Wrangler”

 
#46 · (Edited)
Appears the turbo 3.0L I-6 is imminent

“It’s worth mentioning that saving space is not just needed to fit the engine into vehicles not originally designed for it, such as the Wrangler”
A 3.0L I6 is longer than a comparable V6 by a considerable amount.
 
#50 ·
A 3.0T with 400 HP would bring much needed separation between the 4-cyl and the 6-cyl engines.

The power and efficiency numbers of the 2.0T and the 3.6 are right on top of one another. At the moment there’s little reason to pick one engine over the other besides subjective opinions.

Also, a 3.0T with 400 HP would leave Bronco in the dust, literally. Both in terms of power and efficiency. By all reports, the 2.3T 4-cyl EcoBoost is underpowered, and the 2.7T V6 is barely adequate; both delivering mediocre real-life fuel economy.

I can see Jeep “leaking” this I-6 information ahead of time, to plant the seeds of doubt in the minds of those still waiting for a Bronco...