For clarity, it does not constantly hunt, but at speeds of 75 any headwind will push it down into a lower gear. I noticed it a lot on a recent trip to CO/WY/MT and it just made me question why FCA did not install 4.56 gears from the start. What it definitely tells me is if I go to larger tires, I will not see 8th gear unless on a flat road with a tail wind or going downhill.
Because FCA is penalized for poor gas mileage and the vast majority of JL owners love their automatic transmission and dont mind it downshifting in a headwind or on a hill. You are in the minority....if it bothers you that much, regear to 4.56.
Yes, you're correct. 1st gear in the manual is a crawler. But look at the next 2. The manual jumps from a 5.13 to a 2.63 then to 1.53 for 3rd. Where in the auto, it goes from 4.71 to 3.13 to 2.10 in 3rd and still at 1.67 in 4th. The auto does a good job of being able to keep the engine in the right powerband for the situation.
Yup, I stand corrected. I realized that when I went back and looked. 1st gear is extra low.
I agree, if you go larger tires you may want to re-gear to get the full benefit of the 8 gears. I don't know that I would gear it any steeper than what it is now if you calculate in the rollout (engine revolutions/mile). Maybe a little more aggressive, but not much.
All companies are penalized for poor fuel economy, it is not unique to FCA. However, this is the first vehicle that I have owned that downshifts as frequently as this one does. I am in the minority of not liking it? I cannot be in the minority of calling it out since I seen multiple people here and on other forums discuss it.Because FCA is penalized for poor gas mileage and the vast majority of JL owners love their automatic transmission and dont mind it downshifting in a headwind or on a hill. You are in the minority....if it bothers you that much, regear to 4.56.
This is what i researched before i ordered my 2021 Rubicon! And because of this, i ordered a Diesel instead of either of the gas engines.. Its not gearing, its engine performance.
Potentially, but a diesel is not something I would ever consider. The diesel has 3.73 gearing due to its torque range and operational speed. All of the diesels that I have owned are always geared higher than their gasoline counterparts. My F-250 Powerstroke had 3.55 gearing and my F-150 Triton had 3.73 gears. Color me crazy, but the 4.10 gears just seem too high with 33" tires, but I need to find a gear ratio/tire size/transmission calculator and play with the numbers.
It's probably also the first vehicle you've owned with the Wrangler's .45 Cd and enormous AF, not to mention paired with a ZF8 that's designed to shift a lot. Drag becomes a real issue once about 60mph or so.
Not intending to be a smart***....Do you think you aren't in the minority because you have seen multiple people on here and on other forums discuss it? There have been over 400k JL's sold and probably 90% are automatics. I've watched God knows how many youtubes + read hundreds of articles and the JL's automatic is always praised and viewed as a gamechanger. JL sales are WAY ahead of the JK after it was launched and it has set multiple sales records. Unless sales take a dive, I'd bet the farm FCA isnt going to do anything to the gearing of the automatic.
I’m right there with you. I drive over 1000 times more on the highway than I do on trails so having a functioning 8th is something I’d like too. I’m on 35s but will likely go to 37s in the near future so I’ll just deal with the piss poor mileage and schizophrenic hunting for a gear between 6th, 7th, and occasionally 8th once in a blue moon on the highway. You’re not wrong. If 4.56 were a factory option there would be a ton of folks who’d opt for it.
