[Matt]

Hello everyone,

I'm a long time jeep fan, especially a fan of the gladiator, and I have had this thought for a while now and just want to seek opinions from both supporters and nay-sayers but primarily from people more mechanically/electronically inclined than myself. The 4xe transmission is a modified ZF 8 speed with a built in 100kw motor. The ecodiesel is a regular ZF 8 speed. You can already see where I'm going with this, do you think it would be possible to hook up a 3.0 ecodiesel to the PHEV ZF 8 speed? I'm sure for financial reasons and lack of testing/tuning that Jeep hasn't done this themselves, but if everything works mechanically, could it realistically be done? I originally wanted to get the diesel for all of the performance aspects and better fuel economy, the price premium doesnt bother me, but I really think a plug in hybrid diesel would be the best of both worlds, optimal performance, that instant electric motor torque would make up for any tubo lag on the diesel, and it would have phenominal mpg. I thought "if a PHEV diesel is my end goal, then what model would make more sense getting, the ecodiesel or the 4xe?" and because the 4xe has all the electronics, the unique gauge cluster with all of the battery and charging status indicators, I figured that buying a 4xe and then swapping a diesel into it would be the best course of action to pull this off (as opposed to buying the ecodiesel and trying to convert it to a phev). The biggest hurdles I have seen is 1) will the 8 speed PHEV transmission mechanically hook up to the ecodiesel and 2) how/where to tune this when it is assembled (tuning for all three driving modes, per gear, A/F ratios, etc). Im open to anyones thoughts/ideas on how this could come to life. It is my goal to one day be the proud owner of a diesel PHEV gladiator, whether I have to do that myself or if jeep catches on to that (idk if that will happen with all of this focus on pure EV...), this is my goal. Honestly, with the level of ambition and modification capabilities that the jeep community has, I am surprised that I have found zero discussion over this specific topic. Anyone out there with a much better understand of ZF transmission, particularly the phev one used here in the 4xe, and PHEV tuning, your 2 cents would be appreciated with any citable sources too.

 

[Rider716]

This would be a hell of a swap!!

I really think the ability to program and make the electronics work would be the biggest hurdle


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[Wrangler4XEFan]

There's a lot of software in operation in the 4XE. The lines of code go on for days. I love the idea but I just can't imagine how complex it would be to get it all working. It could be done mechanically but it's the software side that would freak me out.

 

[Matt]

I've really been looking into this for the last few weeks, cant seem to find anything regarding this specific approach. I think It would be easier to buy the ecodiesel and the addition of PHEV equipment (battery pack, traction motor, wiring, tuning) would be an easier way. The downside is, the electronics are not OEM, you don't get the streamlined-ness. For example, id never really have the phev information and tracking right in the Guage cluster, which is a huge drawback for me. But if this is the way then there's not much to do about it. The good thing though is the PHEV options. With traction motors inline with the transfer case, or wheel motors, or Axle mounted motors, clutch motors, transmission motors, theres tons of options. The battery pack could also be custom placed essentially anywhere with the correct and safe wiring. I've been a fan of overlanding so perhaps a primary battery integrated into the roof rack and secondary into a portion of the underseat storage (like oem) would provide more range). If anyone ever finds information on either of these approaches to achieving a JT diesel PHEV, please post here or DM me. I will indeed pursue this....just waiting on a little return on investment to pull it off in the next 6 months - 1.5 years.

 

[Wrangler4XEFan]

Makes my head spin when I think of the software involved. I can’t even imagine all the lines of code in the Wrangler 4XE. I almost wonder if it would be easier to do a setup where you had manual control over the system. It wouldn’t be a hybridized system but the user could select which system they wanted to use for propulsion. It would stink from a power perspective since you wouldn’t be able to use them together for the added power but it sure would simplify the operation.