I have been aware that it was available but can find little info on the motor who makes it and is it any good I know one of the members here knows something about it.
looked at a Jeep site and no specific forum like we enjoy turned up.
I am just trying to educate myself on the motor.

 

I believe it is a mercedes HPCR engine. . .not much in the way of HP but has a butt load of torque.

 

If the torque is very high, but the HP low, then that means it has a very low RPM redline. When it comes to moving a vehicle, be it carrying a load, accelerating, top speed, etc, etc...it's all about HP. It doesn't matter what the torque rating is, or the RPM the engine will run at. What matters is how much power the engine has, period. HP is a calculated figure and is the relationship of torque and RPM. Up the torque, or the RPM (or both) and the more HP you have. If you have a diesel engine and a gas engine of equal HP, they will both do the same amount of work.

Diesels may make gobs of torque, but they are lower RPM engines than gassers, so they make up for that at the drive end of things with taller gearing. They trade off that torque to make the drive wheels spin faster. Since HP is the relationship of torque and RPM, you can trade one for the other as long as the equation stays balanced. We do this trading with gear ratios and transmissions.

Diesels are used in big trucks and such not because of the torque output, but for economical reasons. They get better mileage and they last a lot longer than a gas engine.

 

Actually the engine in the Liberty was a wacky little Italian HPCR engine. Apparently there are a number of issues with them, mostly little annoying electrical things that put it in the shop for warranty work. No longer available because the 2007 diesel emissions restrictions made it impossible to package the engine into the Liberty. Now the diesel Jeep in the US is the Grand Cherokee with a Mercedes diesel in it. Side note: a few of the programmer guys have made boxes to bump the power in the Liberty diesel, Superchips and Edge at least.

 

if things are made up for gearings. . .why then do I have 4.10's in my axels

last I saw the 1500's highest stock gearing was 3.92's where as diesels have 4.10's.


I thought it was mercedes. . .but now I remember it being some sort of Itilian job. . .thanks

 

maybe in the tranny???

 

545RFE 1st 3.00:1; 2nd 1.67:1; 2nd Prime 1.50:1; 3rd 1.00:1; 4th 0.75:1; Reverse 3.00:1

48RE 1st 2.45. 2nd 1.45. 3rd 1.0. 4th 0.69

you could make that argument, but there is only a small difference between a 545FRE /3.55 1500 and a 48RE/3.73 2/3500.

personaly, the gearing is in reverse, the 1500's should have 3.73's and 4.10's in stock form and the 2/3500's sould have the 3.55/3.92's.

 

Of course compromises have to be made for esoteric things like, oh, drivability? Obviously you don't drive around with the engine running at peak HP output all the time. The engine RPM and power output vary constantly across its range as you drive. Also, you must consider that car makers aren't spending incredible amounts of money developing transmissions and gear ratios that make absolute 100% perfect use of your torque and RPM range. What they come up with is "good enough".

Considering your example of the gas and diesel ratios, then consider this also....which truck has the highest top end speed?

Either way, it's no secret that turbine engines have one of, if not the best power-to-weight ratios of any engine around. So, why aren't we using jet engines on cars and trucks? Simple, they're fuel hogs, and the way they operate would make them incredibly difficult on the drivability of a vehicle that makes frequent stop and go maneuvers.

Most 18 wheelers are running somewhere in the 500-600 HP range. That's not too terribly difficult to get from a gas engine, so why don't they use them? The mileage would absolutely suck and the engine would need rebuilding constantly. Diesels excel at high ouput for extended periods of time compared to gas engines. The fact a diesel is turbo charged is also a plus to trucks that operate at high altitudes where normally aspirated engines lose a lot of power.

 

I know a guy that put a gas turbine on a go-kartthing even had an afterburner

infact I have a turbo from a Cummins 500 that I plan to adapt to a gas turbine.

 

Lol, fast cart? Sounds like Tim Allen in action there!

Actually, a better use for turbines in cars is to tap the main shaft with a gear box (like a turbo-prop plane does), but even still, the throttle response of a turbine engine is abismal. They take a while to spool up and down and small turbines "idle" at around 40 to 60 thousand RPM's.....talk about clutch issues....and they are LOUD!