Hi I am looking at purchasing a jeep and wanted to know the difference between these two when it comes to off road capability. Does the Quadratrac II realy use that much more gas? It also seems that the V8 is coupled with the Quadratrac II and the I6 is with the select a trac. Is this true?

On another note is the V8 good for off road. I know it is powerful but does it have low end torque and is it reliable?

Do the grandcherokees have a fully boxed frame like the cherokee XJ sports?

Can you modifiy a Grand just like you can with an XJ sport?

Sorry for all the questions but I am confused. I have been looking for an XJ sport because I want to be able to hit the Colorado 4x4 trails. I recently started looking at grands just because I can get a better deal on one.... Let me know what you think. Thanks:iceslolan

v8 is a great motor(235hp 295tq) compared to I6(195hp 220tq). yes you can get suspension lifts, etc. for the 99-04 grand cherokee (WJ). there's more aftermarket support for the XJ cherokees, but there are plenty of parts available for the WJs. short arm kits, long arm kits, bumpers, etc.

What about a 98 GC Limited. I've had a hard time finding after market lift kits for my jeep (Auto Trans, Quadratrac, 4.9L).

Since the Quadratrac uses the Viscous Coupler to supply power to the front wheels on demand, will that cause the VC to prematurely fail do to increased work when offroading?

For modification, I am an XJ fan myself. I have a 97 Sport with minor lift.
The XJ automatic is better, an Aisin-Warner that almost never fails. The ZJ and WJ(Grand) one is Chrysler and fails more often.

Late model XJs and Grands get a driveshaft vibration with super high lifts, (XJ 97-2001) and need a SYE kit and driveshaft with a lift.

The YJ-WJ with V8 is significantly heavier (make that harder to tow out when stuck and more likely to get stuck in mud--my 2 cents). XJ weighs 3495 lbs with 4x4, current spec on the ZJ 4x4 is 3995.
ZJ and XJ are unit body also, not framed like the Wrangler.

Look at the Wrangler Unlimited, it is being discontinued in 06. There are more off road parts available for that model. All new Jeep models are coming in 07 with new engines and transmissions.

I had a 99 WJ series Grand. 99-04. Love it to death! I had the I6 with the Selectatrack in it and it was great offroading. Had plenty of power and you can always change to 2 wheel, which save TONS on gas. It had plent of torque and power for what I was doing: offroading, towing, and driving around.

If you want some good comparisons and the some of the best info I have ever found about the WJ series check out this websight!

www.wjjeeps.com

The has just about everything you would ever want to know about, Including trim levels some where in there and performance upgrade links!

the v-8 has a lot of horse power for off road but still good. the select trac and command tracs are best cases for off roading. in the rough the quad can allow some slip. the quad II does not use viscuos coupler. dropped it in 97-98 I think. no frame on grand. unit body construction. lots of mods for grands due to popularity but cherokee still has more.
when i was selling jeeps i got to see a video of 3 grand cherokees that the factory supplied for a jeep jamboree to show off the off road abilities. no modifications! straight off the assembly line! they all made it through the course and out performed a lot of the modified cj's and cherokees. they all had I6 engines.

Jeeperphil,

What year(s) were those GC's in the video? What were the specs?

they were base laredos with I6 engines and command trac. first year grands used before any dealers got thier first ones. standard off the line equiped. tow group option for the extra cooling and heavier susp and drive line. They could be ordered that way from any dealer and still can. Don't know much other than that. I'm not sure, still looking, but think i still have a copy of it. if i find it, i'll offer copies here for cost of tape and ship.

Send me a message through the forum when you find out the cost. By the way I ordered a 98 JGC parts catalog on a CD and they added a video clip (5 min) onto the cd that had a group of GC's climbing rocks. It was a pretty cool video.

will do. be looking this wkend