OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2015. Cementing its status as an FCA US LLC workhorse, total production of the Pentastar V-6 engine family surpassed the 5-million mark earlier this month.

First introduced in the 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee, the Pentastar V-6 is the most advanced six-cylinder engine in the history of FCA US, with an ideal integration of select technologies that deliver refinement, fuel efficiency and performance. Today, Pentastar V-6 engines are available in 14 vehicles from the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands.

Since the start of 2015, 47 percent of FCA US vehicles sold are equipped with a Pentastar V-6 engine.

“The success of the Pentastar V-6 engine family continues to be a testament to our powertrain engineering prowess,” said Bob Lee, Vice President – Engine, Powertrain and Electrified Propulsion, and Systems Engineering, FCA – North America. “This engine delivers world-class performance in multiple displacements and vehicle applications around the globe. We’re extremely proud of how this engine family has evolved to provide our customers with a wide range of performance capabilities.”

The Pentastar V-6 engine family consists of three displacements: 3.6-liter; 3.2-liter (Jeep Cherokee) and 3.0-liter (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler 300 sold in China). Three FCA US facilities produce these engines:

  • Trenton Engine Complex, Trenton, Mich. (3.6-liter, 3.2-liter, 3.0-liter)
  • Saltillo South Engine Plant, Saltillo, Mexico (3.6-liter)
  • Mack Avenue Engine Plant, Detroit (3.6-liter, 3.2-liter)

Flexibility: A Pentastar Hallmark
In terms of character, the Pentastar V-6 can be mannerly, as demonstrated in the Chrysler Town & Country; sporty, as in the Dodge Challenger; or beastly, as in the rugged Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500.
 
Other Pentastar V-6 engine applications for the 2015 model year are: Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan and 300 full-size sedan; Dodge Charger sport sedan, Grand Caravan minivan, Durango full-size SUV and Journey mid-size crossover; Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee; and Ram Cargo Van and ProMaster full-size van.

Accounting for all its 2015 model year vehicle applications, Pentastar V-6 engines contribute to numerous best-in-class benchmarks:

  • Best-in-class standard V-6 horsepower (283; Ram ProMaster full-size van)
  • Best-in-class horsepower (283) and torque (260 lb.-ft./353 Nm), best-in-class V-6 fuel economy (26 mpg highway) and best-in-class V-6 driving range of up to 520 miles (Ram C/V Tradesman)
  • Best-in-class horsepower (295; Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan)
  • Best-in-class horsepower (283; Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country minivans)
  • Best-in-class gasoline-powered V-6 driving range (600+ miles; Dodge Durango)
  • Best-in-class gasoline-powered V-6 driving range (600+ miles; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
  • Among full-size sedans, the 3.6-liter Pentastar powers the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 to:
    • Best-in-class highway fuel economy (31 mpg with RWD, 27 mpg with AWD)
    • Unsurpassed combined fuel economy (23 mpg with RWD, 21 mpg with AWD)
    • Unsurpassed city fuel economy (19 mpg city RWD, 18 mpg AWD)

In addition, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 is a three-time winner of Ward’s 10-Best Engines award (2011-2013).

The Pentastar V-6 architecture further distinguishes itself with flexibility. With little or no modification, it can accommodate longitudinal and transverse orientations; front-wheel-, rear-wheel-, all-wheel- and four-wheel-drive systems; 6-speed manual transmissions and 6-, 8- and 9-speed automatic transmissions.
 
All Pentastar engines feature a 60-degree, deep-skirt, die-cast-aluminum cylinder block with six-bolt main caps that provide optimal stiffness for NVH mitigation. Also contributing to NVH reduction are:

  • A structural windage tray to complement block stiffness
  • A structural aluminum oil pan
  • Direct-mounted alternator and A/C compressor, which increase stiffness
  • Select-fit pistons with polymer-graphite-coated piston skirts
  • “Silent chain” timing drive with inverted teeth for minimal sprocket NVH
  • Contoured composite cylinder-head covers
  • All Pentastar engines feature variable valve timing (VVT), which enhances fuel efficiency

Further enhancing the driving experience is the specially designed, glass-reinforced, nylon composite intake manifold, which benefits from low-rumble tuning.

The Pentastar family’s defining design element is its exhaust manifold. The manifold is integrated with the cylinder head, which enables greater packaging efficiency.

The engine also features forged-steel connecting rods and piston-squirter jets, and its cam drive and valve-train components require no scheduled maintenance.