Yea,, good question.. My best silly guess is the exhaust is shorter, so if they wind up the power much it fails emissions? I know I blew up 3 cats in the first couple years.. Put a random tech on and no more problems and passed emissions with flying colors..
The XJ looks like its a longer intake system too, the pipe from teh air filter box to the throttle body looks longer than the YJ..
We may never know...