Cost effective HP and torque mods. Which work?

Dune Crawler

Dune Crawler

New member
Getting about 17.8 city 18.3 highway and want to get a lil more power out of my 3.8L, what's the best modification to improve it?

My rig build
Bully dog GT
35 BFG ATs "5"
Dyno cat back
3.73 gears
2.5" RC lift, 2" BL
No rear seats
 

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Sounds like you've done the standard intake/exhaust/reprogram. I believe there are some headers for the 3.8 engine you could look into, but I'm not sure the power gains are worth the cost.

As Eddie said, you can regear and get some quickness back in your RPM's, but if you were truely looking to add more hp/tq then there's not much more you can do. You could look into the supercharger from RIPP, but that has drawbacks you'd need to investigate as well.
 
JK_Dave said:
Sounds like you've done the standard intake/exhaust/reprogram. I believe there are some headers for the 3.8 engine you could look into, but I'm not sure the power gains are worth the cost.

As Eddie said, you can regear and get some quickness back in your RPM's, but if you were truely looking to add more hp/tq then there's not much more you can do. You could look into the supercharger from RIPP, but that has drawbacks you'd need to investigate as well.
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I know and have known plenty of guys with super chargers and, even though most will swear by them, I PERSONALLY have not been impressed with what I've seen. I would not recommend spending that kind of coin for something that even when it does work, delivers power at all the wrong time - practically worthless on the rocks. I have yet to have one keep up with me back even though I was just running a 3.8L motor on 40x15.50's and super heavy ProRock 60's. Of course, they're far from cost effective but, that's just my opinion. :)
 
Agreed with your point about delivering power at the wrong time (upper end of the band) for rock crawling, but only if we're talking about centrifugal superchargers. The Eaton style ones that companies like AEV "produce" and package aren't RPM dependant for boost and can produce better lower end gains which would be better for low RPM torque.

Do you know of anyone running this style? I haven't come across anyone on the forum that is, but I'd love to get their opinion on it. I have the 3.6 which isn't supported right now, but if AEV or another company came out with one for that motor, I'd seriously consider it depending on real world power gains.
 
JK_Dave said:
Agreed with your point about delivering power at the wrong time (upper end of the band) for rock crawling, but only if we're talking about centrifugal superchargers. The Eaton style ones that companies like AEV "produce" and package aren't RPM dependant for boost and can produce better lower end gains which would be better for low RPM torque.
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The key word here is "better" - still far from what I would prefer especially after spending that kind of coin.

Do you know of anyone running this style? I haven't come across anyone on the forum that is, but I'd love to get their opinion on it. I have the 3.6 which isn't supported right now, but if AEV or another company came out with one for that motor, I'd seriously consider it depending on real world power gains.
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LOL!! The 3.6L motor already puts out 285 HP on a JK and companies like Superchips is saying their programmer will give you 30 HP more which is about what Challengers with a 3.6L get off the showroom floor. Of course, I know plenty of people who've been pushing their 3.6L motors hard and now have oil consumption problems or worse - I too am now having this problem. I can only imagine how running a super charger on this motor would impact it. Don't get me wrong, I love the 3.6L as it does pack a lot of power for such a small motor but, it is new and untested and I think we're just now starting to see some of its flaws.
 
wayoflife said:
LOL!! The 3.6L motor already puts out 285 HP on a JK and companies like Superchips is saying their programmer will give you 30 HP more which is about what Challengers with a 3.6L get off the showroom floor. Of course, I know plenty of people who've been pushing their 3.6L motors hard and now have oil consumption problems or worse - I too am now having this problem. I can only imagine how running a super charger on this motor would impact it. Don't get me wrong, I love the 3.6L as it does pack a lot of power for such a small motor but, it is new and untested and I think we're just now starting to see some of its flaws.
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Agreed with you on that. I will definitely not be volunteering to use my rig as the guinea pig for the first one! I was just thinking that if you could get gains in the 75-100 hp level from it for roughly the same cost as the existing one ~$5900 then it would be a possible contender for an engine swap. I've been following along on Moby's build and while that is an awesome path to take, it's far from a weekend bolt on. Either way, there's going to be trade offs you've got to be willing to accept.
 
wayoflife said:
The 3.6L motor already puts out 285 HP on a JK and companies like Superchips is saying their programmer will give you 30 HP more which is about what Challengers with a 3.6L get off the showroom floor.
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Maybe I missed a product release somewhere, but I thought the 2012-13 programmers were still waiting on the performance tuning upgrades and were only good for tire size and gear calibration?

A 300 HP Jeep is what I'm talking about! Which one are you running Eddie?

Don't follow me, I'm lost too! O|||||||O
 
GuillaumeC91 said:
Maybe I missed a product release somewhere, but I thought the 2012-13 programmers were still waiting on the performance tuning upgrades and were only good for tire size and gear calibration?

A 300 HP Jeep is what I'm talking about! Which one are you running Eddie?

Don't follow me, I'm lost too! O|||||||O
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It says on the superchips website the flashpaq is available for 2012-14 JKs. I'm curious as to the results people are getting with the tuning options.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
CaliCrusher said:
It says on the superchips website the flashpaq is available for 2012-14 JKs. I'm curious as to the results people are getting with the tuning options.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using WAYALIFE mobile app
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Yup it is! (On the Christmas list)

Keep in mind for the extra 30hp you'll have to put 93 octane in. I'd love to know the gains with 87.
 
Just so yup all know I recently got 32.765 more HP by installing a Wayalife windshield banner. True story.
 
Don't forget the air deflecting 3 miles per gallon increase. That's heading into the wind.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
"Don't forget the air deflecting 3 miles per gallon increase. That's heading into the wind."

Ahh.......but if read the fine print you will only encounter this type of hp and mpg increase if the front grill, fenders, and hood have been TurtleWax'd and the windshield has been Rain-X'd as we'll.......the test JK did net nearly 40.235 hp@6350rpms and 36.766 lb-ft@4800rpms with 0-60 times in the high 6 second range (manual trans.) with these applications (closed course and professional driver).....this combination of add ons seem to be the most popular setup......more bang for the buck if you will for the performance seeking JK crowd amongst us.......Happy motoring!!!

Woodrow:rock:
 
Just chiming in make sure you change your tire air from summer air to winter air improves mpg and torque by so much i twisted my frame in first gear
 
2k13jk said:
Just chiming in make sure you change your tire air from summer air to winter air improves mpg and torque by so much i twisted my frame in first gear
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Yes I was going to do that this weekend. Most Jeepers don't realize the mpg gains that coils be had with a simple tire-air change. Branks have you changed out your tire air yet this season?
 
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