4bangerjp.com
General Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: SURFOR Chop on January 15, 2010, 02:40:20 PM
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So I've had my '99 Wrangler for almost 11 years ... apparently from what I've read, I guess I am one of the few who have long rued my decision to get the 2.5L 4-cyl (vice the 4.0L 6-cyl) ....
Never really gave it much thought until '02 when I drove it across country from New Orleans to Seattle ....
Coming through the Rocky Mountains (and the Cascades to a lesser extent) it just got to be ridiculous ...! Couldn't maintain the legal speed limit going up some of the steeper inclines ... couldn't keep ahead of fully laden semi tractor trailers ...!
Well ... just came back East through the same mountainous terrain and it all came flooding back ....
So, what's a guy to do? I was about set on trading it in for a 2010 Rubicon (2-dr) ... but, not really all that hip on incurring a car note payment on the 'delta' between my trade-in value and the best price I can negotiate ....
Nothing really wrong with the '99 that about 50-100 additional hp wouldn't cure ....
Figure my options are pretty much as follows:
- the ol' standby--engine swap for SBC, SBF or 318/360 (bane of the 'four angry squirrels' ...LOL)
- 'goose' the 4-banger with a few of the 'tweaks' ... throttle body spacer, electric fan, maybe a cam (if I can find an old one lying around--or maybe have one custom made?), Borla or similar free flowing CAT/exhaust, ... I think I saw where you can now find 4-cyl header (?) ... do they make a fuel injection optimizer system for the 4-cyl ... maybe I could sweet talk Dobeck into making one for me .... Still probably would not squeeze out even 30 additional ponies do you suppose ...?
- go with a supercharger ... recently saw that Avenger makes a system for the 2.5L Jeep ... also, thought about maybe going to Paxton and talk to them about adapting one for my application (or look at similar centrifugal superchargers) ... in discussing the pros and cons of the positive displacement blowers vice the centrifugal, they note: "In situations where you demand performance from your vehicle, you are spending most of the time in the mid to high RPM ranges." ... like when I am driving at hwy speeds (65-80 mph) at 3,300 - 4,000 RPM and need the additional power to sustain my speed while progressing up an incline.... (Anyone know of other centrifugal supercharger mfrs who might have one for the little fella?)
Any other thoughts or experiences that I might be overlooking ...?
Actually, I figure it would be about $3,000 to $5,000 or more depending on how much of the work I end up doing myself and where I can find the parts ....
Not really looking to do much else performance-wise ... just really need some more power ....
Oh, by the way, the leg of my trip through the mountains I was getting between about 10.5 and 12 MPG (normally get about 17 - 18 on the hwy) ... salt in the wound!
R/
'Chop
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for pushing more power out of the 2.5 take a look at
the good ol bore, high compression, cam, super 2.5l
http://4bangerjp.com/forums/index.php/topic,6007.0.html
turbo charger (read the intire thread he took a few different approaches at tuning before getting it to work good.
http://4bangerjp.com/forums/index.php/topic,3560.0.html
supercharger (not complete)
http://4bangerjp.com/forums/index.php/topic,7334.0.html
welcome to the forums by the way.
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If you're going to spend 3-5K - just buy a 99 wrangler that has a 4.0L and sell the current jeep. You'll come out money and time ahead.
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If you're going to spend 3-5K - just buy a 99 wrangler that has a 4.0L and sell the current jeep. You'll come out money and time ahead.
Good point ... I guess I should flex from my original dualistic approach of (1) trade for new or (2) improve existing ... to include (3) trade for something else with more power in the range of expected expenditures for (2) ... which, of course, only differs from your suggeestion by not limiting myself to the '99 model year .
For that matter, I could look at relatively new models which have taken the brunt of their depreciation ... I am rather partial to the '06 Rubicon Unlimiteds ....
R/
'Chop
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Selling yours and buying a 4.0 Wrangler would be the way to go. Wrangler resale values hold up pretty well so you might be able to step up to a 2000 model with minimal out of pocket difference.
Of course if you have many off road mods you could come out losing quite a bit so this applies mainly stock to stock.
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Selling yours and buying a 4.0 Wrangler would be the way to go. Wrangler resale values hold up pretty well so you might be able to step up to a 2000 model with minimal out of pocket difference.
Of course if you have many off road mods you could come out losing quite a bit so this applies mainly stock to stock.
I doubt if I ever sell mine, I'll recover what I have put into it... The mods on mine actually cost more than the Jeep itself!
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I can't sell mine. I've got too much blood, sweat and tears invested in it. Probably some skin and hair too. :lol:
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Stay clear of the Rockies :lol:
Don't think a stock 2dr/4dr JK is going to fit your power requirements either. And there's lots of hidden costs with the big power upgrades -- swaps, superchargers -- for the 4banger. Sure you could do an '03-06 TJ 4.0 -- that'd be ok.
I've gotten used to third and fourth gear going uphill on the highway. Yeah, it's slower but it's legal -- the other highway pukes and 18 wheelers can pass me as far as I care. And take heart: if the 18 wheeler hits you and doesn't kill you, you'll probably recover eventually and your lawyer will fix it so you'll be set for the next 20 years.
And you know how many speeding tickets I've had in this Jeep in the going on 11 years I've had it? Zero :lol:
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And you know how many speeding tickets I've had in this Jeep in the going on 11 years I've had it? Zero :lol:
I've had one
.... in a 35 zone though
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I've gotten used to third and fourth gear going uphill on the highway.
You shouldn't be in 5th gear as it is an overdrive gear and not a passing gear. It's weaker then 4th as well.
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You'd be surprised at what a few of the low-budget mod.s will do - I know I was. A 62mm tb, spacer, free flowing exhaust and intake and an e-fan will wake the little bugger up. You can also do the ignition and injector upgrades. While these certainly won't take it to 6 cyl., V8 or "charger" type power, they at least make it tolerable.
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You'd be surprised at what a few of the low-budget mod.s will do - I know I was. A 62mm tb, spacer, free flowing exhaust and intake and an e-fan will wake the little bugger up. You can also do the ignition and injector upgrades. While these certainly won't take it to 6 cyl., V8 or "charger" type power, they at least make it tolerable.
Don't forget GEARING!!
Chop- what size tire are you running? Stick or auto?
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I've got an all-stock 2.5 L motor running through an automatic trans (whatever is stock for '99) ...
Read the post by JYMechanic he posted an engine rebuild with bore, pistons, performance cam (a lot of the stuff from Clifford Performance in CA) etc ... had K&N intake 4.0L TB, spacer, headers and Gibson or Borla cat / exhaust (as I recall) and of course electric fan ...
Claimed to make 200 rear wheel horse power ... pretty amazing as I understood stock made about 120-125 hp ... I think he had the heads ported and decked to increase compression a little ....
Does this sound legit? The estimated cost all-in was about $1,500 ....
According to the Avenger website, the supercharged 2.5L cranks out about 190hp (I think) ... meaning that the naturally aspirated build discussed above would out perform a supercharged stock motor ... sounds kind of unreal ....
Thanks for the input ... if one or more of you could validate the build described above, I'd appreciate it ... it would obviously be a much better value (not to mention adding to the longevity of your engine life) to build a high performance naturally aspirated motor for under $2,000 vice dropping twice that amount on a supercharger ...
What say? YJMechanic ... that sounds almost too good to be true ... but, I'd like to further explore a high-perf rebuild if you recommend it and have been happy with your results ....