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
