Author Topic: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?  (Read 1782 times)

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Offline andpgud

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Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« on: October 23, 2012, 12:37:31 PM »
I have two options.
Swap in a 4 liter engine or tune the 4 banger.
Can you give me the pros and cons?

Offline sharpxmen

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Re: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2012, 05:20:14 PM »


keep the 4 cyl pros
- less money
- less work
- less gas

swap in a 6 cyl pros
- more power
- able to pass slow moving traffic (like trucks or agricultural equipment) uphill and wind from the front.

that being said there's not much tuning to do on the 4 cyl other than replacing what's busted (spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor, o2 sensor, catalytic converter, injectors and possibly fuel filter and/or pump).
'95 YJ, NSG370 6spd / Hurst shifter, Dana 300 + 4:1 Doubler / tri-stick, Custom skid, Super D35 / Auburn LSD / 4.88, 35x12.5x15 BFG KM2, 64mm t/b, 1.7 RollerRockers, MkVIII e-fan, Dual Diaph Booster
Latest: Corbeau BajaRS heated seats :dance: keeping warm the rear end

Offline andpgud

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Re: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2012, 06:08:08 PM »
When I say tuning I mean bigger TB, electric fan, headers. More agressive cam that I allready have on the shelf
« Last Edit: October 23, 2012, 06:08:45 PM by andpgud »

Offline stan98tj

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Re: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2012, 06:26:24 PM »
If you have the 4.0 already and it is in good shape, i say def swap it in. If you are going to have to buy it, I say forget it and go for a v8 swap which I understand is cheaper and easier than the 4.0l swap. We all love our 4bangers but I can't imagine any of us here TRULY passing up the opportunity for proper power. Have any of us really NEVER wondered why Jeep offered a 2.5l when the 4.0 was so damn good (easy now guys, I'm not bashing).
AS for gas consumption....that's debatable. They are quite close from the factory, if not the same. Further, with add ons, tires, armor etc, the 4banger is going to consume more pushing all that weight around.
Unless you're going to pull out the 4banger and strip it down to the block and rebuilt it into a monster, turbo or supercharged beast, I say swap in that 4.0.
98 TJ 35"Maxxis Trep.Old Man Emu 2.5""+1"BL,IronMan Fab control arms,4.56gears,Ford 8.8+ARB,Currie/IronMan steering, WARN VR10,HP D30 sleeved+ RCV,Body Armor Rock Rails WISHLIST:TDi.Girlfriend hates it :) If you can read this don't flip me over i dont have any $$ left to fix it

Offline sharpxmen

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Re: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2012, 06:37:03 PM »
he's in Poland i think so a v8 being cheaper is not really the case there (or not as common as here)

same year 4.0L will always take more gas no matter what the factory claims are, now if you drive the 4 banger racing style (whatever the actual result is, you know what i mean) and the 4.0 like a baby then yes you can have different results
'95 YJ, NSG370 6spd / Hurst shifter, Dana 300 + 4:1 Doubler / tri-stick, Custom skid, Super D35 / Auburn LSD / 4.88, 35x12.5x15 BFG KM2, 64mm t/b, 1.7 RollerRockers, MkVIII e-fan, Dual Diaph Booster
Latest: Corbeau BajaRS heated seats :dance: keeping warm the rear end

Offline stan98tj

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Re: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2012, 07:10:57 PM »
he's in Poland i think so a v8 being cheaper is not really the case there (or not as common as here)

same year 4.0L will always take more gas no matter what the factory claims are, now if you drive the 4 banger racing style (whatever the actual result is, you know what i mean) and the 4.0 like a baby then yes you can have different results
I understand your point, but from the basis of the power advantage I see the 4.0 a good opportunity for him. As for the gas, most of my wheeling buddies have 4.0s and are similarly built to mine, some more built than mine. Most of them get better gas mileage than me, the rest get just about the same, none get worse than me. I don't drive aggressively. Factory claims 18/19 for the 4.0l which is what it claims for the 2.5l.  Perhaps if you compare 2 bone stock wranglers, one 4.0 and one 2.5, if you baby the 2.5 you may be able to squeeze by the 4.0 and get better mileage but I'll be it will be close. However, I maintain that once you start building that 2.5l up with larger tires, a lift, bumpers, winch, armor etc, it will have to push harder to carry that weight and then will consume more or the same as a similar built 4.0l.
98 TJ 35"Maxxis Trep.Old Man Emu 2.5""+1"BL,IronMan Fab control arms,4.56gears,Ford 8.8+ARB,Currie/IronMan steering, WARN VR10,HP D30 sleeved+ RCV,Body Armor Rock Rails WISHLIST:TDi.Girlfriend hates it :) If you can read this don't flip me over i dont have any $$ left to fix it

Offline VA_YJ

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Re: Tune the 4 banger or svap in a 4 liter?
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2012, 06:29:44 PM »
keep the 4 cyl pros (additional)
- fewer speeding tickets
- less likely to trash a D35
- more room under the hood for extras (e.g., batteries, air compressors)

swap in a 6 cyl pros (additional)
- easier to hop up (4.6 liter stroker), more performance parts
- lots of 4.0 cherokees to rob parts off of
- stronger transmissions and transfer cases easy to swap (23 spline outputs) (e.g., Dana 300)

95 YJ, 31 BFG ATs, 4.0 TB & spacer, Banks header, DynoMax CAT back, 19# inj, AEM CAI, 20 gal mod, Optima yellow
98 TJ, 35 BFG Krawlers, 4.0 liter, ax15, atlas 5:1, armor, Super 88 (under construction)
96 XJ Cheep Cherokee, 33s, 4.0 liter, AW4, future project
89 Waggy, 360 V8 727 dana 44s, it runs