505 Performance for the 2.5
- Thread starter StG58
- Start date
I think that it needs to be drilled into the head of every new owner of an SE model, that you CAN NOT get more power of of these 4 bangers unless you want to spend some serious coin.
All of the bolt on mods are a complete waste of money, most of them offering no performance gain at all, only an empty wallet (i.e. intakes, headers, etc.).
The ONLY real way to improve these 4 bangers in terms of power output would be to dump $3000 plus into a stroker engine, or dump $5000 plus into a supercharger system and custom standalone engine management system.
When you start putting that in perspective, you're better off selling your SE and getting a clean 4.0 model Wrangler. Either that, or if you really don't want to sell it, invest in a V8 swap and call it a day.
I see it asked all the time, "How do I get more power out of my 4 cylinder?", and the way to answer that is with this simple question: "Are you prepared to spend $3000 or more?"
And we know the answer to that question, so it's almost senseless to even ask.
All of the bolt on mods are a complete waste of money, most of them offering no performance gain at all, only an empty wallet (i.e. intakes, headers, etc.).
The ONLY real way to improve these 4 bangers in terms of power output would be to dump $3000 plus into a stroker engine, or dump $5000 plus into a supercharger system and custom standalone engine management system.
When you start putting that in perspective, you're better off selling your SE and getting a clean 4.0 model Wrangler. Either that, or if you really don't want to sell it, invest in a V8 swap and call it a day.
I see it asked all the time, "How do I get more power out of my 4 cylinder?", and the way to answer that is with this simple question: "Are you prepared to spend $3000 or more?"
And we know the answer to that question, so it's almost senseless to even ask.
OK, I'll add that at the end. Good show! I would like more feedback on the 2.5 though.
I bought the first SE for a good reason, I needed a vehicle that was low and slow for 2 teenage boys to use until they could afford their own vehicles and it wound up being the perfect choice. It was cheap, basically indestructable, easy to fix and what 17 year old would not want to drive a Jeep to high school. On top of all that they both got a good education wrenching on the Jeep.
I bought the second SE for me to play with and since it was not intended to be a DD it was perfect for around town and a little off road on the weekends. I have never regretted the 2.5 at all and would recommend it to anybody that wanted to use it for similar purposes.
I bought the second SE for me to play with and since it was not intended to be a DD it was perfect for around town and a little off road on the weekends. I have never regretted the 2.5 at all and would recommend it to anybody that wanted to use it for similar purposes.
Yep. While I haven't owned a TJ with the 2.5, I owned a Cherokee XJ with the 2.5, so same thing pretty much.
It's all about keeping it light and knowing how to drive it. The moment you throw 33" in tires, heavy bumpers, and all sorts of other accessories on it, that's when you're going to regret getting an SE.
It's all about keeping it light and knowing how to drive it. The moment you throw 33" in tires, heavy bumpers, and all sorts of other accessories on it, that's when you're going to regret getting an SE.
Mines plenty fast. It's actually kind of ballsy around town, zipping through parking lots, and side streets. I got it tuned to the max and a month of highway commuting has seemed to clean it out. I only need 4th for the steepest hills and I keep it at 55-60mph.
Can you explain this a bit more? Are you saying even with a SC the fuel regulator will limit the power to stock?
I've also heard awful things about 505 and agree we should take the 2.5L for what it is. I called 505 once and they left me on hold for 20 minutes till I hung up. I was curious about the Wikipedia post about the 2.5L, which said that it was detuned for the Wrangler in the mid-90s. It had 130 HP and 149 Lb of torque in the Cherokee and Dakota. Anyone know anything about it?
Yes. If you throw a supercharger on an engine without adding some sort of piggyback fuel controller (or ECU flash), you'll blow your engine up. The engine needs more fuel that one the stock ECU will provide. Without it, you'll run lean, and destroy your engine in short order.
There may actually be something that would work for the 2.5, I'm just not entirely sure. You may even be able to get one of those APEXi air fuel controllers to work possibly, which trick the ECU into adding more fuel. Still, you'd need bigger injectors as well in order to handle the extra fuel.
I'm no expert on the 2.5. It would be worth calling someone who makes supercharger kits for the 2.5 and hearing what they have to say. They must have some solution by now, otherwise some of these guys I've seen running superchargers on their 2.5s wouldn't be able to run them.
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