HPTuner MPVI2 & VCM Suite Review: 100% Full PCM Access For 2005-2006 Jeep Wrangler TJs

Chris- What made you choose the Magnumpowers over the Boosted Tech this time? Was it the greater boost capability /intercooler? I recently got HP tuners as well in prep for my supercharger project. Unfortunately there's not a ton of info regarding Jeep and HPtuners out there or in their repository. Any feedback or lessons learned either you or Alex could offer about either supercharger product would be greatly appreciated.

The Boosted Tech charger is simply a repurposed Eaton M90. That's not to say it's bad by any means, but it is to say that it's only capable of so much power. The Magnum Powers uses a clean sheet design that vastly improves on the M90 design and makes it much more efficient.

It comes with an aftertcooler as well as a heat exchanger (for water to air cooling), and it also has it's own crank drive pulley, which when making higher power is a necessity.

The bottom line is that if you have the money, the Magnum Powers supercharger is hands down the better supercharger in terms of making power power. I ran the Boosted Tech on my old TJ, and it is indeed a great supercharger. You just can't expect to make as much power with it as you would with the Magnum Powers supercharger.

The Magnum Powers units take 6-8 weeks to build, and I am still waiting on mine (should be done any day now). Once I get it installed and have the PCM tuned with the HPTuners software, I'll be sure to update this thread.

The end result should be very impressive. Between the supercharger and the headers, I should be putting down close to 270hp at the rear wheels.

Truth be told, the Boosted Tech supercharger with 6-7 psi and no aftercooler is more than enough for any TJ owner. I'm just going for big power here, that's all. And for that, the Magnum Powers supercharger is the clear choice.
 
Thanks Chris. I'm leaning towards the Boosted Tech as I'm just trying to bridge the power gap between my 4.88 gears and the 42rle at highway speeds. Although 270hp to the wheels is tempting! Please keep us posted on the build.
 
Once you're in, have a look around. Under Transmission > General, you can see the option to enable or disable the automatic transmission. So how would this be beneficial? Well, let's say you bought a PCM from a TJ that had a manual transmission, but you needed it to work with your automatic transmission equipped TJ. Easy peasy! Just select "Enable" from the drop down, and flash the PCM, and you're good to go.

Hi, I joined because this program is very interesting to me. However if you wanted to use a 05-06 manual PCM in a 05-06 auto even with the VCM you’d be missing the 4th port on the actual PCM itself. However it may very well work the other way around. For example, everyone knows it’s been a long standing major obstacle to switch and adapt any transmission other than stock into the 05-06 tj/LJ. I do not like the auto in my 06 LJ at all nor do I trust it. Short of a wiring overhaul or a complete donor drivetrain swap, I’ve been stuck with it.
With the VCM I theoretically could disable the auto trans, reflash the pcm, and swap in my choice of a th350, or the NP435 laying in my shop floor, or whatever. It makes swapping a transmission in the 05-06 Jeeps just like any other swap. In theory. I’m almost tempted to try it out.
 
Hi, I joined because this program is very interesting to me. However if you wanted to use a 05-06 manual PCM in a 05-06 auto even with the VCM you’d be missing the 4th port on the actual PCM itself. However it may very well work the other way around. For example, everyone knows it’s been a long standing major obstacle to switch and adapt any transmission other than stock into the 05-06 tj/LJ. I do not like the auto in my 06 LJ at all nor do I trust it. Short of a wiring overhaul or a complete donor drivetrain swap, I’ve been stuck with it.
With the VCM I theoretically could disable the auto trans, reflash the pcm, and swap in my choice of a th350, or the NP435 laying in my shop floor, or whatever. It makes swapping a transmission in the 05-06 Jeeps just like any other swap. In theory. I’m almost tempted to try it out.
Stick in a 999 or a 32RH, no overdrive but a rock solid transmission.
 
So let me preface this by saying that the reason I bought an HPTuner for my Jeep is because with my Magnum Powers supercharger, I needed a sure fire way to tune my PCM to optimize the air, fuel, and spark for the increased performance of the supercharger. Up until now, many of us have been led to believe that there is no way to tune the PCMs on our TJs. The Superchips don't work, nor do the Diablo Tuners. The Split Second unit works, but that is a piggyback system (which doesn't refresh the PCM itself), and while I had success with it on my last supercharged TJ, I don't think it's ultimately a replacement for tuning and flashing the PCM directly.

Enter the HPTuner MPVI2 and VCM Suite (which consists of the VCM Editor and VCM Scanner). With this hardware / software combo, you'll be able to access the PCM on your 2005-2006 Jeep Wrangler 100%. With it you can enable or disable functions of the PCM (i.e., turn of the O2 sensors). You can also use it to tune your engine, such as setting the amount of air, fuel, and spark your engine gets at any RPM. This understandably comes in handle when you add forced induction, as you'll need to have more fuel at any given RPM.

The kicker here as mentioned above is that this only works on the 05-06 models. I'm not 100% sure why this is, but according to their website, it won't work on anything prior to 2005.

One of the things I am using this setup for (aside from tuning it for my supercharger) is to disable all the emissions. With it I have successfully turned of my post cat O2 sensors (you need to keep the pre-cat O2 sensors), which will in turn allow me to remove the pre-cats entirely, at which point I intend to have a custom header made for my 4.0.

I've also used it to disable the evap system entirely, so that I can remove that junk and throw it in the garbage. Now before any of you guys warn me about emissions or inspections, I'm only doing this because we do not have either where I live. Yes, I am aware of the environmental impact, but you should also be aware that I probably put 2000 miles a year on my TJ at most. I'm also aware of the federal fine for removing catalytic convertors, and I am not condoning this in any way. I am simply putting this information out there to let people know what this HPTuner package can do.

In the process of disabling my evap system and the post-cat O2 sensors today, I took some screenshots to share with you guys how this software works.

First off, you need the MPVI2, which will set you back $299. In addition, you need two "universal credits", which will run you $100. This allows you to purchase one license, which locks the serial number on the MPVI2 to your VIN number, and insures that you can't use it on any other PCM, unless you spend another $100 and purchase more credits.

Here's the MPVI2 unit that plugs into your OBDII port and connects to your computer via USB:

View attachment 67606

After connecting it and opening the VCM Editor program, you'll need to connect to your PCM. You do this with the key turned to the on position, but the vehicle NOT running.

You can see that once connected, it recognizes the vehicle, VIN, and both the ECM and TCM (which combined we refer to as the PCM):

View attachment 67607

Once you're in, have a look around. Under Transmission > General, you can see the option to enable or disable the automatic transmission. So how would this be beneficial? Well, let's say you bought a PCM from a TJ that had a manual transmission, but you needed it to work with your automatic transmission equipped TJ. Easy peasy! Just select "Enable" from the drop down, and flash the PCM, and you're good to go.

View attachment 67616

Here's a shot of some of the options under the "Engine" tab:

View attachment 67608

If you navigate to Engine > Oxygen Sensors, you'll see the screen where I was able to disable the post-cat O2 sensors:

View attachment 67609

Head over to the "Fuel System" tab, and you'll see where I was able to disable the evap system:

View attachment 67610

Here's an example of the "Speedometer" settings:

View attachment 67611

If you go under the System > General tab, you'll see the option to enable or disable SKIM (read this thread if you don't know what SKIM is: Sentry Key Immobilizer Module (SKIM) Install / Retrofit):

View attachment 67612

Check out all the options under Engine > Spark:

View attachment 67613

And here's the Engine > Airflow options:

View attachment 67614

Here's the Transmission > Shift Scheduling options (haven't explored these yet as I'm not 100% sure what they do):

View attachment 67615


What you're seeing above is only a very, very small portion of what this tool can do. In addition to giving you full access to the PCM, it also serves as an OBDII scanner, has Bluetooth connectivity (so you can go wireless with it), and it also will provide 100% real-time data logging.

For instance, once of the things I plan to do once I install my supercharger is hook the laptop up and take it on a bunch of drives. I'll log the data in real-time (using a wideband O2 sensor), save the files, and Josh Pearl (the guy who is doing my supercharger tune) is going to fine-tune everything until we get the tune perfect. We'll do this probably a dozen times or more, and each time I'll provide him with a new data log for him to tweak. Eventually we'll finally get it perfect!

If you own a 2005-2006, I highly recommend this tool. Hell, you could even tune your stock engine to probably get a few more horsepower out of it.


Conclusion
I will continue to update this review as time goes on and I use it more-and-more (especially once I get into the actual engine tuning portion). So far, I'm really, really impressed with this thing, and I'm absolutely over the moon that I finally have full access to the PCM!
What did you do with the MAP sensor and the Air Temperature Sensor?
 
Wow 11PSI, that thing is going to MOVE!!! I'm running 6PSI on mine, going up in boost eventually.

Yes Syked is used extensively on Jeeps and other JTEC Mopar vehicles, it's excellent tuning software.

Dave can do some cool things to JTEC PCM's on the bench, but he couldn't get my Jeep running very well, and wasted a lot of my time and money.

Flyin Ryan (Ryan Hogan) tuned my Jeep, he has an excellent reputation with boosted and stroker 4.0's. He uses Skyed tuning software and loves it.

https://www.frptuning.com/

I'm familiar with HP Tuners from the GM LS world, that is some awesome software!

Alex - did you have to use a Wideband O2 sensor when Flyin Ryan did your tune? If so, what did you hook the Wideband wires/plug into?
 
Alex - did you have to use a Wideband O2 sensor when Flyin Ryan did your tune? If so, what did you hook the Wideband wires/plug into?


Yes you have to use a wideband when tuning. Mine plugged into the SCT tuner, and the tuner plugs into my laptop which will datalog with the SCT software while driving. I emailed my data logs to him, and he would email me revisions shortly after. We did this for a few hours until it was perfect. He then checked in with me a week later and made some small revisions per my request. I've had my Jeep supercharged for over a year, and anytime I ask Ryan questions or for small changes, he's had top notch customer service!
 
You pull the OE tune off of it and then create a copy, which you then modify and tune. I always save an original copy when doing stuff like this, just incase you need to revert to stock.

To tune it properly (with or without forced induction) you ideally want to use a wideband O2 sensor which you would weld another bung for after the pre-cat O2 sensors.

You’d use the VCM scanner to do real-time data logging while you drive. You’d read the data and then edit the air fuel ratios, timing, etc.

You would continue to do this multiple times. Each time you tune it, you would go drive it again and collect more data.

After doing this enough (and ideally getting it on a dyno as well), you would have a pretty solid tune.

I don’t know how much extra power you could get out of the stock engine, but I have to imagine you definitely could get some if you knew what you were doing.

For the supercharger though, this will be the difference between blowing up the engine and not. The stock tune will be way too lean for a supercharger.

Chris - once the wideband O2 sensor is installed, what do you need plug it to so the scanner reads it?
 
Yes you have to use a wideband when tuning. Mine plugged into the SCT tuner, and the tuner plugs into my laptop which will datalog with the SCT software while driving. I emailed my data logs to him, and he would email me revisions shortly after. We did this for a few hours until it was perfect. He then checked in with me a week later and made some small revisions per my request. I've had my Jeep supercharged for over a year, and anytime I ask Ryan questions or for small changes, he's had top notch customer service!

I’m having him tune my stroker but the scanner he sent me does not have a place to plug the wideband sensor into. I’ll have to figure that out. Thanks
 
I’m having him tune my stroker but the scanner he sent me does not have a place to plug the wideband sensor into. I’ll have to figure that out. Thanks
Chris - once the wideband O2 sensor is installed, what do you need plug it to so the scanner reads it?
Chris - once the wideband O2 sensor is installed, what do you need plug it to so the scanner reads it?

I have mine wired out of the gauge to a serial cable for connection to my PC. It’s the only option with the basic MPVi 2. Works fine with the VCM scanner suite. If you search the web theres a couple how to’s using AEM wide bands to serial connections.
 
Yes you have to use a wideband when tuning. Mine plugged into the SCT tuner, and the tuner plugs into my laptop which will datalog with the SCT software while driving. I emailed my data logs to him, and he would email me revisions shortly after. We did this for a few hours until it was perfect. He then checked in with me a week later and made some small revisions per my request. I've had my Jeep supercharged for over a year, and anytime I ask Ryan questions or for small changes, he's had top notch customer service!

I’m having him tune my stroker but the scanner he sent me does not have a place to plug the wideband sensor into. I’ll have to figure that out. Thanks

What is SCT tuner? You did not a HP tuner?
 
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