Supercharged Jeep Wrangler – Good Idea, or Disaster in the Making?
A supercharged Jeep Wrangler might sound like a bad idea, but there’s at least one combination out there that’s battle tested and proven.
In this hobby of ours, there are a few certainties – chiefly among them is the fact that adding power to just about any vehicle makes it more fun to drive, and even potentially safer in regard to things like being able to merge on the highway more effectively. However, adding power typically also comes with a variety of side effects, such as a decrease in reliability and perhaps even the possibility that one may void their warranty by doing so. Thus, it’s worth asking – is a supercharged Jeep Wrangler a good idea, or is it better to leave the rugged off-road SUV as it is from the factory?
This question was recently posed by Peterson Performance & Repair in Colorado after a customer sought them out to complete a supercharged Jeep Wrangler build of their own. As the shop points out, Wranglers are incredibly popular in the Rocky Mountains of this particular part of the country, due to its off-road capability and ability to drive in any kind of inclement weather one might imagine. Trouble is, the stock 3.6-liter V6 isn’t exactly a barn burner with a factory output of 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, which is precisely why this owner wants Peterson to slap a ProCharger on it.
Given the fact that high altitudes rob internal-combustion engines of power, this need is elevated in the mountains – which is why the owner has already added a cold-air intake and exhaust. At the same time, an extra battery, a big steel bumper with a winch, and 35-inch tires add weight and slow things down, so the perfect way to do that is with a proven ProCharger kit, which has been on the market for a decade and offers easy, OEM fitment and reliability.
The kit also comes with a calibration developed by ProCharger that’s going to be a bit more conservative than a custom tune, though that also helps out on the reliability front. Having sold thousands of these kits over the years, ProCharger has a pretty solid idea of what a supercharged Jeep Wrangler is capable of handling without going overboard in that regard, which also adds a little peace of mind.
As such, Peterson recommends that those seeking to build a supercharged Jeep Wrangler take a long look at the ProCharger kit, though they also note that it’s best to stick with a stock intake and throttle body if you do so, as aftermarket parts did make this particular install a little more tricky after it threw some trouble codes. In this case, the power gains certainly seem to be worth it, and there are enough Wranglers running around with lots of miles on this combination that it’s proven in terms of reliability, too.
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