BlackNorthernJK

I'm curious just how many people out there have gone ahead and added CAI's and Chips and programmers looking for more power and increases in mileage....but more importantly who did it within the first 1000 miles or so ???

The reason I'm asking is when I drove the Jeep off the lot I agree I was really kinda shocked with the decrease in power and response when you presss the pedal to the metal...but I wasnt concerned enough to go out and buy chips or programmers or CAI's....and after a few months and miles on it I found it started to open right up, like it was programmed to be a little sluggish until you've broken it in....I find it has ample power now for what it is
So between those of you who have added performance enhancers within the first 1000 miles or so and those that did it long after the engine was broken in...who REALLY noticed performance enhancement? Or was it perhaps just the natural process of your Jeep engine breaking in and opening up that made you think you were gaining power from your add ons?

I personally don't believe cai and throttle body spacers do anything and if anything I believe these performance add ons pose more harm to your engine than people care to think.....just wanna get others input and open up some discussion on this

wayoflife

hmmmm, natural jeep enhancement. i wonder if you need to see a mechanic if the enhancement last for more than 4 hours?

wayoflife

on a serious note, adding a CAI or high flow exhaust alone will not do much of anything. if you install a CAI, headers and exhaust, you should see some improvements. TB spacers don't do a whole lot of anything.

BlackNorthernJK

ok ok,
but am I the only one that noticed after driving it around after a few weeks it started to respond alot better, throttle response improved for me immensely....instead of having to downshift from 6 to 5 to 4th gear to go uphill after it 'broke in' I could climb up a hill without downshifting at all....
I believe I read in JP magazine during their special long range study on the JK that it's prorgrammed to keep your right foot in check until the engine has broken in....what I'm wondering is if people jumped the gun and threw CAI's and programmers in before this 'break in' period occured ?

wayoflife

i have a 6-speed so my experience was a little different than yours i'm sure but, the computer on the JK is supposed to "learn" as you drive and so yeah, i wouldn't doubt if things started to work better over time.

BlackNorthernJK

oh no, I've got the six speed as well

BlackNorthernJK

WOL, I see you have the CAI and programmer on yours as well, did you honestly see and increase in performance that you can directly attribute to these add-ons? or was it perhaps just your Jeep breaking in? I trust your opinioin more than anyone elses, so I'm curious? Interested in getting some feedback on this. And conversely, with the CAI are you risking more potential damage from hydrolock?

wayoflife

i think the hypertech programmer did help out some but think you would see more benefits on an auto. the CAI sounds great but i don't know if i got that much improvement out of it. i now have a rancho exhaust as well but didn't see any real improvements with it either. however, i am hopeful that the addition of headers would complete the flow of things and i should see a noticable improvment after it. having said that, if you want real power gains, regearing. with 5.13 and 35's, i felt like i had 30 extra HP

07rubisteve

Rubicon_Fan and I have almost the same JK's...both unlimiteds, both lifted, both running 35's, 6spd, OEM 410 gears, both Rubis. I have the added weight of the Warn front bumper and Winch. I have AFE intake and magnflow exhaust. My JK has 60,000kms, Rubicon_fans has 30,000kms.

We decided to switch rides the other day to see the differences. Both Rubicon_fan and I were amazed how much better throttle response and power my Jk had all the way threw to 5500 rpm than his...I really could see how much more sluggish his felt.

I have had my mods on for over 1.5 years, and really got used to it, but after driving his JK, I totally noticed the difference. Don't get me wrong, its not a hemi or anything, but I know I can easily pull away from him... My guesstimate is that I may have 7-10hp on him...at least it feels like that..

You will have different views from lots of owners here, and reviews depend on what the expectation of that owner was from that mod...some are happy with any noticeable difference, where others expect huge gains, and therefore think the mod is useless. I did not expect huge gains, but was happy with the outcome, specially after this recent test Rubicon_fan and I did.

There are tonnnnnnnes of thread on here debating pros and cons about Intakes, and exhausts, just do a search and you can almost read endless opinions....

Cheers

Steve

wayoflife

great post. FWIW, i don't know of anyone that i can make a direct comparison to but if i had, i would definitely want to give it a try. but, what i can say is that just about everyone who's ridden in my jeep has been quick to mention that it seems to have a lot more power than theirs. more than likely, i've just gotten used to things and without some kind of equal testing, it would be hard to know for sure if there really is a difference.