need a little more hp

RKOTAREK · 11-21-2009, 02:05 AM

my friend has a 4 cyl jeep and he wants toget just a little more horse power out of it with out spending alot on a cold air and all that any good idea's

Machine15825 · 11-21-2009, 04:56 AM

No matter what he does its going to be gutless unless he regears. But you can do the bosch 19LB injectors off ebay for around 30 bucks, then get a 4.0 throttle body from a scrap yard. Drill/Cut out bottom of air box for more air flow. If you don't have emissions smash out catalytic converter fire rock. Other thank that just make sure its tuned up.

speepdaedeesi · 11-21-2009, 06:56 AM

search the forums. this has been debated a million times.

jp magazine did a test on this. they found that you get more power regearing a 4 cyl than you do spending the same amount on bolt-on upgrades.

putting a cold air intake on it will only allow more dirt into the engine... and will make it sound a little different. the power gained by it will be minimal.

Machine15825 · 11-21-2009, 07:11 AM

Regearing so very expensive. He's on a tight budget. Everyone knows the most bang for your buck is regearing. but that just isn't in some peoples budget.

rocklee · 11-21-2009, 10:30 AM

Regearing also sucks. Your economy suffers. More power through more efficiency is what you need.

**moonshinefuel** · 11-21-2009, 11:00 AM

I will respectfully say that if we are going to quote JP Mag, Nov. 2009 issue, page 60, they did their own myth busting of sorts. This is a picture of their take on after market Air Intakes in their mag. They gave it a thumbs up, and posted actual gains of 5-10 horsepower. If if dirt is a concern, and you want to be extra careful, they do make an after market very loose fitting highly breathable protective wrap for the filter. Just sayin.

speepdaedeesi · 11-21-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonshinefuel

I will respectfully say that if we are going to quote JP Mag, Nov. 2009 issue, page 60, they did their own myth busting of sorts. This is a picture of their take on after market Air Intakes in their mag. They gave it a thumbs up, and posted actual gains of 5-10 horsepower. If if dirt is a concern, and you want to be extra careful, they do make an after market very loose fitting highly breathable protective wrap for the filter. Just sayin.

i dont debate that it works, i just say the gain isnt much. adding 5-10hp to a 4cyl is not going to satisfy anyones needs for more power. which is why i say its a minimal power increase... but hey i have kind of a jaded view with the 350 and all lol.

but the cold air intake does seem to be the first hp mod everyone runs to... i just have never been a fan of non-paper filters because of the dirt factor, and i think if you have to wrap your filter in something to get better filtering... your going to lose the hp gain anyways. i guess the idea of letting more dirt into an already dirty trail rig just doesnt give me warm and fuzzies. the benefits of a few hp and 1mpg just wouldnt be worth it in my book, but its all personal opinion you know..

but then again the op says he doesnt even have enough cash for a cai.

op: you can make them yourself out of pvc pipe and a 10 dollar air cleaner from autozone, and even another 5 bucks for a can of black spray paint...

i think he might be better of just doing a full tune up... its something most people overlook. if he is looking to spend less than 100 bucks, i would say plugs, wires, air cleaner, oil, trans fluid, t-case fluid, and diff fluids would make me feel better than just slapping on something that may or may not even do much.

so.. op: why do you say he needs just a little more hp? is there a hill he just cant seem to get up? or is there a 5th gear hes wanting to be in on the highway?

if he really is just looking for a few more hp... for just a few bucks... home made cai, and Taurus electric fan, and plugs and wires might do it..

**moonshinefuel** · 11-21-2009, 04:05 PM

Alright, I will debate this in good spirit some more.
We are angry squirrel owners.

I think for a majority of people they spend the most of their time on the street if it is a daily runner. And the article speaks of some of the lesser filters being less affective keeping dirt out. I would say an AirRaid or K&N will filter better than a stock paper filter, but I could be wrong. As far as using the highly breathable wrap on the cone filter, you really would only need that off road, and takes two seconds to put on, and I do not believe it would suffer any power loss really, but I could be wrong there too, and plus it be needed only for dusty trails, etc.
I do agree in accordance that the best bang for the buck would be replacing the tube from the intake to the air box with a smooth flowing pcv pipe. That is indeed a good compromise.

1998zj · 11-21-2009, 04:51 PM

The only way to get power for a 4 cyl is gearing. I was just running down the interstate today at 75 mph in 5th gear with mine on 35's and 4.88's. That is a totally stock engine with 185,800 miles on it.

**moonshinefuel** · 11-21-2009, 04:55 PM

Well gearing is what it is all about when your running 35's. No question about that.

Machine15825 · 11-21-2009, 04:55 PM

He knows that..... He doesn't have the money for that..... Wow

Look.... If you want HP get a corvette... mine's for sale. =) if you want to go through the woods HP will get you in trouble just as often as help you.

TheNewbie · 11-21-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1998zj

The only way to get power for a 4 cyl is gearing. I was just running down the interstate today at 75 mph in 5th gear with mine on 35's and 4.88's. That is a totally stock engine with 185,800 miles on it.

What kind of gas mileage do you end up with that tire/gear combo?

speepdaedeesi · 11-21-2009, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonshinefuel

And the article speaks of some of the lesser filters being less affective keeping dirt out. I would say an AirRaid or K&N will filter better than a stock paper filter, but I could be wrong.

its been researched. k&n style filters let in more dirt.

Technical Articles: Debunking the K&N Myth - Why OEM is Better

the k&n filter plugged up 3 times faster than the stock AC Delco, passed in 18 times more dirt, and captured 37% less dirt.

its easy to misunderstand the advertising that these companies put out. K&N is always raving about how much better the air flow is. well yeah sure, running no filter at all will have tons better air flow. the point is, the oem filters were designed the way that they are for a reason.... to filter.

so if k&n does that poorly, imagine if it didnt have all that greasy crap sprayed on it... im sure thats the only thing that catches dirt is the oil you have to spray on it. that stuff will gunk up a maf sensor in a heartbeat.

i have personally gotten stuck on a trail from a gunked up air cleaner. it got so gunked up i had to cut a hole in it and zip tie shop rags onto it or the engine would run so rich from lack of air flow it was barely running and shooting out black smoke.

i got off the trail and was able to run to autozone and grab another filter. i now always have an extra air cleaner lol. and my two air cleaners are still cheaper than the k&n cleaner, and will last longer, and when they get dirty i can buy a new one for less than the k&n "recharge kit" you have to buy every time you clean the filter. once again, imagine how much more crap would get in if you didnt have the oil on it.

Jay-P · 11-21-2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonshinefuel

I will respectfully say that if we are going to quote JP Mag, Nov. 2009 issue, page 60, they did their own myth busting of sorts. This is a picture of their take on after market Air Intakes in their mag. They gave it a thumbs up, and posted actual gains of 5-10 horsepower. If if dirt is a concern, and you want to be extra careful, they do make an after market very loose fitting highly breathable protective wrap for the filter. Just sayin.

To be clear... that article was refering to mods done to a 4.0l, not the 2.5. Will the results be different on a 2.5? I would think so.

To the OP... just tell your friend to do any free mods that haven't been done and save up to regear.

Machine15825 · 11-21-2009, 07:41 PM

THE ORIGINAL POSTER HAS A FOUR CYLINDER...

That's why I was baffled about all the 4.0 talk... The 19LB injectors are for the 2.5... You'd be pissing in the wind putting them on a 4.0 because the 4.0 already have 22.5lb injectors....

Dude, we got the point that cai's let more dirt into the engine, yet people run them for years with 0 problems to there vehicles... All the controversy about air cleaners and did the guy even want one?? No... He just wanted ideas...

Injectors, 4.0 throttle body, get rid of the fire rock in the catalytic converter, and a tune up.... It'll run better.