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| The Ultimate SUV? | Short Cuts | ||||
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By: Martin Ahlers - 9/2000
Conclusion and final impressions:
I’ve put about 3,000 miles of very hard driving on my Kenne Bell equipped WJ, and am thoroughly impressed with the performance. This WJ now has muscle-car power when I want it, and is just as sedate a daily driver as it was before. The car now has a pleasant supercharger whine that constantly reminds me that there is a true beast under the hood just waiting to get out.
As I write this article, I’m in the middle of a very remote area of Mammoth Mountain in California where it is VERY cold at night, hot and very dry in the day, and quite high altitude (around 9-11,000 feet). I’ve been here and throughout a bunch of areas of the Sierras for the past two weeks (and 2,000 miles) and the car starts fine in the morning, and runs strong as hell all during the day. Other cars in this area are dogging out big-time with the high temperature and high altitude, but mine seems to run as strong as it did at sea level. It seems to be under boost most of the time while up at these high altitudes, and I figure this is the Optimizer’s way of keeping everything going at peak potential. I’m not experiencing any knocking or driveability problems, so I can safely say that the system works well. I was a bit worried going into an area this remote to do a full test of the installation and system, but it seems to be working out really well. Throughout high-speed runs through the Nevada desert, off-roading adventures at the 10,000 foot level, fast climbs over the summits, and general full-throttle driveability tests the car has performed flawlessly.
The only downsides I can think of are the price of purchase and feeding and the potential vehicle warranty problems. When you install this system, you’ve got to have a big chunk of change to spend right away – and over the life of the car. Since the car will require gas with an Octane rating of at least 92, you’re committed to spending around 20 cents a gallon more each time you fill up than you did when the car was stock. If you break something while the car is under warranty, you might run into problems when the Service Manager takes a look under the hood. But, I think these are small prices to pay for the fun that this system delivers.
For some “solid” numbers, I ran some 0-60 tests using a G-Tech Pro. Prior to the supercharger install, the best times I ran were on the order of 7.2 seconds. After the install, at sea level and using a can of NOS Off-Road formula Octane boost to keep the Optimizer from retarding the timing due to detonation, I ran a best time of 6.3 seconds. That puts this car well into the muscle-car category, and I can still load it with a ton of camping gear and go where no Mustang or Camaro has gone before.
In short – get one. It is definitely worth the time and money spent to do the installation. You might want to wait until your car is out of warranty unless you have a great relationship with your Jeep Service Department. I haven’t had any warranty claims since the installation, but I cringe every time I think of what they might say if I throw a rod, blow the tranny, or have some other major engine/drivetrain problem. If you just have to have a Grand Cherokee that has gobs of power, and you are not faint of heart when it comes to getting greasy (and dealing with your Jeep’s Service Manager), you’re a perfect candidate for this system.
Introduction The
Grunt Work After the Grunt Work
Conclusion & Impressions
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