so i was surfing the web today (during school when my teacher was be boring) i found an old page from kenne bell superchargers that said they were making them for jeep wj's i got really pumped and emailed the company for a quote. i get home (driving the trusty wj) and i had an email from the site that said the superchargers are discontinued im wondering if anyone out there knows where i can get a supercharger for my wj (2002 4.7 v-8 limited).
There was a factory fitted option at one point and member 'Martyp' almost bought a Kenne Bell one for a ridiculously low price but missed out at the last minute.
I'm wanting to supercharge my WJ too and I found some useful info here;
Right now there are no "KITS" available. The guys who are getting them are getting used kits. Kenne Bell stopped making that kit back in like 2000-2002. I called and talked to them a few years back and it was the same thinjg. According to them, they stopped because the supplier for the "Optimizer" the piggy back computer bailed and they never got a replacement. I have a Paxton kit that I still use and I have my small blower still in my shed that I started with.
That sounds like a typical response from KB, and that is not an accurate statement. The company that manufactured the Optimizer for KB is still in business, and makes the iEMS3 that I carry, and a full series of stand alone units. KB ordered something like 500 Optimizer units, and never reordered. It is more logical that they dropped it because no one was buying them for the Jeeps, not because they could not get an Optimizer or replacement.
I just recently sent an Optimizer back to the manufacturer for a guy that has the KB on a Dakota R/T. The manufacturer spent months trying to track down the engineer who was originally on the project, and to resurrect the software that was used back then. Unfortunately, neither were available. But for the customer, it worked out, as they took the unit apart and found an issue on one of the circuit boards and repaired that in hopes that was what was causing the issue, and as it turns out it was the problem and he is back boosting his Dakota again.
The Owner was a 30 plus year Chrysler Powertrain engineer working on the 318, 360, and 4.7 engine designs. He told me that KB was one of the worst companies to try and deal with as everything is someone else's problem, and they won't provide technical support or even attempt to help with older products that they have dropped from their current line.
If someone has an older KB that was using the Optimizer, and they have problems, they can get ahold of me and I can see what I can do in regards to repair or a replacement solution.
Air ram has a kit that enables you to mount the 4.6L mustang superchargers on the the 4.7L. The adapter plates run $500 (or was it $600?) and you can stick a 'stang supercharger on it, maybe even an older cobra S/C for cheap?
Downside is it sticks up really high, so you might need to make yourself a custom one-off hood.
http://jeepgarage.org/showthread.php?t=10286 Theres some good info in this thread about the cobra charger, I was thinking about do this. But you will have to modify the firewall, so I thought a turbo setup might be better.
Airram never finished his kit as far as I know. I know the guy with the big KB roots blower in his jeep and he had to cut a ton to make it fit, and have a bunch of other things modified to try and make everything line up and fit or work at all.
ok so obviously ive givin up on a supercharger but a few of you are talking of turbocharging. can you guys explain what type of turbo i should look for if i decide to go down this path and what i need to build up in my engine for it to still be reliable
Garrett, Borgwarner, precision, AGP turbo, would be a good place to start looking for a turbo that matches your goals and needs. As for the engine I would say forged internals are a must and built head if you can afford it. It will be a lot of work, but isn't impossible.
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