5.2 magnum performance

I just got a 98 Grand Cherokee TSI with the 5.2 and quadratrac.It moves a lot easier than the same one I have with a 4.0L.Of course I have to hop up the V8 lol.I am thinking of using the;
Hughes Engines airgap intake
Doug Thorley headers
Custom tune
custom exhaust
Anyone have experience with the Hughes intake or other mods?I would like to hear recommendations (based on firsthand experience) and any suggestions.
TIA.

Not interested in a cam change? Thats where most of your gains will be.

Maybe down the road a little but the intake/headers mod would surely help in the meantime and even more with a cam.

Getting rid of the ole beer keg intake will definitely help but you might as well put a new cam in it while everything is apart!

FWIW the biggest change I got w/ my 95 5.2 was the MP computer. It didn't run any faster w/ headers and custom 3" exhaust. From what I recall the intake is the biggest short fall. I think they make an M-1 that has the bungs and you can drop your throttle body on it.

The intake should help a bit, as the beer keg is really tuned for 2000rpm and under IMO. However with it's long runner lengths I wouldn't expect the M1 intake to compete with it in the Low RPM range. Also to me it sounds kind of silly to dump $1000+ into a new calibration, intake, headers and custom exhaust when the cam is your biggest hold back. You're paying for the retune either way so why not have it done for a new cam too? Roller cam regrinds are not that much money, around 150-200 bucks I think. I would expect a 5.2 with a mild cam regrind plus the intake and exhaust mods to be around 330hp, maybe a little more depending on how much of a cam you want. Leave the stocker in there and probably would slice 50hp off that.

The hughes intake kills low rpm TQ. I would say you got to be over 2500 before it starts to feel better instead of worse. I put one in a 97 ram 2500 to get better towing and mpg but it felt real doggy (added a small regrind, EQ heads and thin mopar gaskets at the same time) when we swapped back to the beer barrel it really came alive and lost very little at higher RPM.

On the flip side your jeep probably has 3.73 gears and 500# less weight and shorter tires. Also the Dana 30 you probably have can not handle any TQ so it might be a good deal for you.

As for cam I would try a set of crower 1.8 SBC rockers GM3100 V6 valve springs and retainers. They will give you more lift without a significant increase in duration, slightly improve the lifter/PR angle, this will help broaden out your TQ curve, mostly give you more power at higher RPM without losing the great low end TQ the beer barrel makes.

I think the one biggest problem with the kegger intake is not them blowing out (they do that a lot)but how bad they heat the air before it reaches the head. Maybe try to get the plate thermal barrier coated and or add a plate over the cam and lifters to keep the hot oil off the plate. The other day I drove home with the scanner hooked to my dakota and it was like 2 degrees F and the IAT never went below 90* once the engine was warm, in the summer it is usually like 150*+ that is with a "cold air intake kit", it is about 10* worse without it. On the above mentioned ram we installed the IAT in the runner for a while like the instructions say not to do and it was probably 20* cooler than the kegger. If you put it in the plastic tube like the instructions say to do it goes to a richer part of the computer map and so the O2 sensors try to remove a bunch of fuel to keep the same AF ratio since it is no longer reading the actual air temp of the air going into the heads.

You can also try slotting the crank sensor bolt holes so you can slide it a little to the passenger side of the truck, it will advance the ign timing about 2 degrees, if you want a couple more degrees you have to enlarge the hole in the bell housing also, then you can get 4 degrees witch they really like.

You can get a better injector from a 4.6 or 5.4 ford, they are orange, drop right in with no mods and atomize the fuel a lot better. If you do some more serious mods you can get some from a 460 they are grayish blue and flow a little more as well as the better spray pattern.

Another cheap trick to get a lttle extra TQ is to advance the cam 4* when you install a double roller adjustable timing set.

I think the Bullet roller cam regrind is still $120.00, great bargain as they have some really nice small hydraulic roller lobes.

R.

Not looking for a major undertaking so I am bouncing ideas off you guys.This is a spare/winter weather vehicle but of course I want to pump it up a little if possible .

Hard to see clearly when it is your vehicle sometimes.I thought the intake would be a benefit but if it does kill low end torque I would not use it.Maybe do the keg mod. and intake gasket repair.

The exhaust is pricey and I could see where it may not do much good without the intake upgrade.

I will keep taking feedback and look at more options.

Thanks fot the help so far.

I hope you don't mind if I kind of hijack this tread.
I have a 96 1500 standard cab short box 5.2 auto/3.55
It just gets crappy fuel millage and I would like to improve that as economically as possible. I dose have the "death flash" and just cruiseing empty at 65-70 it gets 12.5-13mpg. 70mph = about 2000 rpm so I need improvement in the 1800-2200 range. I have filed the crank sensor for more advance and have the gaskets to do the pendulum leak fix. So in order of improvement for the $ what should I do first? this is kind of but not exclusively aimed at Hotrod Dave as I know he has done a bunch of millage work at his own expence. Thanks

Best mod you can do is drop 15mph off your speed. My buddy and i took his 97 1500 5.2 4x4 3000 miles round trip. At 70 we got 13, at 55-60 we got 18mpg on flat terrain.

The ferd fuel injectors are cheap at my local JY and are easy to install and make a nice gain, probably be my first thing on most rigs depending on state of repair.

If your timing chain is wore out (most of them are)or your timing cover is leaking(most of them are) then stick in an adjustable double roller timing chain (I use a cloys) and advance it 4 degrees.

I see a lot of them where the fan clutch is real tight and they sound like an air plane, takes a ton of energy to move that much air, get an electric fan from autozone with the thermostat control and ditch the mechanical fan. Or you can get real cheap and pick just about any fan from the JY and wire it up with a relay to come on when the key comes on. Try to get the fan near as you can to the upper inlet where the temperature delta will be the highest.

Don't tell anyone but I run 0-20 oil in my trucks in the winter and 5-20 in the summer

I've been hearing over and over again about going to the ford fuel injectors. Anybody have any first hand experience as to whether changing them actually nets any mpg increase? I figured that a cylinder head at temp would vaporize any fuel that hit the intake port or valve.

Yes I have done (personally done) several times and most of them pick up about 1 mpg. That can save you around 1 gallon of fuel per tank. If you can get them cheap enough they pay for their self pretty quick. They also tend to idle smoother, power is real hard to tell if there is any difference maybe just a bit more responsive.