What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[KurtP]

Would be interested to know how that goes. Am I correct new gears are about $2K or less installed? Or more?

Depends where you are and what the shop charges for labor; if they use good parts or not; if they use the master kits or not.

Im $2,500 all in on mine, dana spicer 4.88’s with the master rebuild kit, lucas gear oil, labor, and the 500mi gear check and oil change with Lucas again. And it was by far the cheapest in my area....

I think it will make a big difference.

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[Gren71]

JK gear and gadgets on YouTube installed those then had an engine malfunction... may be user error but just saying

Odd. Ive heard of folks having some issues with them. From what I've read they're an issue with the specific coil pack that malfunctions and was fixed once they received a replacement from the company. It would be a HUGE pain in the ass if the malfunction happed on the side that's under the intake since that apparently is a bear to take off. Im willing to experiment, hopefully, it doesn't blow my engine up.

 

[tjbrown23]

Factory 4.10 - same as what comes with all Rubicons. One of the reasons I thought I'd be OK with 35s was that I had 4.10s, and I didn't want to go any taller. 2000rpm in 5th gear is 60mph. As you know there is not much power below 2000 rpms. I find myself using 4th for anything between 35 and 60. Below 35mph 4th gear is OK for steady speed but I need 3rd if I want moderate acceleration. And I don't want to jump to 2nd because there is a huge gap in the ratios between 2nd and 3rd.

At the end of the day I'm fine with the gear ratios and I accept the compromises with 35s but I see so many JTs here with 37s and 40s on stock gears and I can't see how the reduction in power or acceleration is acceptable.

I know exactly where your coming from! But I have a solution for you. I also have the manual Rubicon JT with 4.10s and 37in mud tires so I experienced what you have been describing a little more. Also, keep in mind when you read comments 99% of them have automatics so when they need power or are accelerating they get an instant downshift or two. People that upgrade tires sizes on the autos don't noticed anything different because they don't realize it now downshift to 3rd rather than 5th and cruises in 7th rather than 8th.

As for us with the manuals you also need to keep in mind how they geared the transmission. 5th and 6th are both overdrive gears and only used for flat ground cruising, only using a small amount of throttle. I even question why they included a 6th because it's only 500 rpms lower than 5th. Here in the WV hills I never was able to stay in 6th even when my truck was stock.

So here is how I drive with 37s and 4.10 gears and hopefully it can give you an idea so you can enjoy your truck. First off forget about 6th gear, 500 rpms is negligible mpg wise, only time I would ever use that is 100% flat interstate and go straight from 4th to 6th to keep a steady speed. Then all other speeds and roads drive it like a 4 speed with an overdrive in 5th. Highway driving I'm usually between 4th and 5th and never see 6th. Interstate is the same way, flats and downgrades I'm in 5th and inclines I'm in 4th. Once I forgot about 6th and realized that 5th is only for cruising flats and to downshift for grades and accelerations I really started enjoying the truck.

Towing with this thing on the interstate in WV just sucks to be honest. I miss my v8 Titan but the Jeep is capable you just need to stay in the powerband in lower gears. But hey it's a lifted brick on massive mud tires you can't expect perfection.

Is it ideal nope, will some say I need to regear yep, will I regear nope. I honestly think jeep screwed up with the 2 overdrives and I love my 5 speed in the hills of WV hahaha.

 

[AZJT]

I had a set of those. They made it about 2 months before the stainless steel started to rust & look like doo-doo. The manufacturer admitted they needed to use a higher grade of stainless.
I put my stock latches back on, and now rely on the alarm system to deter entry.

Kevin

Yeah, I kept the OEM latches just in case. Pretty dry here, so hopefully it's not an issue - but I'll keep an eye on them. Thanks for the input -

 

[jibberjabbs]

Ive smattered some of the information around in various threads and touch on it in one of my intake review posts. I havent made a dedicated thread as to whats happening in the ECU; because almost always descends into some sort of argument based on people being so predisposed to the idea bolt ons dont work anymore or its too technical for people to really care. Youre the first person thats actually asked, so I’ll answer.

Im admittedly not writing ecu code anymore and havent for many years; so there are more than likely some nuances to tuning that have changed that Im ignorant to.

But, in short,the basics are that most ECU’s run 2 separate tables of injection modes in modern FI cars. Ford ecoboost is a notable exception to this, as they run live wide band at all times.

Closed Loop operation is when the ecu is using all available sensors to determine which fueling table to use and how much to enrich. Tps, “load”, air flow, temperature, etc etc etc, and O2 sensors. O2 sensors are the big ones, and have the power to over ride every single other input to add or remove fuel. So when youre at part throttle low load cruise; the o2 sensors on vehicles like ours is looking for a narrow band of a voltage signal that represents 14.7 afr, or stoich. This is mandated by the government; and i believe the regulation is so restrictive now that the mfg actually has to show that engine damage could occur before enrichment can start. Im just hitting wave tops here, but think about that how a truck is used. High heat, high load, hauling, towing etc. and Jeep didnt start enriching fuel until something like 5,000rpm. That margin had to come from somewhere, and since they werent going to add fuel, they de-tuned the power out of it and restricted the intake size compared to other versions of the 3.6. Mfg’s do this all the time.

So during closed loop operation is where people get the idea that “the ecu just dials it all out” and this is not accurate. When those o2 sensors are active, its dialing to 14.7, not a hp number. So if the intake and exhaust are flowing more and leaning out the engine, it will adjust fuel to add back until 14.7 is hit again. This is why my mileage is so good in part. More fuel molecules is more power even if the mix is still 14.7. I stay in 8th more readily and easily, and dont have to use as much throttle angle or downshifts. That fuel adjustment is called Short Term Fuel Trim or STFT. Over time, the ecu will store these changes to Long Term Fuel Trim or LTFT tables. That takes a few drive cycles how many depends on fuel trim adaptation sensitivity within the ecu. But once fueling is added to LTFT, it is now applied to all fueling tables to include openloop fueling tables until the ecu learning is reset. open Loop fueling means the ecu is no longer referencing O2 sensors; and going off fueling tables for throttle angle, rpm, temp, pressure etc. so as you drive and drive and drive you will generally add fuel to the ecu tables, and as long as the ecu has sufficient authority in adaptation tables to do so, it will continue to add fueling until eventually STFt Goes to zero. The ecu wants 14.7 at cruise from the o2 sensor and wants to change the tables in the ecu until it no longer makes big corrections. So yes. If you bolt on an intake and immediately run a dyno on a vehicle thats already tuned too lean for power, you will lose power as we have seen on the SB dyno. Id bet money if he did that dyno after a month of driving, the print would be higher. But since he wasnt controlling fueling actively, and the internet demands damn near same-instant dynos because people dont know how they work, it means you dont have time for adaptation if youre looking to sell or get InstaCred.

There is a video on youtube from an australian tuning company that explains exactly what is happening with fuel vs power; i dont remember the name but i think you could find it by searching “air fuel vs peak torque” or something like that. Edit: found it. Link is as the bottom.

So the reason i did tuning first was to correct the afr base tables of the ecu so that at wot there was enough fuel to actually make more power. Its why even on 37’s, today when a 2door jl tried to squeeze me out on a merge i dropped the pedal and easily walked right on by. Now my enrichment starts way earlier than 5k, so the intake and exhaust are actually helping a bit more.

Tuning properly for the fuel makes the bigger difference; but afterwords the improvements of intake and exhaust will be more readily felt and apparent, especially on an intake snorkel tube and airbox as small as ours. Youll still see improvements, but the ecu will only adapt fuel tables probably about 3% on that; when the ecu tune i bet is adjusting it something like 15%. Its true that intakes and exhaust can be made sufficiently efficient as to not allow a gain with the stock cam/manifolds/TB/heads etc...but thats not the case we have here with our motors. Intake and exhaust will both make power; especially if youre tuned somehow.

Hope that helps. I ended up having to make a couple edits.

KurtP, Thanks for sharing! This topic absolutly warrants its own thread. I have been suprised at the lack of tuning disscusion on this platform. The Pulsar is intriguing, but I have not been able to find answers to basic questions. Does this reflash the firmware or just intercept and modify sensor signals? What amount of access do you have to modify tables (fuel, timing, knock sensitivity)? What does the software look like (if there is any)? Does anybody etune these? Any input would be greatly appeciated.

 

[tbaker]

Just added a warn low winch guard it fits great and looks great and easy to install

 

[KurtP]

KurtP, Thanks for sharing! This topic absolutly warrants its own thread. I have been suprised at the lack of tuning disscusion on this platform. The Pulsar is intriguing, but I have not been able to find answers to basic questions. Does this reflash the firmware or just intercept and modify sensor signals? What amount of access do you have to modify tables (fuel, timing, knock sensitivity)? What does the software look like (if there is any)? Any input would be greatly appeciated.

Im willing to answer whatever I can, and Ill tell you if I dont know. I dont know that Ill start an ecu tuning thread, as i said, im not actually tuning anymore, this is more of a “how it all works and why”. If there’s a thread, Im happy to comment but i promise sooner or lager arguments will ensue.

Pulsar is not an ecu tuning suite that allows you to mess with the tables. Honestly, there are so many -especially in the auto trans ones- i personally wouldnt want to do it. Others are, as either side gigs or really in depth hobbyiests, but thats just not my bag anymore. My days of wanting to fuck around with fueling maps and tables are done; i just want to plug shit in and have it work so my truck drives more gooder-er.

The pulsar plugs in between the ecu board and the data cables of the vehicle; so it intercepts sensor data and manipulates the outputs. I have found the pre-set tunes they put in to be adequate. Theyre pretty good, and switching is easy and the easy in-out is a great benefit that out weighed the last couple HP/TQ for me personally. They drive smoothly and are free of drivability issues or throttle transition issues, shifting logic is pretty good, etc. theres one little flat spot up top that i think is related to cam/valve timing where it could be mapped a little better, but its over all mapped pretty well. Ive driven a couple maps for other vehicles that were a lot more expensive, felt a little better, and ive driven a ton of maps that were way worse. Trust me, ive driven enough shitty mapped cars and well mapped cars to know the difference, and i would be vocal if the mapping sucked.

I would presume the livernois maps themselves are probably more thoroughly improved....but from comparing their 91 octane power figures between the two i didnt see a substantial advantage to livernois power and tq that was sufficient for me (personally) to go through the ass pain of a second or hacked open ecu, and dealing with dealer reflashes/updates and sending the ecu back to livernois again etc etc. i also wont ever use e85; so while that is an impressive feat, it wasnt of value to me personally. Others feel differently...it depends what you prioritize more, and for me plug and go, easy remove, etc won out over a couple more hp/tq.

The issues with pulsar have been hardware/qc related not tune file/map related. Superchips did admit it has been a painful process dealing with suppliers, and (rightly) pointed out that they basically had to re-engineer a new ecu for this to work. Im hopeful/optimistic that the new version will finally be 100% because comparatively my glitches were pretty minor. The new unit should be completed in a couple weeks and then Ill get it to test.

If you want to start writing your own tune files for this ecu, @DAVECS1 is a better person to talk to on what hardware to get and what to start with since he is writing files for blowers right now.

 

[KurtP]

Just added a warn low winch guard it fits great and looks great and easy to install

Thats the best looking hoop for a stock steel bumper ive seen yet. Which one is that? Warn you say?

 

[tbaker]

Yes it’s the warn low profile winch guard and it’s a lot cheaper the the one from Mopar the one from warn cost 169 dollars it took about 5 minutes to install and it’s well made

 

[KurtP]

Yes it’s the warn low profile winch guard and it’s a lot cheaper the the one from Mopar the one from warn cost 169 dollars it took about 5 minutes to install and it’s well made

It looks solid and is high enough to actually cover the radiator. Looks great.

 

[Dewyaw]

Even though I have the Premium Audio I know they just have the crappy speakers so I replaced them like I did on my JL and all is good for me

And I have posted before that these are plug and play and sound great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008I2UYPI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The ones on the right are from the Premium Audio group?

FFS....first the clutch, now that cheap shit...

 

[PLEG1972]

Got my Auxbram switch panel in so I FINALLY wired up my Lightbar on my front bumper.

 

[johnparjr]

The ones on the right are from the Premium Audio group?

FFS....first the clutch, now that cheap shit...

Yes the premium audio only means you get the crossover and sub woofer the speakers are all the same on every model

 

[KurtP]

Even though I have the Premium Audio I know they just have the crappy speakers so I replaced them like I did on my JL and all is good for me

And I have posted before that these are plug and play and sound great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008I2UYPI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those replace the front speakers? Id like to do an audio upgrade to the speakers but want to minimize cutting

 

[syreeves]

I know exactly where your coming from! But I have a solution for you. I also have the manual Rubicon JT with 4.10s and 37in mud tires so I experienced what you have been describing a little more. Also, keep in mind when you read comments 99% of them have automatics so when they need power or are accelerating they get an instant downshift or two. People that upgrade tires sizes on the autos don't noticed anything different because they don't realize it now downshift to 3rd rather than 5th and cruises in 7th rather than 8th.

As for us with the manuals you also need to keep in mind how they geared the transmission. 5th and 6th are both overdrive gears and only used for flat ground cruising, only using a small amount of throttle. I even question why they included a 6th because it's only 500 rpms lower than 5th. Here in the WV hills I never was able to stay in 6th even when my truck was stock.

So here is how I drive with 37s and 4.10 gears and hopefully it can give you an idea so you can enjoy your truck. First off forget about 6th gear, 500 rpms is negligible mpg wise, only time I would ever use that is 100% flat interstate and go straight from 4th to 6th to keep a steady speed. Then all other speeds and roads drive it like a 4 speed with an overdrive in 5th. Highway driving I'm usually between 4th and 5th and never see 6th. Interstate is the same way, flats and downgrades I'm in 5th and inclines I'm in 4th. Once I forgot about 6th and realized that 5th is only for cruising flats and to downshift for grades and accelerations I really started enjoying the truck.

Towing with this thing on the interstate in WV just sucks to be honest. I miss my v8 Titan but the Jeep is capable you just need to stay in the powerband in lower gears. But hey it's a lifted brick on massive mud tires you can't expect perfection.

Is it ideal nope, will some say I need to regear yep, will I regear nope. I honestly think jeep screwed up with the 2 overdrives and I love my 5 speed in the hills of WV hahaha.

Thanks - this is awesome. I've basically been doing that but I just thought I must be doing something wrong. thanks - BTW great chart - I'm a visual learner and that was super helpful thank you! Man I love this forum!

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