Swampy Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 What do you guys prefer in your offroad setup? Small and or generally unpowered engines with lots of gearing? or more like ultra 4 car with lots of power on tap? do you try to balance the two? I know it mainly depends on wheeling style/terrain and a few different factors. I am biased to the over geared portion of our conversation cause technical wheeling with a 5spd has its challenges and the more gearing the easier it is to not stall and have to be slipping the clutch all the time. I am considering doing an engine swap on my mj to more so balance the two. My doubler takes all the work offroad so I don't necessarily need more power there but highway driving the rig could use some help. No I don't want to make this a trail rig only, I would like do to ultimate adventure one day or something similar so maintaining highway speed is a must. Theres three engines I'm considering, technically 4 if you consider a reman 4.0l, but that's besides the point. -4.6/4.7 stroker -LM7/LQ9 Ls swap -Ford 2.3 ecoboost Theres pros and cons to each and we can get into it more. Just wanted to hear yalls thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Is gearing and power an option? I’ve got 4.10s in my truck with a 4.0, AX15, and 31s. A lot less gear and a lot less tire than you have. It wheels well enough for what I do, but I still don’t think it hangs with traffic well and I’m considering an LS swap for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboedMJ Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 All the gear and all the power. Haha. Not sure if it's the best option but I'd like to see how you manage a 2.3 Ecoboost swap. That would unlock the door to the bigger Ecoboost engines. Has this been done before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I like under powered and over geared. My YJ has a 2.5L/AX5/NP231 with a front D60 and rear 14bolt running 5.38s and 40" tires. Has been a great setup for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, TurboedMJ said: All the gear and all the power. Haha. Not sure if it's the best option but I'd like to see how you manage a 2.3 Ecoboost swap. That would unlock the door to the bigger Ecoboost engines. Has this been done before? Not into an MJ. I have seen them in tube buggies. There's a full stand alone ecu for it and there's adapters to mate it to an ax15. I like this option because I have the gearing for offroad but with the turbo have the power up top. For the 3.5 theres adapters to mate it to a 4l60/4l80. I want to stay manual though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 2 hours ago, 89 MJ said: Is gearing and power an option? I’ve got 4.10s in my truck with a 4.0, AX15, and 31s. A lot less gear and a lot less tire than you have. It wheels well enough for what I do, but I still don’t think it hangs with traffic well and I’m considering an LS swap for it. I feel like it can be. just depends on goals. I know people that run very little gearing with LS swaps and I know people who prefer to have a lot of gear. Do you plan to go bigger or stay in the 31/33" tire range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, GrandBoost98 said: I like under powered and over geared. My YJ has a 2.5L/AX5/NP231 with a front D60 and rear 14bolt running 5.38s and 40" tires. Has been a great setup for me I ran a 2.5 with 5.13s and 36s for a while. It was a good combo but not enough low speed control for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 20 minutes ago, Swampy said: I ran a 2.5 with 5.13s and 36s for a while. It was a good combo but not enough low speed control for me. The only thing I would like to change eventually is the Tcase, to get a deeper low gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 4.7 STROKER Pros: -Bolt in (no mods) -Parts availabilty -Fairly reliable -regular pump gas (maybe premium if compression is high) -proven swap -Can retain A/C and heat Cons: -Engine is tapped out performance wise without spending crazy money -tuning software? LS Swap Pros: -Availability -Reliablity -Power -efficient -proven swap (been done countless times) -aftermarket support -can retain A/C and heat Cons: -cost -drivetrain mounting modifications (especially manual transmissions) -crammed engine bay -too much power for 231 doubler? FORD 2.3 ECOBOOST Pros: -Small/lightweight (around 250lbs) -power to weight ratio -turbo noises -similar power levels to base 5.3l LS -bellhousing adapter to ax15 Cons: -hasnt been done into xj/mj platform (that I'm aware of) -cost (most expensive engine swap of the 3) -plumbing of intake and turbo -aftermarket support (decent, getting better as more fords have these engines) -availability (relativley new) -reliability (how long do they really last) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboedMJ Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I would think that both the LS and the stroker will outlast the eco boost. I'd go with the LS if I was in your position, especially because it's so easy to add power later if you want. I would think that the LS would also be the cheapest to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 2 hours ago, Swampy said: I feel like it can be. just depends on goals. I know people that run very little gearing with LS swaps and I know people who prefer to have a lot of gear. Do you plan to go bigger or stay in the 31/33" tire range? I am going to stay with smaller tires. My dad had a YJ with a 5.3, NV3500, 4.10s, and 35s. That thing wheeled really well and would happily run down the interstate at 70+ no problem. Even on road, there was no point where my Comanche would have even been comparable to it in terms of power and acceleration, even though I had smaller tires and we both had 4.10s. To be completely honest, it has my considering doing a LS YJ on 31s to use for school or putting an LS in my Eagle to use at school just because it has been better than the 4.0 in every single way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 6 hours ago, GrandBoost98 said: The only thing I would like to change eventually is the Tcase, to get a deeper low gear That would be good. at least a 4:1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 LS, because it sounds the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 6 hours ago, TurboedMJ said: I would think that both the LS and the stroker will outlast the eco boost. I'd go with the LS if I was in your position, especially because it's so easy to add power later if you want. I would think that the LS would also be the cheapest to replace. Yeah thats the tough decision I face. Ecoboost seems okay at stock power levels and regular maintaince. The LS is just so ubiquitous and designed to last. Because of it support its only slightly more expensive than a crate 4.7 stroker. A shop quoted me roughly $9200 for a turnkey swap which is ridiculously good deal. The two negatives i have about the LS is that 1- its a common swap now and 2- I'm not sure how my 231/231 doubler is going to hold up to the v8 Ecoboost is unique but how much preference and value do I want to put on a unique unproven swap. It would be similar to the few srt4 swapped mj's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 19 minutes ago, Pete M said: LS, because it sounds the best The more I think about it the more it makes sense especially for what my requirements are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 I won't ever do anything to my mj engine wise other than a rebuild when it comes, but I am building my WJ. It already has the 4.7HO V8 and I'll be running 37s with 4.88. I didn't want to go deeper because I still want to drive it on the road with out rapping at 2500 doing 70. Plus it has plenty of power to start. If I had the 4.0 Id either sell it for a v8 to LS swap. 4.0s just a turd in a WJ. Great in a XJ/MJ though. IMHO I'd go off tire size. If you're staying 35s max, I'd go with deeper gearing with a 4.0 rebuild (money aside LS without a doubt). I wouldn't do a stroker or boosted. If you're 37s+ LS swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Setups I have ran in my 83 CJ7: 258/T5/3.31/32s 258/T18 6:1/3.31/32s 4.0HO/T18 6:1/3.31s/32s 4.0HO/NV3550/D300 4:1/4.56/33s 4.0HO/NV3550/D300 4:1/4.56/35s LS5.3/NV3550/D300 4:1/4.56/35s Yes to low gearing and yes to power. I used to say, "if you are geared and locked, you don't need horsepower". Yeah, I used to say that, until I got more horsepower. Honestly, I went to the 5.3 because I wasn't happy with the around town driving with the 4.0 and 35s. The 35s just sucked the power out of the 4.0, even with 4.56 gears. I was constantly in the throttle to keep up with traffic. Highway wasn't so bad, I just had to plan my lane changes and passing. So around town driving was my main factor for the LS. And it certainly solved that. Then when I took it off road, I was like, wow. Situations where I would need to back up and try again were instantly solved by pressing the gas a little more. My LS is a run of the mill LM7 5.3 with over 150k miles. Stock other than a performance speed density 91 octane tune and headers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 10 hours ago, schardein said: Setups I have ran in my 83 CJ7: 258/T5/3.31/32s 258/T18 6:1/3.31/32s 4.0HO/T18 6:1/3.31s/32s 4.0HO/NV3550/D300 4:1/4.56/33s 4.0HO/NV3550/D300 4:1/4.56/35s LS5.3/NV3550/D300 4:1/4.56/35s Yes to low gearing and yes to power. I used to say, "if you are geared and locked, you don't need horsepower". Yeah, I used to say that, until I got more horsepower. Honestly, I went to the 5.3 because I wasn't happy with the around town driving with the 4.0 and 35s. The 35s just sucked the power out of the 4.0, even with 4.56 gears. I was constantly in the throttle to keep up with traffic. Highway wasn't so bad, I just had to plan my lane changes and passing. So around town driving was my main factor for the LS. And it certainly solved that. Then when I took it off road, I was like, wow. Situations where I would need to back up and try again were instantly solved by pressing the gas a little more. My LS is a run of the mill LM7 5.3 with over 150k miles. Stock other than a performance speed density 91 octane tune and headers. Offroad I don't really have complaints but like you its the around town that i have complaints on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandBoost98 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 That just means you need two. One for trails and the other for the street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 truth. it's important to have multiple MJs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now