Page 2 - Jeep Wrangler

It's the challenges that make life exciting. Doing the same thing over and over gets tedious, but if you seek out challenges, life begins to get interesting. When we last talked about our 2018+ Jeep Wrangler 2.0L intake, things were starting to get very interesting.

The last post saw our prototypes hitting the dyno to see if our efforts had paid off. Despite a 20% increase in flow over the stock intake, there was no massive improvement in power with either prototype. Both prototypes did let out a little more sound from the turbo, however. While the lack of power increase wasn't surprising (as explained in the last post), looking at the resulting dyno graphs did show an unexpected trend. Though peak power didn't increase or decrease compared to the stock intake, it did move later in the RPM range. Much later.

What's exploration without a challenge? If you drive the same easy trails or climb the same easy routes over and over again, life becomes boring. The thrill of exploration often hinges on the prospect of the unknown and taking a path without knowing where it will lead you. Without the challenge of the unknown, exploration is just following a map.

When we last saw our 2018+ Jeep Wrangler 2.0L catch can kit, we were still firmly in familiar territory. We installed two catch cans on the Jeep, one for the PCV side of the system and one for the CCV side. These two kits would serve as our proof of concept for each side of the system. At the end of our 1,000-mile test, we'd check the catch cans and see if we needed to build a kit for the CCV side, PCV side, or both. Before we could rack up 1,000 miles, however, an old familiar friend greeted us: the check-engine light (CEL).

As summer begins
here in Delaware, the air is getting warmer, the days are growing longer, and
adventure is in the air. It seems like more and more off-road-ready vehicles
are hitting the streets and trails to capture their piece of the great outdoors,
and the Jeep Wrangler is no exception. While Wrangler owners across the country
are getting ready for their next adventure, our engineers at Mishimoto have
been working to keep the newest addition to the Wrangler lineup, the JL 2.0L
turbo, ready too.

With our catch can for the 3.6L Pentastar wrapped up, we've been working on a version for the 2.0T. Our last post focused on the effects of blow-by in modern engines and why catch cans are important for protecting

We've reached a massive milestone in the development of our 2018+ Jeep JL 2.0T intake. After months of measuring, testing, printing and waiting, we finally have a functional prototype. Although it's been a long road to get to this point, the development of this intake has also been a breath of fresh air; we're trying a lot of new techniques and exploring new R&D methods. But before we jump into what's new, let's look at what brought us to this point.

We began developing our intake by looking at the stock intake. Our engineer, Ye, filtered through all the components to find what needed to stay and what we could improve. She 3D scanned and meticulously measured every inch of the stock intake and the JL's engine bay. Later, a flow-bench test of the stock intake gave us a baseline to compare our design to. With measurements, 3D scans and testing of the stock intake complete, we began building our prototypes.

The renowned landscape photographer Ansel Adams once said, ""I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." Nearly a century after Adams began exploring the American West, Americans still love to explore, and no vehicle exemplifies the spirit of everyday exploration better than the Jeep Wrangler. Any Wrangler driver knows that embarking on an exploration is a simple matter of turning a key. Take the top off, or pull off the doors, and a drive through your neighborhood becomes something more.

As any explorer knows, a journey requires preparation. We might have moved on from feeding the horses and packing the hardtack but being prepared is still key. Even in a brand new 2.0L turbo Wrangler, the first step in your everyday exploration should be staying prepared. Maintenance is important, of course. You change your oil, use high-quality fuel, check your tire pressure, and a plethora of other essentials most vehicle owners are familiar with.

Sometimes the long road is the path we take when we want
to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy the view. Sometimes the long road
is the path we take when we want to do something well. While we love watching
the development process unfold, we're taking the long road to our 2018+ Jeep
Wrangler JL 2.0T performance intake for the latter reason.

"Quality over speed" is our motto for many of our
projects, but in developing complex intakes like the one found on our JL's 2.0L
Hurricane engine, it's a requirement. Rushing through a project like this often
means fighting check engine lights and poor performance. In the end, rushing
takes longer than doing it right the first time.

We've spent the last four months analyzing every detail of the stock Hurricane intake.

We often say that engines are just air pumps. The more
air you can get in and out of them, the more efficient they are, and the more
power they make. While that's true for any engine at its core, computers and
electronic controls tend to complicate the equation. As cars and trucks become
more complex and efficient, the computers controlling them have a hand in
almost every aspect of how they run. Most of those controls focus on how the
engine breathes in through the intake and out through the exhaust.

So, what does that mean for our 2018+ JL 2.0T intake? It
means that "good enough" isn't an option. The sensors attached to the
Hurricane's stock intake and its complex design require precision along every
step of development. It may seem like we're dragging our feet by looking so
closely at the stock intake, but every feature of every component plays a major
role in how the intake functions.