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  • OMG...Prodigy...TURBO!

    Just got the news..... Prodigy wants to throw its hat in the ring with the two killer superchargers that we are testing head to head right now. To give you an idea of what that means, Prodigy's turbo kit for the 3.8 Jeep wrangler engine made as much power as the Supercharged Pentastars make....on paper.

    Here is the dyno chart they post on their website. 350 wheel horse power, and 400 torque. Sounds too good to be true.



    A big note with RIPP and Magnuson, the supercharger gurus, is drivability. Big power is easy, just cram more air in, but does the truck drive correctly on and off road? We are going to find out.

    Particularly off road, where you don't want BURSTS of power. You want an even, predictable gathering of power as you creep and crawl thru difficult terrain. You don't want to be hanging off a rock and have a power burst, it could be catastrophic. Also, the components between the engine and the ground will all be under more strain. So throttle response is paramount.

    Can these guys get a beast like this under control? We'll tell you.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: OMG...Prodigy...TURBO! started by JeepLab View original post
    Comments 251 Comments
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      But then as I approach the turbo Jeep to drive it, this starts playing:

    1. JeepLab's Avatar
      JeepLab -
      Just talked to prodigy. Paper instructions are unavailable right now.

      They have the prototype working and will be doing some high speed testing of their own. Then tearing the prototype down and building the jigs to mass produce all the custom pipe they made.

      Once the jigs are made, they will reinstall their unit with pictures and what not to make clear instructions. They assure me its completely bolt on, no cutting anywhere.
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      Quote Originally Posted by JeepLab View Post
      They have the prototype working and will be doing some high speed testing of their own. Then tearing the prototype down and building the jigs to mass produce all the custom pipe they made.

      Once the jigs are made, they will reinstall their unit with pictures and what not to make clear instructions.
      Quote Originally Posted by JeepLab View Post
      I spoke to Prodigy last friday, and they told me that they are planning to have the kit completed in 10 days!
      10 days from last Friday would be next Monday. That sounds pretty optimistic, depending on what exactly they mean by "have the kit completed". Sounds like it doesn't mean it will be ready to ship that soon.
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      A couple minor tidbits:

      Everything is going smoothly and as planned with the final prototype. They hope have some new info (presumably dyno results) ready to publish next week.

      Also, they don't foresee any problems with the stock clutch. I was a bit concerned about maybe needing to upgrade to a stronger clutch ($$$!), so I'm glad to hear this.
    1. Snarf77's Avatar
      Snarf77 -
      not needing to install a new clutch is huge! this gets more exciting every day. Their timeline sounds pretty aggressive but I'm sure they are going full speed trying to get it to market.
    1. DukeofJeep's Avatar
      DukeofJeep -
      This should really be good👍being in Colorado even the Pentastar needs some help 😕
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      There's some people poo-pooing all over my thread about the turbo over on the wranglerforum, with comments such as, "When are you ever going to get the RPMs high enough to even get the turbo spooling off road?"

      I decided to actually do some basic math and answer that question, and I think the results are interesting enough to share over here. The following is a copy/paste of my reply...



      Since we don't have details on the 3.6 turbo kit, let's talk in terms of the existing 3.8 turbo kit, 12 psi. Here's the torque gains at a few rpms (refer to the dyno chart I posted earlier if you want to confirm the numbers):

      2000 rpm: 25 ft-lb, 16% gain
      2500 rpm: 55 ft-lb, 33% gain
      3000 rpm: 105 ft-lb, 68% gain
      3500 rpm: 185 ft-lb, 116% gain

      Now let's look at the speeds attained at the same rpms.

      First, let's assume my plain old stock Wrangler Sport with 29" tires and 3.21 gears, in 1st gear, 4LO.

      2000 rpm: 5.3 mph (25 ft-lb, 16% gain)
      2500 rpm: 6.6 mph (55 ft-lb, 33% gain)
      3000 rpm: 7.9 mph (105 ft-lb, 68% gain)
      3500 rpm: 9.3 mph (185 ft-lb, 116% gain)

      So there you have it. Significant gains in the 5-10 mph range. That is a very common speed range for me on the off-road trails that I drive on. If you are not focused on extremely slow rock crawling, then this is usable torque for you.

      But that's pretty tall gearing for off-roading. How about a Rubicon with the 4:1 transfer case, 33" tires and 4.10 gears?

      (EDIT: corrected a miscalculation of speeds)
      2000 rpm: 2.7 mph (25 ft-lb, 16% gain)
      2500 rpm: 3.4 mph (55 ft-lb, 33% gain)
      3000 rpm: 4.0 mph (105 ft-lb, 68% gain)
      3500 rpm: 4.7 mph (185 ft-lb, 116% gain)

      I'd say that looks pretty damn usable for low-speed off-roading. Maybe still not extreme rock-crawling usable, but I'm not a rock crawler, so I don't know.

      The kinds of trails I drive on, I'm often in the 5-10 mph range in 4LO and 1st gear. Yes, I actually keep it in 1st gear so I can make use of the mid/high rpm range and the power that comes with it!

      I hope this answers your question.
    1. JeepLab's Avatar
      JeepLab -
      Quote Originally Posted by UselessPickles View Post
      There's some people poo-pooing all over my thread about the turbo over on the wranglerforum, with comments such as, "When are you ever going to get the RPMs high enough to even get the turbo spooling off road?".
      I've gotten the same note in each supercharger thread.

      Its a short sighted opinion that is easy to throw out with little knowledge of superchargers and their uses offroad.

      The answer to this question, is when your offroad, you can crawl in lower gear, at higher rpm WHEN you need more power. RATHER than goose the throttle.

      I did a video on this technique. Its a very simple concept, and I dont understand why some people cant grasp it.

      The extra power is useful when your slow offroad and fast on the highway, You just need to manipulate the RPM to use it... when its called for.
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      It's kind of a strange conflict of priorities I see. People want to gear down their axles (numerically higher) a lot for better low speed off-road grunt, but then there seems to be a general fear of using anything over 3000 rpm. The whole point of gears, 4LO, and the transmission is to have the ability to take advantage of the engine's power as best as possible at any speed. By the very definition of power, if you have any sort of decent torque curve, peak power will be in the upper RPM range. Numerically higher gears in the axle allows you to reach higher power levels of your engine at lower ground speeds. If you continue to always shift below 3000 rpm after re-gearing, then you're kinda missing the point.

      I had someone tell me in a thread that they "couldn't conceive of ever running any vehicle at 4000 rpms under any conditions". It was a thread where he was complaining about wanting stronger acceleration. If you want the power, downshift and rev it up! There's a rev limiter around 6400 or 6500 to keep you in a safe operating range. You will not hurt the engine.
    1. Gunner's Avatar
      Gunner -
      I've videoed my 2013 auto doing 0 to 100 on the dry lake bed twice. Once bone stock and once with a 3.5 RK lift, 35 KM2's,4.56's and a Procal flash. The gears and tires were the quicker of the two. Not by a lot though. It just ran up to 100 and stopped accelerating when the speed limiter kicked in.
    1. JeepLab's Avatar
      JeepLab -
      Quote Originally Posted by Gunner View Post
      I've videoed my 2013 auto doing 0 to 100 on the dry lake bed twice. Once bone stock and once with a 3.5 RK lift, 35 KM2's,4.56's and a Procal flash. The gears and tires were the quicker of the two. Not by a lot though. It just ran up to 100 and stopped accelerating when the speed limiter kicked in.
      Is there a link to this video? I'd love to see it.
    1. Pznivy's Avatar
      Pznivy -
      When is this thing coming.....?
    1. Snarf77's Avatar
      Snarf77 -
      I have a question; maybe for pickles as he's in-the-know: What type of exhaust system is Prodigy envisioning using behind the turbo system?
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      Quote Originally Posted by Pznivy View Post
      When is this thing coming.....?
      Don't know for sure yet. "Soon".

      I know that they definitely want to have everything ready so they can show it off at Jeep Beach Week, promote it, and generate sales: http://www.jeepbeach.com/

      Based on that, I would expect it to be available at least by late April. Of course, they are trying to make it available much sooner if possible. We should hopefully get some more details this week as they finish up their final tune testing and start preparing for production.

      Quote Originally Posted by Snarf77 View Post
      I have a question; maybe for pickles as he's in-the-know: What type of exhaust system is Prodigy envisioning using behind the turbo system?
      As far as I know, the kit is intended to work with no additional supporting mods necessary, so stock exhaust is expected/supported (except for the parts of the exhaust replaced by the turbo kit).

      The kit includes fine tuning via email based on data logs (at least the 3.8 kit did). I imagine that if you wanted aftermarket exhaust, your best deal would be to get it installed before or at the same time as the turbo so that the fine tuning via email will be fine tuned for whatever exhaust you are running. This would definitely be a topic worth discussing with Prodigy directly before making any decisions just in case there are any compatibility concerns. It seems to me that a turbo system could benefit from a more free-flowing exhaust system (more power to the wheels instead of fighting back-pressure in the exhaust, cooler exhaust pipes, etc).
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      We'll have to wait longer for dyno results

      Getting the prototype pipes uninstalled (already done) to setup for production took priority. Dyno testing will happen "probably next week".
    1. Snarf77's Avatar
      Snarf77 -
      Quote Originally Posted by UselessPickles View Post
      We'll have to wait longer for dyno results

      Getting the prototype pipes uninstalled (already done) to setup for production took priority. Dyno testing will happen "probably next week".
      A few pictures of said pipes would sure be exciting. I'm still stuck on exhaust. I'm thinking an AFE Mach Force Hi-tuck system was ideal before the turbo. Now I wonder if something more free-flowing would be better. I feel like the pressure to get the exhaust right early on (based on your point) is worth the stress. Unfortunately, Jeep exhaust reviews aren't terribly relevant to me now unless they have boost. I'm sure AFE's system would be a good starting point.
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      I just noticed something interesting...

      Here's a picture of the turbo from the 3.8 kit:



      source: http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modif...-3-8-a-269333/


      Now here's a picture of the turbo from the 3.6 kit (from Prodigy's facebook page):




      Those are "anti-surge" ports. From what I've read about them, they essentially give the turbo the ability to operate over a wider range of conditions (combinations of flow rate and turbine speed). If you know what a "compressor map" is, then "anti-surge" ports move the "surge line" further left on the map.

      I think what this could possibly mean is that the large "bump" in torque on the torque chart could be a little more spread out across a wider RPM range on the 3.6 kit when compared to the 3.8 kit, maybe leading to better gains at lower RPMs?

      I just want to see the dyno chart
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -
      Here's Garrett's own explanation of surge, the "surge line" on the compressor map, and how anti-surge ports affect it: http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/surge_line
    1. JeepLab's Avatar
      JeepLab -
      Dear lord, Im climbing the walls waiting for this thing to get here.

      CLIMBING THE WALLS.
    1. UselessPickles's Avatar
      UselessPickles -


      I recently figured out that I'm almost 100% sure I can afford the kit right about now, based on what I know so far about possible pricing (got some extra cash via referral bonuses at work!). I still need final pricing info to determine whether I can get ceramic coated pipes and a blacked-out intercooler though...
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