did anyone else notice new member "SOUTHERNHOTROD"?

I can't wait to see what these guys have to say. They are NOLA's shop right?

Where'd NOLA go? He should have his Jeep and dyno results by now...

NOLAjeeper is Frustrated, confused, and lost... Yes southernhotrod is the shop that is doing my stage 2 install. Eddy is the owner of the shop and he is the one taking charge of doing my install. They have hit a lot of road bumps with the install of stage 2 kit. The intercooler will not fit without modifying the "jeep grill", relocating the auto trans cooler, and doing some custom work to the intercooler silicone connection tubes. The kit does come with a replacement auto trans cooler, however it is not a perfect kit nor is a high performance replacement cooler. This thing is just a big mess. Had the same issue with the dyno, could not get out of gear in 2wheel drive manual..So we couldnt dyno the stage 1. I asked eddy to sign up here to give his thoughts and answer any questions the jeep community may have regarding the install/dyno/turbo etc.. This is not a simple bolt on stage 2 install. At least not for the automatics.. My impression is the stage 2 (the one that was shipped to me) more complicated, requires moderate modifications to intercooler and jeep grill. And still no Instruction manual. The shop has been going back and forth with prodigy with this install. This is what i know from what Southernhotrod has passed down to me. Like i said Eddy is a forum member and will answer any questions you guys may have. But so far its disappointing that this kit is not an out of the box simple bolt on plug and play system. In my case. I can not speak for anyone else. The jeep is still in the shop hopefully they can figure something out with prodigy.. YEP BUMMER!! sorry guys..

Originally Posted by NOLAjeeper

The intercooler will not fit without modifying the "jeep grill", relocating the auto trans cooler, and doing some custom work to the intercooler silicone connection tubes.

This was my impression when I test fitted my intercooler. The cylinder on the side of the A/C condenser seems to be in the way. With the intercooler contacting the cylinder, the grill contacts the intercooler before the top of the grill is pushed on all the way.

I talked to both Jessee (Snarf) and Dan at Prodigy, confirming that this is normal! You just need to push the grill the rest of the way on, which will push the intercooler against the cylinder, and flex the cylinder back a bit. Dan assured me that there is no long term reliability concern with this pressure between the grill, intercooler and A/C condenser cylinder. He says it the same exact grill configuration and intercooler as their 2007-2011 3.8 turbo kits, and they have not had any issues with any of those. Wes at Prodigy insisted on having the largest possible intercooler that could be successfully crammed into the grill area.

As for the silicone connectors, Dan told me that connecting those all up will be the toughest part of the stage 2 install. He says it's very tight, and requires shifting things around just the right amount, etc., but it is doable.

So, the grill and silicone connectors should not require modification.

I can't comment on the trans cooler solution, since I have a manual.

Originally Posted by UselessPickles

This was my impression when I test fitted my intercooler. The cylinder on the side of the A/C condenser seems to be in the way. With the intercooler contacting the cylinder, the grill contacts the intercooler before the top of the grill is pushed on all the way.

I talked to both Jessee (Snarf) and Dan at Prodigy, confirming that this is normal! You just need to push the grill the rest of the way on, which will push the intercooler against the cylinder, and flex the cylinder back a bit. Dan assured me that there is no long term reliability concern with this pressure between the grill, intercooler and A/C condenser cylinder. He says it the same exact grill configuration and intercooler as their 2007-2011 3.8 turbo kits, and they have not had any issues with any of those. Wes at Prodigy insisted on having the largest possible intercooler that could be successfully crammed into the grill area.

As for the silicone connectors, Dan told me that connecting those all up will be the toughest part of the stage 2 install. He says it's very tight, and requires shifting things around just the right amount, etc., but it is doable.

So, the grill and silicone connectors should not require modification.

I can't comment on the trans cooler solution, since I have a manual.

If you have an auto, you will def need modify the silicone connectors. Because you have the auto trans cooler inbetween the intercooler and the radiator thus pushing the intercooler outwards more. The shop will make it fit, they can install it. Its just not a simple install.

Originally Posted by NOLAjeeper

If you have an auto, you will def need modify the silicone connectors. Because you have the auto trans cooler inbetween the intercooler and the radiator thus pushing the intercooler outwards more. The shop will make it fit, they can install it. Its just not a simple install.

Do you have pics of the problem areas?

Originally Posted by NOLAjeeper

If you have an auto, you will def need modify the silicone connectors. Because you have the auto trans cooler inbetween the intercooler and the radiator thus pushing the intercooler outwards more. The shop will make it fit, they can install it. Its just not a simple install.

My intercooler (manual trans) fits right up against the grill (or maybe 1mm behind) and there was no pressure when installing the grill. In this picture, I actually have some space between grill and aluminum.



I had some earlier model silicone hoses that were larger diameter so we had to do some removal of plastic up front..it wasn't too bad though. Some pictures of your situation will help. WHen I get home, I'll post some new pics to show our solutions and maybe your shop will get an idea of how best to work yours.

Originally Posted by Snarf77

there was no pressure when installing the grill. In this picture, I actually have some space between grill and aluminum.

Then there must have been pressure when installing the intercooler and hooking up the silicon connectors, and now the connectors are holding the intercooler in place, slightly away from the grill. There's no way that my intercooler will fit between the grill and the tall skinny black cylinder that is on the side of the A/C condenser.

Do you have A/C?

Originally Posted by boosted1

Attachment 957

Stage 1 is shipped with Red spring .4 bar
Stage 2 is White .5 bar

Read the bottom right of the image. I personally prefer the White and Green combination for Maximum fun.

Looks like the spring that went into my wastegate may be the far left "grey" or MVR-Plain. It could be the black and a figment of the camera's color settings.

Originally Posted by UselessPickles

Then there must have been pressure when installing the intercooler and hooking up the silicon connectors, and now the connectors are holding the intercooler in place, slightly away from the grill. There's no way that my intercooler will fit between the grill and the tall skinny black cylinder that is on the side of the A/C condenser.

Do you have A/C?

I do have A/C. I will take a better picture when I get home and post it up.

The kit did not came with installation manual so I had to print it from the site. It turns up to be stage 1 only. Ok went to intercooler upgrade kit again stage 1 manual. So went to 3.8 intercooler installation. I won't install it now. I might start on october.

how about this one for the time being

Originally Posted by jeepsking

how about this one for the time being

I like my boost gauges the size of flavor flav's clock!

Just spoke with the shop! They are almost done! Going there now to take some pics. I'll post soon.

Originally Posted by jeepsking

The kit did not came with installation manual so I had to print it from the site. It turns up to be stage 1 only. Ok went to intercooler upgrade kit again stage 1 manual. So went to 3.8 intercooler installation. I won't install it now. I might start on october.

I know all about that! I don't know why prodigy doesn't send instruction manuals with their kits..

Nola, are you dyno'ing stage 1 and 2 or just 2?

I've built a lot of engines thru the years. Turbo, 10-71 roots, Maggie's and vortecs. They all make power in different ways. I have had operators who really knew their stuff and those that shouldn't be allowed near a dyno. It is going to be hard to get a baseline that is exactly like Ross's first one since all jeeps will be slightly different due to the nature of the adaptive computer. If a guy drives real easy the computer learns his habits and adjusts for him. If you put it on a dyno and compare it to a guy who is a speed demon it will read different. Also there is the correction factors. When we dynoed my Nitrous Suzuki M109. We played with the factors a bit. We were able to get 190 hp at the rear tire. The correct reading was 167 hp. That was with hitting it just right and lots of cool air from the blowers. So many differences here. Ross has done an incredible job of trying to keep a level playing field. The problem is life is not level and dynos are different just as the operators are. But one Heck of a job so far guys.

Here are some pics. They fished up the install. They did some modifying of the location of the auto trans cooler. I'm not sure if you can see it clearly, but it has been lowered from its original position. They did not have to modify the silicone adaptors on the intercooler. This was a big learning experience for the shop as well as the guys at prodigy. All they have left to install are the air fuel and boost gauges. Southernhotrod has been great with me and this project. This is their first wrangler pentastar 3.6 auto turbo install and have spent well over 12 hours with the install. Before anyone shouts out that this install should not take longer than 6 hours please only speak for yourself. There were a lot of holes in the instruction manual calls between the shop and prodigy. Remember it is a brand new kit and we are all learning something new with this kit. Also I'm sorry guys but we couldn't get stage 1 dyno. Couldn't get answers from prodigy or diablo on how to get the computer to get in dyno mode. They will attempt to dyno again tomorrow with stage 2. They said they will try something else... So we shall see.. Here are some pics.

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Originally Posted by NOLAjeeper

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Nola, are you uploading the pics? PM me if your having problems.