Sprintex 3.6 pentastar install

[Timmy]

New member here. Very happy to hear this about the Sprintex. I have been researching superchargers for what seems like forever at this point. That might be enough to push me over the edge. I like the looks of that RIPP intercooler, but the install seems more invasive.

My search has gone something like this: "I think I want the RIPP, looks hot!" "Hmm. What about this Sprintex? Install seems neater" "Oh, hey, there's a Magnuson, similar to Sprintex, but seems to have issues still", "What? A turbo!? Power! But lag (I don't care what anyone says). And still more invasive and I don't know if I can deal with exhaust leaks." "I really like that RIPP. Maybe that's where I'll end up" "Oh, the Sprintex has solved the shifting issues?!"

Needless to say, it's been tough to keep track of all of the pros/cons of all of these systems. Thankfully I've found the threads on wrangler forum and here to help me sort this out.

Fiery... I had to laugh at your post because I'm in EXACTLY the same spot. I heard about RIPP first, wanted RIPP first. Then I heard about Magnuson, and then SC seemed better, never needed maintenance. Then I heard about the turbos. Then I saw all the work involved in installing the turbos and thought "I like Mag SC better." Then I started hearing about all the shifting issues and other little issues with Mag (I have a std. transmission, so it doesn't affect me, but it does speak about the company behind the product." Then I kept coming back to RIPP thinking, their President has certainly come out numerous times saying that above all, they wanted a great _driving_ Jeep, and they had put hundreds of thousands of miles on their SC to get everything dialed in, but then I heard they also had shifting issues. Near I hear about Sprintex and I'm thinking "I should probably research into this one!"

The part that really cracks me up is when is Jeep going to open their eyes and realize that the aftermarket for SC/Turbo is going wild right now, so there is clearly a market for a 350+HP Wrangler, and THEY should make that! Shoot, they could just take their exact same 3.6L, partner with one of these guys and dial in the tune, and then slap it on with Chrysler SKU/logo on it and sell it for $10k more from the factory with a warranty!

Either way, like I said, I'm in the same boat as you... So many options, and I keep bouncing between them all.

[ljvsnyder]

I believe chrysler maybe listening to you Timmy. http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/fuel-...nge/ar-BBgw3gQ

[gbaumann]

The part that really cracks me up is when is Jeep going to open their eyes and realize that the aftermarket for SC/Turbo is going wild right now, so there is clearly a market for a 350+HP Wrangler, and THEY should make that! Shoot, they could just take their exact same 3.6L, partner with one of these guys and dial in the tune, and then slap it on with Chrysler SKU/logo on it and sell it for $10k more from the factory with a warranty!

Either way, like I said, I'm in the same boat as you... So many options, and I keep bouncing between them all.

There is currently a 404bhp version of the pentastar block out there sleeved down to 3.0L dressed in heads made by Ferrari and coupled with twin turbochargers. Here's an excerpt form a September 2014 article:

How would you feel if you learned that the Ferrari-designed V6 engine mounted on your Maserati was built by Chrysler in one of its Detroit plants? Not so good, I assume.

Well, the truth is, workers at Chrysler Group’s Trenton Engine Complex in suburban Detroit have been machining aluminum 3.0-liter V6 gasoline engine blocks starting this summer under the supervision of Ferrari engineers.

The blocks, which are cast in Chrysler’s foundry in Kokomo, Indiana, are then being shipped to Ferrari’s plant in Maranello, Italy, where they are finished and given the final inspection before installation into Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans. The decision was taken because European supplier Weber Automotive GmbH couldn’t cope with increasing demand for the engine.

It’s the first time that Chrysler has had a contribution in producing engines for Fiat’s luxury brands. Chrysler is currently machining about 50 engine blocks per day for Maserati and will soon expand that to 80.

“It’s been a real opportunity for us to learn what it means to work on high-performance engines," Brian Harlow, global head of powertrain manufacturing engineering for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles told Automotive News. "The level of quality is just supreme. We’re going to benefit on our standard engines just because we’re working on this smaller engine on a higher level.”

However, the executive wanted to reassure customers there’s no difference in quality from European-built engines.

"It’s a sensitive thing. We’re Chrysler; they’re Ferrari and Maserati. In no way do we want to impact in any negative way the image of either of those. We wanted to make sure we were getting it right, and we did. There’s only one standard which we go by, and that’s the Ferrari standard. They do not compromise,” Harlow said.

I'm glad the executive went out of his way to reassure Maserati consumers that the engine blocks don't fall below the European standards. Ferrari doesn't compromise. It leaves me to wonder what the standard is for Chrysler? Does Chrysler compromise?

Therein lies the reason why, IMHO, Chrysler can't partner with an aftermarket forced induction mfg or freely share their calibration code. If you're going to make it an option then you need to design the engine for the boost (reduce displacement and increase cylinder wall/sleeve thickness and improve head to deck contact or o-ring the heads, etc.). The Pentastar will get forced induction from the factory but it will be a somewhat different engine from ours.

[Timmy]

I'm glad the executive went out of his way to reassure Maserati consumers that the engine blocks don't fall below the European standards. Ferrari doesn't compromise. It leaves me to wonder what the standard is for Chrysler? Does Chrysler compromise?

Haha, yeah, I caught that part too, and that made me laugh.

[Timmy]

I believe chrysler maybe listening to you Timmy. http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/fuel-...nge/ar-BBgw3gQ

This makes me happy! And it makes me MAD! Seriously, two products, only two products in the next year or two will have forced induction? AND, the WORST part!!! One of them will be a flippin Mini-VAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh please... I swear, if my Wrangler gets smoked by a front wheel drive, factory installed turbo mini-van, I'm bound to run over them when I finally catch them.

Is this not typical Chrysler. I can just see the conversation with the marketing team.

CEO: "We're thinking of dropping a turbo on to our Pentastar line of engines, do you have a vehicle model in particular you'd like us to focus on that you feel will really get the market buzzing, establish who we are as Chrysler?"

Marketing: "Well, I think we could make some really funny commercials about a mini-van out-running other vehicles between stop lights to the soccer fields!"

CEO: "Oh, I like that, that would be funny, the industry is going to go nuts over this, great idea, let's drop it in a van... Pay raises for you all!!! Nice job team."

Blahk! Yucky, yucky, yucky decision... Why don't they just recommend that Ferrari build a mini-van then...

[ljvsnyder]

But look at this way Timmy, retrofitting that turbo charged minivan engine into your JK won't be that difficult. And since these minivans will be driven by women, I am sure you will be able to pick up an engine at the junk yard after she flips it swerving to miss that squirrel.

In all seriousness, I read it that they are looking at something along the lines of an ecoboost engine setup for the pentestar engines.

[UselessPickles]

I bet the turbo pentastar in the minivan will be a 3.2 with a small turbo, setup for low rpm spooling and a flat torque curve that is close to the performance level of the N/A 3.6, but with better fuel economy.

But OEM turbo systems use electronically-controlled wastegates, so that that means it will be easy for a custom tune to increase boost and get a big increase in low/mid-rpm torque. With small OEM turbos, the turbo starts choking at higher rpms when you try increasing boost, so that's why custom tunes on OEM turbo engines generally only give big gains at low/mid rpms.

[gbaumann]

Here's your first opportunity. A wrecked Maserati 3.0L. If you look hard you can see the pentastar in there. Notice how Ferrari changed the heads to include real exhaust manifolds. Look how they tucked the trubos in there. This would easily fit in a jeep.







Now look at the two blocks below. First is 3.2 by pentastar rumored to be receiving Chrysler forced induction. Notice how nicely cast and machined the decks are and how much cylinder wall is between the cylinders. Next is the block posted by Prodigy on their facebook page. WTF is going on here? Where's the QA/QC? IMHO cylinder #2 is not up for forced induction. The contact surface and gasket area is reduced by poor looking casting and finishing. Too much chamfering to clean up the casting. Just a guess but I'd like to believe that if the second block came out of casting at Ferrari it would have gone back to the furnace.

[UselessPickles]

I think you're trying to extract more detail than can be properly represented in a slightly out-of-focus photo of a used, stripped down and cleaned up engine block, with compression artifacts from facebook's resizing and higher-than-original JPEG compression. Looking back at the highest resolution image that facebook will display, most of what you circled just looks like smudges/residue from gasket material or other contaminants that found their way onto the metal either from use or from disassembly.

The only section that looks like it is chamfered is the left-most edge in the left-most circle. That is just part of the water jacket around the cylinder, and would have no impact on quality of seal between the cylinder and head gasket.

[FLIPmeOVER]

So the pentastar was born in a maserati?