If you could do it again

[UselessPickles]

NOLAjeeper actually did do it again. Sold his turbo Jeep quite a while ago for reasons, eventually got another Jeep when he was able to, and he just recently put a turbo kit on it. Repeat customer for the turbo kit.

I would go turbo again. After having this much power, I don't think I could be happy with reduced power of a supercharger. I'd really like to get a chance to drive the different superchargers. I'm sure the instant boost and throttle response at lower RPM is nice, but the power of the turbo in the mid/upper RPM range is just ridiculously fun.

If I could do it again, I'd go straight to Stage 2 + Precision turbo upgrade. I would also leave the back side of my intercooler unpainted so that it reflects heat from the radiator, rather than absorbing it. Installation would also be so much easier the second time around, especially with the new installation videos that Prodigy has created.

Options beyond Stage 2 are coming too

[Bullfighter]

I've had a Ripp for 2 years now and as cool as it is I wouldn't do it over again. I should've waited and bought a Hellcat Challenger. I have a stick and not an auto and still had and "have" headaches. Hell its apart now. I've told many guys not to do it especially if it's a daily driver. Pickles must be an optimist cuz reading what he's gone through would make me throw in the towel. If I could rewind a little I could've saved time and money with do overs. Btw, I've cut no corners and spared no expens. This has been an expensive adventure, not one I would do again. Hellcat replacement is in my future I think not another FI jeep.

[UselessPickles]

Pickles must be an optimist cuz reading what he's gone through would make me throw in the towel.

I assumed the hypothetical situation was not "go back in time and do it again", but "have a chance to make the decision again now".

For example, if my Jeep got totaled in an accident, and I bought a new Jeep, I would install a turbo on the new Jeep. All of the problems I worked through already would not be problems with the new install. As it sits now, I am nearly completely happy with my turbo, enough that I think it's worth the purchase. The install itself would go much more smoothly the second time around, now that I know what NOT to do in some cases

Still a few occasional annoyances with the tune, but there's good reason to expect that to improve in the future. Prodigy is getting their own dyno soon, and now has the ability to force the auto transmission to stay in a selected gear, so they will be able to much more effectively test and fine-tune areas of engine operation that they couldn't as easily work on in the past with an auto trans that insisted on shifting, and limited access to dyno (scheduled tuning sessions, pay per hour to use dyno, etc). They should be able to make progress more quickly now.

If the question was really, "would you do it all over again if you could go back in time", then that's a tough one. My initial thought is that I'd wait longer until the issues were worked out so that I didn't have as many problems. But I was involved in solving some of the problems, so maybe the turbo wouldn't be as good as it is now if I had waited until now to purchase.

I also would miss out on an interesting opportunity if I went back in time and chose to wait longer: Prodigy just recently hired me to manage their official vendor accounts on forums (started on jk-forum already, hopefully joining others soon). I'm basically getting paid to talk about forced induction on the internet now . It's just a part-time job I do in my spare time, but it's fun and gives me some extra cash for Jeep mods. Maybe I should put a notice of this in my signature so I don't get accused of being a "shill".

[Bullfighter]

Haha Pickles, no your not a "shill". Your my gotoo guy in the old threads. Even before I was a member. Congrats on the new part-time vendor management. Work from home is the way to go!!

[NOLAjeeper]

Hey guys its been a while since ive posted anything on here since my 2012 dozer JKU prodigy stage 2 turbo (early kit, like the first 3. Jesse, pickles, and me early). Just a quick update. Sold my 2012 JKU last spring. Bought a 2015 JKUR and went to straight to stage 2 with their new Precision dual ceramic ball bearing kit. Let me tell you as a repeat customer from their first kits, stage 1 and upgraded to stage 2 when it became available through the testing and tuning process to where prodigys' at now.. LEAPS and BOUNDS. If you read through my old threads on here you can see how my journey developed as an early adapter and the tuning issues i went through then... Now having the new turbo on my new jeep for about a month i can honestly say i am very pleased with the custom "canned" tune from Prodigy. Prodigy sent me 1 tune and its excellent out of the box. OH and at 2K i hear my turbo spooling compared to the Garrett journal bearing kit i had prior, turbo would spool around 3k. (spool meaning what i could hear). Pickles can verify the 2k spooling ive sent him data logs. If you guys have more questions PM or ask and ill try my best to describe my experience and thoughts and advice. As to the question to the Thread... Yes i would do FI again as i did but a more refined kit.