Is Supercharging A Jeep Wrangler A Good Idea?

Jeep Wranglers aren’t exactly known for being speed demons, but we recently ran across a shop that’s advocating for supercharging the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 to fix that “problem.” We have to wonder if adding that forced induction on top of the mill really results in a net positive experience for owners.

Whatever you do, don’t do this when you’re off-roading.

In bone stock form, the current 3.6-liter whips out 285-horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. Those might sound like laughable figures to muscle car owners, but for a little off-road rig they’re not bad.

The only thing is some people feel the Wrangler has bloated up just like every other modern vehicle, making it not so little or lightweight like the CJs of old or even the TJs. That’s actually a defensible position to take in an argument, but does adding a supercharger to the JL correct that deficiency?

This shop, Peterson Performance & Repair out of Colorado, decided to put a ProCharger into a Jeep Wrangler JL for a customer and decided to show what a difference it makes. But to accommodate the supercharger, they had to install a throttle body used for a 5.7-liter Hemi V8, a huge upgrade versus what comes from the factory.

They also swapped out the intake manifold for one that’s ported. After all, you can try cramming more air into an engine, but if the intake manifold doesn’t accommodate the extra flow, you’ll just have a bottleneck that chokes out at least some of the gain.

But swapping those parts triggers a check engine light with improper air-fuel mixture being the cause. Ultimately, they had to swap the stock throttle body back. With that setup the JL is significantly quicker in acceleration.

That’s great for driving on the road, but what do you think this does for off-roading? Is this too much or not a big deal for anyone want to hit trails?

Not that it’s the most important thing, but we do love how the Jeep has that supercharger whine when it accelerates hard. It’s just a cool extra to this modification.

Image via Peterson Performance & Repair/YouTube