Compact, dual-tip Magnaflow setup makes your 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 JL Wrangler roar.
It’s hard to think of one area of the Jeep Wrangler that can’t be modified. The go-to mods are the wheels and tires, and suspension. Hardtops can be replaced with a variety of options. Bumpers were practically meant to be upgraded. Sooner or later, light bars and winches start to appear on a Wrangler if someone’s had it long enough.
Then there’s the interior and the multitude of available infotainment and storage upgrades for it. The exhaust is a whole other area that can be changed for the better. As ExtremeTerrain.com’sMerideth Evasew shows in the video above, Magnaflow wants to do that for the JL Wrangler with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 with its MF axle-back exhaust system.
The process of changing such an integral part of the new Wrangler appears straightforward and simple, although having access to a lift speeds things up significantly. With one of those, the installation of the smaller, 409 stainless steel, dual-tip setup takes one hour and requires five tools:
5-inch extension
15-mm deep socket
13-mm swivel socket
Impact wrench
Hanger removal tool
Evasew flies through unbolting the factory exhaust clamp. A yank or two later and she’s able to slide the exhaust off of the cat-back tubing. She runs into a snag when trying to connect the MF’s hanger to the insulator, but quickly remedies the situation by unbolting the factory hanger, attaching it to the MF, then bolting everything back in place. Once the clamp is re-tightened, the JL is ready to go.
Thanks to its free-flow design, the MF lets horsepower and torque out of the confines of the Pentastar. Most importantly, it gives the once-silent V6 a vocal presence, both at idle and during acceleration. If you want to mod your JL this way, it’ll cost you around $500.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
