I installed the programmer last night. I initially encountered an error code at first but resolved it by pulling the fuses for the radio clock and factory alarm. Overall the installation was pretty simple and straight forward.

As for performance, my first impression is that the programmer smooths out the power curve a bit and adds a little more power at WOT. No more, no less than what they promise in the Dyno sheet. For about $33 per added HP this is all you can ask for.

FYI. I was thinking of also adding a CAI but at $300 plus I wanted to be sure it was worth the $$$ so I ran a little experiment. I first ran the jeep at WOT with the stock air filter removed for a few miles. Next, I immediately followed up with the air filter back in place. Frankly, I noticed no difference at all in peformance so the CAI is now off the list of Mod's on the wish list...

 

That test proves nothing. AEM is going to post some test that they have been doing and they have pretty good results. Remember with a cold air intake pick up placement is key. By removing your filter you did not relocate the pickup point of air.

David

 

You also still have the smaller stock accordion intake piping and small snorkel on the box. I am glad to hear that you are happy with the Max Energy, I do plan on picking up one of these sooner than later.

 

Unless you are talking about a snorkel or ram air setup, most of the CAI's that I have seen pull the air from the same general area that the stock air filter pulls air from. In my opinion however it really doesnt matter very much where you pull the air from in the engine compartment - it will all be warm air give or take a few degree difference. I think the primary reason the CAI's seem to work on some cars is that they reduce air restriction and let the engines breath more freely. This is why I decided to run the test to see how the 3.8 would react with zero restrictions. To my surprise it appears that Chrysler did a good job in designing the stock filter box. With that said, I am willing to review the AEM results when they get posted as I want nothing more than to add some more HP from a bolt on MOD. Unfortunately, outside of a programmer and cat back exhaust, I think the only other way to add significat HP to the 3.8 is via a supercharger and at $5,000 it will have to wait...