I have a 07' JK 4-dr, I have a custom cold air intake, and an MBRP XP Series t-409 Exhaust system. I am shopping around for a performance chip. Does anyone have any in-site on what brand to recommend. thanks

 

hypertech if you are going to do any mods such as re-gear, tires, thermostat change + an increase in performance. I love mine, my friends who have a 6 spd JK say my auto is faster, of coarse I have a magnaflow straight muffler on instead of the stock one which helps.

 

Thanks. ya i was lookin at the hypertech max energy. I just printed out the log and stat sheet for the performance difference. its pretty impressive. thanks again.

 

I think the Hypertech Max Energy is probably the most popular programmer for the JK and as you've already seen it gives a pretty nice gain. The Max Energy really isn't a chip though its a flash device which is much better because you don't have to worry about it coming lose or cleaning connectors.

 

There's a new superchips product coming out soon too, might wanna wait to see some reviews of it.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modified-jk-tech-2/superchips-announces-jeep-flashpaq-76100/

 

The Hypertech Max Energy is the most popular programmer by default, there just aren't a lot of choices and certainly not many with the rich set of features found on other platforms. The gains are debatable some find them and some don't while others claim that the gains are just the placebo effect of having a few hundred dollars lifted from your wallet.

Those who seem to find the most gains with the Hypertech Max Energy are those running close to stock and with automatic transmissions. Several people with intake and exhaust upgrades have reported lean conditions (myself included) without anything more than pouring higher rated octane through the fuel system than the tune calls for to find relief. When confronted with the issue the response was "I don't think this is anything we need to tackle" and "Have the header company contact us to help provide a solution so they can pay for the tuning solution".

That's where I have to say it is what it is and move on. I'm hopeful the new Superchips Flaspaq will provide me better results. My past experience suggests that will happen and I'm anxious to get the product.

One last note on Hypertech is the National Sales Manager who works in a similar capacity that I do with my employer totally gets it. He had the foresight to at least put the questions and end user profiles up for review while his underlings found nothing but contempt for the customer and pointed the finger elsewhere. They might get things right on that front in the future, but for the time being they are far removed from a customer driven company.

 

No one at Hypertech has any contempt for our customers or enthusiast in general. I read the email you're referencing to and those comments where not directed towards you, but more of a question for ourselves. Hypertech is very up front about what our programmer is intended for and I myself on different forums have suggested that people go with "Brand X" over Hypertech if their planned mods went past what our tuning was designed for. If you have a lightly modded Jeep with cold air intake, exhaust, gear swap, and larger tires the Hypertech Max Energy is a great option for you.

That is why so many people are happy with the Hypertech Max Energy Power Programmer on their Jeep JK. And you saying the power felt from tuning is a placebo affect could apply to any performance mod, but the truth is the performance gains advertised by Hypertech can be verified on the dyno. And I understand that you're excited about the Super Chips programmer that was supposed to come out sometime this month. I'm the same way every time I hear about a new product for my truck, but please don't try to lead people to believe that Hypertech is a bad company or that the majority of JK owners with Hypertech products are not satisfied.

 

Out of respect for this forum and Hypertech's sponsorship of it, I'm not going to post the email that lends further credence to what was stated. As I said, it is what it is and I will be moving on.

I have no idea why this needed dug up after it was buried over 20 pages deep.

While I'm sure there are some happy owners of the Max Energy for this platform there are quite a few unhappy ones as well. The same lean conditions I experienced have been experienced by others with less intake and exhaust upgrades than I have. The shorty headers I run aren't that different from the stock exhaust manifold and apparently you don't need to get as far as headers to experience lean conditions, but it certainly helps.

You can cook a dyno just the same as an accountant at AIG or Enron can cook the books, and I don't drive around with my hood up. It would be good for Hypertech to use that dyno to upgrade their product so it was more suitable to what people actually have bolted onto their JKs than to use it for a stock vehicle and marketing claims. A good start would be a performance setting for a high flow air filter and a cat back which seems to be in the majority.

As for the Superchips product for the JK, yeah I'm pretty stoked about it. I already have one for my Hemi Ram, which has a CAI, headers and exhaust upgrade and it works great and without A/F issues. When I did have an issue they cordially helped me through it and didn't place blame elsewhere. I didn't have the same experience with Hypertech neither in regards to performance or support.

 

True you don't drive around with your hood up, but you also don't drive around in an enclosed room with limited amounts of air flow.

And I also don't think it's fair for you to compare Hypertech to AIG and say that the dyno graphs are "cooked" when you don't have any proof to back it up.

And again the Hypertech tuning for the JK was not designed to compensate for aftermarket headers. Now as you've shown that it is run headers as long as you're running premium fuel with the regular fuel tuning, but again that's not what the tune was designed for. We've tested the Hypertech tuning on a JK with cold air intake and cat back exhaust and we didn't experience any lean conditions.

And I don't want this to turn into a flame war, but I can't sit by when people are posting false information about Hypertech and it's products. I welcome the competition from Super Chips because it will ultimately make Hypertech push it's self harder and help bring more products to market for the JK. I'm also very interested in seeing some comparisons done once their product is finally released.

 

I didn't say your dyno tests were cooked, but rather dyno tests can be. Also a dyno run with a load that is different than what is ran on the street and moving through space and air can produce results that are a non sequitur.

Yes, my JK is in the minority as most do not have headers installed on their JKs. The headers installed are not grossly different than the stock cast manifold in tube length nor diameter, but if it's outside the bounds of your tuning, then so be it. As stated, I did relieve my lean conditions by running higher octane than is called for with the tunes, and upon your suggestion which I am grateful for. Performance gains are negligible and I really need to try hard to convince myself there are any when I move to regular fuel and the stock setting.

I don't wish to turn this into a flame war either. I would like to see Hypertech improve their product for the users who are out there. I even went so far as to include data as to who your customers are and what they have bolted to their JKs to try and help that process. That was an altruistic gesture not casting stones. The way it was greeted is what drew my ire and there are other customers who have shared my experiences.

Nothing of what I have said is false nor do I appreciate the innuendo. My statements have been based on my personal experience with your product and support as compared to my experiences with your competitor. The Superchips product for my JK may or may not meet my expectations either, but the purchase of it is something that Hypertech opened the door for.