Anyone out there have any experience with performance exhaust and cold air intakes on the 3.6? I am thinking of installing the AFE 3" cat-back system and AFE CAI on my '12 JKU. Any noticeable power gains or just a bunch of noise? I am running a 3.5 lift and 35s, so I'm not sure how noticeable power gains would be, if at all. Any input would be appreciated before I waste $700 on useless parts.

 

Personaly I think you would be lucky to get 5-8hp to the wheels with an intake and exhaust.

You might pick up a couple more with a premium fuel based tune.

Do it for the noise becuse honestly 10hp won't help you out one bit and if you think you feel the added power it will be your ears playing a trick on you.

 

This. If you want an exhaust, just pick a muffle based on the sound you want, don't expect performance

 

Waste of $700. Go buy a $50 muffler to replace the stock one. Same thing when it comes to these Jeeps. Put that money towards a winch or regearing/lockers etc if not done so already.

 

I'm still waiting for someone to post a video of a launch and drive by of the Dynomax VT Cat Back system, it's only about $200 after the current rebate offer that ends this month and seems to be pretty decent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBzpXjFqtQk
I'm not looking for any kind of drastic change though, or expecting any performance gains, I just want something a little deeper than stock.

 

Yup THIS…. I have a $60 flowmaster super 10 and resonator delete and I get a good ammount of people tell me it is pretty bad ass. Buts its about as loud and aggressive as you're gonna get lol

 

I know 10 HP isn't anything, but a little bit counts. I don't wanna do a universal muffler swap just because I like clean installs and I don't want a bunch of crap clamps holding stuff together or welds that'll eventually rust and cause leaks. I've always had stainless cat-back systems on my trucks in the past and they always have an OE appearance and their typically tuned for best performance. Of course with a V8 full size truck you're not gonna notice a mild HP increase, but on the 3.6 I wasn't sure if you will or not. Also not looking to wake the neighbors in the morning, just like to have something a little throaty.

 

To each their own, but i am sticking with the $600 of useless parts answer From what i understand, they did a lot of R&D to squeeze everything they could out of the 3.6L with the stock exhaust. Hence the awkward loop. If you want performance, keep it stock. If you want sound, find a muffler and someone who weld. $150 job max

 

Having dual exhaust on a truck or any V8 for that matter does help it with performance. Not so with these JKs. They are dogs and the only thing you really get from exhaust is sound, hence why a $50 muffler does the exact same job as a $400-700 full exhaust system. Welds don't rust if done right and our flowmaster is in the rear but tucked up higher than the stock and it's half the size so it's really out of the way of rocks.

If you take off the muffler on these JKs they run like crap. They require back pressure to run at peak HP/TQ. It's usually best to keep the stock piping or slightly larger on these, but from what I've seen as there are no gains in power by larger piping. I've seen decreases when running open systems though since there's no back pressure.

Also if they say a 10HP gain that's most likely at the fly wheel, so by the time it gets to the ground it's maybe 1-2HP. If you are getting 10HP at the ground, then that exhaust is adding 40+HP and that's VERY unlikely..actually it's impossible on these Jeeps hahaha

Best to find a system that tucks up high with a small muffler if you do any rock crawling. If you don't do rock crawling, there's no point at all to be honest other than to say you have it or for looks of course and sound. But I'll say our Flowmaster 40 with stock piping, sounds deeper and has more rumble to it than that clip posted above.

 

I have both on my 2013 JKU.
I am running a K&N CAI and our "rock crawler" system that replaces both the resonator and the bulky stock muffler.

This system is great because we use a smaller round muffler that won't be as much of a rock snagger.
A lot of people will remove the stock muffler (and resonator if newer) and run our Ultra Flo Welded muffler (P/N 17263) with a turn down.

In regards to gains, I replaced everything at 85 miles on the odometer so I really didn't do a compare/contrast.