I am buying a Rubicon. Looking at 2012 - 2015's because that's what is showing up in my price range. I've owned a 2012 and a 2013 but I bought both new. This is the first time buying a used one. Im looking at a 2012 with a Rip Supercharger but I don't know what to look for? The Jeep has 64K on it and I don't know how to evaluate the situation. Is this super charger more of a liability or is it a good thing for me? Does any one have a 3.6 with super charger that they have put a lot of miles on? How has it affected gas mileage? Has the additional horse power made a difference for you? Any advice greatly appreciated..

 

Chances are the supercharger just simply made the previous owner want to show everybody so lots of fun at the start. Naturally aspirated engine with aftermarket forced induction scares me unless the entire engine was prepped for the RIPP which is highly unlikely. Think why factories strengthen engine blocks (and other drivetrain components) for turbo or supercharging. If they didn't have to do it they wouldn't spend the money. There are tons of reading articles on this. Piston life is what is the scariest as all FI manufacturers use forged and oil cooled pistons to take the heat. Gas mileage always goes out the window when under boost conditions which I would say would be the case over 60 or so mph. Example: Shawn at "The Story Till Now" on youtube had his first Gladiator installed at about 30,000 miles with a RIPP. They even sponsored him and yeah it went like hell for a short while and ended up with a pile of engine problems so he removed the RIPP and fixed/sold it, then bought a 2023 and installed a 6.4Hemi and other things. Sorry to rant but hate seeing guys buy something like this then end up with problem after problem.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with Sixty4x4 above. I would never suggest anyone buy a modded rig with forced induction unless you are completely educated on FI and engine rebuilding. For most folks that is only going to create issues they are unfamiliar with and a miserable ownership experience. Would it be fun to drive? Hell yes, for a little while.....till that engine wears out. Also, technical support is really hard to come by when needed. I git it.....I've been tempted several times in the past with the allure of extra horsies.....and every time I have to slap myself and get back to common sense.

I'd go even further and tell you to just buy something bone stock. If you want to mod it, then get started. Don't deal with someone else's mess. Most of these jeeps are modded in sloppy manner.

 

I own a supercharged 2012 6 speed, 4.88's, 35's, etc... Someone above recommended having some technical knowledge of FI, EFI tuning, etc... I also would recommend it. I am not your average user. I have built loads of road/race vehicles and have some competency. That being said, I do think a professionally installed RIPP is plenty reliable. Mine has...I dunno...over 20k miles on it. And I have gone bananas with my setup. I run methanol injection, tuned it with HP Tuners and it's silly powerful and the cooling properties of the water/methanol are great. Like...it's silly for a Jeep. Dead nuts reliable. The stock RIPP setup still gets used for a few hundreds mile a year, whenever I need to pass emissions and, while I do lose a good amount of power, driving it on the stock RIPP tune does remind me that it's a complete system. Sure, a custom tune/methanol injection makes it awesomeR, but the stock RIPP setup is awesome, especially with gears. If the Rubicon you're looking at is running without any DTC's, and has at least 5k miles on the installation, I personally wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Quite the opposite.

Installation was not without some hiccups, but yours should be sorted since it's already up and running. I've got over 110k on my Jeep and I see no reason she won't go over 150k miles before I do a rebuild on the block (just for a refresh). Frankly, I'd never drive a stock Jeep again. It hauls ass and tows anything I want. I know I never post on here, but I saw your post in this thread and thought I should reply, as a first-hand user. Make sure no codes have been cleared on that Rubicon. Ask how it's been tuned. Check and make sure she'll pass emissions with a ready status on all that checks. If she does, I'd buy her. I wouldn't hesitate.

 

Thank you everyone for weighing in on this post and confirming my intuition. These super chargers tempt the driver and the extra HP has consequences for the engine. I did look at the 2012 JK with super and it was a mess. It only had 63K on it but it was falling apart. Extensive deep frame rust. Im a pass. But I would have passed on it based on the SC too. Not going to go there unless I am involved from the jump. I appreciate all of the feed back about SC's though. I have decided that's a mod im going to wait on. Im building a freeway / crawler. The HP would be super nice but Im going to stay focused on the suspension for now and stay out of this FI business. Obviously there is a lot to learn about it and Im not ready for that at this point. Peace.

 

I had the Ripp SC and long tube headers on my 2008 3.8 for 90k miles. Put it on with 43k and put a Hemi in with 130k. Ran the Ripp high altitude pulley also. It had its quirks put was very reliable. The 4 speed auto was the biggest drawback. Too much rpm difference between gears.

Have not looked back since I put the Hemi in.

FWIW
Mike

 

What trans is in it now? I have a 2008 as well.

 

ZF 8 speed out of a 2014 Ram pickup. Hemi is the 2009 5.7 liter out of a Ram.

 

I completely agree with sixty4x4, a supercharger is an excellent first step to blowing up a motor and installing a hemi.
Personally I wouldn’t go near a supercharged motor unless the lower end was Seriously built for the additional stresses.
good luck.