Most Jeep JK owners will try just about anything to wrangle a few more horsepower out of their wimpy 3.8 liter engines.  A Hemi conversion is the ultimate in power gains, but with a price tag between $15,000 and $20,000, it’s not realistic for most.

In an effort to gain more power for our JK, we installed a cold air intake and custom exhaust, but we only experienced marginal performance gains. We then investigated the performance enhancements promised by several of the programming chips on the market, but we were skeptical about their claims. Could a performance “tuner” really get us noticeable gains that we could feel in the seat of our pants? We spoke with the Superchips team about hooking up their Flashpaq Tuner to our Jeep for some real-world testing.

After receiving our Flashpaq from Superchips, we were under the impression that you simply plugged a new chip into the existing Jeep computer and off you went with 30 more horsepower. We couldn’t have been more wrong. The instructions called for a fairly lengthy set up after plugging the Flashpaq tuner into the OBII port. Initially, we wanted performance gains in the way of horsepower and torque, but we quickly learned that the Flashpaq is more of a complete calibration tool that can fine tune the JK’s engine management and shift points to allow better control while driving, so we quickly learned that the Flashpaq offered a lot more than just power gains – and why the longer-than-expected installation time was necessary.

Our first enhancement was through a basic performance tune that allowed us to switch between octane settings. We started at the “economy” setting, which netted us a 2.5-MPG gain, as well as a decent power increase, while using 85-octane fuel. We bumped the tuner for use with 87-octane fuel and noticed a slight increase in power, especially in the higher RPM range.

Our last tune was calibrated to use 91-octane gasoline. (Note: the Colorado equivalent is 89 octane fuel.) With this tuned setting, performance gains were more dramatic than we had thought possible from a simple computer programmer. While it’s not Hemi-type power by any means, we do have more confidence in the higher rpm range while passing and climbing grades. With the high-performance tune, we did lose our 2.5mpg gain found on the 85-octane setting, which put us back to our typical 15 MPG. 

Transmission shift point adjustments are possible with the Flashpaq and we are still in the process of experimenting with this function. Changing shift points is a matter of preference, and we chose to allow the JK to shift at higher RPM where more horsepower is created.

Any Jeep owner who has lifted their rig to fit larger tires can tell you how annoying it can be to have lost their accurate speedometer. The Flashpaq can quickly and easily recalibrate the JK’s computer to get your speedo back to factory specs by simply entering your tire size and axle gear ratio. Other advanced options include Speed and Rev Limiting, which we did not adjust during our test.

The real fun begins with the Jeep Exclusive Features that can be programmed through the Flashpaq and work in real time. For Rubicon models, the Axle Lock feature allows the driver to independently lock the front or rear axle while in 4WD Hi range, although you can not lock both at the same time …which we would like to have seen. The lockers will also disengage if you exceed 30 mph for over a 15-second period. We’d love to see them stay engaged until we chose to turn them off. 

Real Time Idle Up is another feature that used to be found only on 18-wheeler semis for running accessories. By increasing idle from a range of 800-1600 RPM you can easily run an air compressor or welder with this real-time feature. In addition to these functions that we found helpful, there are many more that may be suited to the JK owner.

Other exclusive features for Jeeps include:
Transfer Case gear correct (for TJ models)
Throttle Body Re-Learn
Spark Advance Set
Tire Pressure Monitoring System Adjustment (for later model JKs)
Towing Tune, Heavy Load, Light Load
Cooling Fan Turn On
Crawling Tune

Crawling Tune was our last test of real-time play. In this “crawl mode,” a low throttle response, combined with higher low-end torque, allows for precision, low-speed maneuvers in rocks. This tune seems especially beneficial to the automatic transmission found in the JK model and helps rid some of the lag associated with the drive-by-wire system. Since our main purpose of this Jeep Project is rock crawling, we really like the Crawling Tune! 

Superchips designed the Flashpaq to save all stock settings from the Jeep before any new settings are made. You are able to easily return your Jeep to its factory settings in a matter of minutes for that quick trip to the dealership, or to program another Jeep that you may have purchased. Speaking of the dealership, the Engine Diagnostic Tool allows the user to check trouble codes when the computer detects a sensor failure or a parameter outside of a specific range … just like the dealerships do. No longer will you only see the orange Check Engine light and wonder what the problem is. With the Superpaq, you’ll be able to read, identify and clear any and all DTCs if you choose.

Last but not least, Superchips encourages the user to download software updates right on their website. From time to time, software and calibrations are updated, and Superchips recommends that you regularly perform these down loads to get the most out of your programmer.

The Superchips Flashpaq is much more than just a performance tuner as we had initially thought. We experienced more power gains than we thought possible with a programmer and now have complete control of our Jeep JK Rubicon.

CONTACT
Superchips, Inc.
1790 E. Airport Blvd.
Sanford, FL 32773
P: 888.227.2447
www.superchips.com