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So I’ve been running the RoadRace Power Pack for about a month now and thought it was time to give it a review.
First a little about my setup: 2009 JK Unlimited, 35’s, 5.13 gears, MBRP High Clearance Exhaust, RIPP long tube headers, 49k miles.
Since making the move to 35’s and 5.13 gears I was averaging about 16.5 mpg on the freeway and I was seeing it start to decline. Like most JKU’s I had to really get into it to accelerate though the RIPP headers did a great job of adding some grunt down low to get me up to speed, but let’s face it…these jeeps are pigs.
Based off of the reviews I was seeing from the initial testers of the RoadRace system I decided to give it a go. Installation was pretty straight forward and took all of 30min. The hardest part was starting the bolt that braced the short ram intake as the whole was kinda packed with dirt. They say to drive it for about 50miles to let the piggy back get it’s bearings and you should be good to go. For me it took about 75miles when I suddenly noticed that things were really starting to perk up. I wouldn’t say that I was getting more power, just that the engine was responding properly to me getting on the gas a little. It didn’t take a lot of skinny pedal to get things moving like it used to. Where I really notice it is merging with freeway traffic, I don’t have worry about whether I can get up to speed in time to get in…it just goes.
One of the reasons that I was interested in this system is that my jeep is no trailer queen, I have to drive it to wherever I’m going to wheel it, and when you live in Houston and hate mud you have to really travel to get to anything interesting. The closest interesting place to really get in some rocks is Hidden Falls (In Marble Falls, TX) and that’s 210 miles away. So I figured anything that would make the trip better was worth it and I can say that it is. The jeep wasn’t always trying to down shift every time I hit a hill when the cruise control was on and jeep in OD. I didn’t notice it at first and then when I started looking for that sudden jump to 3500rpm and when it wasn’t there I was pleasantly surprised. My combination of headers and exhaust make for a very raspy 3500rpm jump and it usually scares the hell out of me when it happens. I only heard it once on the way up Llano last weekend on a very steep free exchange. Which reminds me…
…I waited to do this review until after Jeep Jamboree in Llano, TX. It is some serious rock crawling and a 240mile trip one way. The system was great in the rocks providing smooth acceleration to crawl when I needed it and plenty of pop for wheel spin when I needed it. My average freeway fuel economy on the trip was 17.7mpg and that was with the top up, but the window panels and the back window out. Had I been totally buttoned up, I imagine it would have been 18+, but we were forecast for rain and I didn’t want to be stuck under some over pass trying to get the top up If it did hit.
If you do a lot of water crossings, this system and it’s short ram intake won’t be for you, but it looks like they are selling just the piggyback mapper for the snorkeled folks. I hope they let someone test the piggyback out with a snorkel just to see what it can do.
All of the folks that i talked to at RoadRace have been great and it seems like a standup company that likes to make vehicles better and for my money they've done it with my jeep. Thanks for reading my ramblings, feel to free to ask any questions.
First a little about my setup: 2009 JK Unlimited, 35’s, 5.13 gears, MBRP High Clearance Exhaust, RIPP long tube headers, 49k miles.
Since making the move to 35’s and 5.13 gears I was averaging about 16.5 mpg on the freeway and I was seeing it start to decline. Like most JKU’s I had to really get into it to accelerate though the RIPP headers did a great job of adding some grunt down low to get me up to speed, but let’s face it…these jeeps are pigs.
Based off of the reviews I was seeing from the initial testers of the RoadRace system I decided to give it a go. Installation was pretty straight forward and took all of 30min. The hardest part was starting the bolt that braced the short ram intake as the whole was kinda packed with dirt. They say to drive it for about 50miles to let the piggy back get it’s bearings and you should be good to go. For me it took about 75miles when I suddenly noticed that things were really starting to perk up. I wouldn’t say that I was getting more power, just that the engine was responding properly to me getting on the gas a little. It didn’t take a lot of skinny pedal to get things moving like it used to. Where I really notice it is merging with freeway traffic, I don’t have worry about whether I can get up to speed in time to get in…it just goes.
One of the reasons that I was interested in this system is that my jeep is no trailer queen, I have to drive it to wherever I’m going to wheel it, and when you live in Houston and hate mud you have to really travel to get to anything interesting. The closest interesting place to really get in some rocks is Hidden Falls (In Marble Falls, TX) and that’s 210 miles away. So I figured anything that would make the trip better was worth it and I can say that it is. The jeep wasn’t always trying to down shift every time I hit a hill when the cruise control was on and jeep in OD. I didn’t notice it at first and then when I started looking for that sudden jump to 3500rpm and when it wasn’t there I was pleasantly surprised. My combination of headers and exhaust make for a very raspy 3500rpm jump and it usually scares the hell out of me when it happens. I only heard it once on the way up Llano last weekend on a very steep free exchange. Which reminds me…
…I waited to do this review until after Jeep Jamboree in Llano, TX. It is some serious rock crawling and a 240mile trip one way. The system was great in the rocks providing smooth acceleration to crawl when I needed it and plenty of pop for wheel spin when I needed it. My average freeway fuel economy on the trip was 17.7mpg and that was with the top up, but the window panels and the back window out. Had I been totally buttoned up, I imagine it would have been 18+, but we were forecast for rain and I didn’t want to be stuck under some over pass trying to get the top up If it did hit.
If you do a lot of water crossings, this system and it’s short ram intake won’t be for you, but it looks like they are selling just the piggyback mapper for the snorkeled folks. I hope they let someone test the piggyback out with a snorkel just to see what it can do.
All of the folks that i talked to at RoadRace have been great and it seems like a standup company that likes to make vehicles better and for my money they've done it with my jeep. Thanks for reading my ramblings, feel to free to ask any questions.
