For starters, http://www.shop.505performance.com/c...?categoryId=40

 

I'd put the deepest gears you can in your axles. Small mods like injectors, etc will give you barely noticeable gains. they're fun to do and generally not expensive, but gearing will get you more power to the ground without messing with your engine. and you need to do all engine mods to see benefits of any one of them.

injectors would give you better fuel burn. that would be about the only "bolt on" mod without changing a bunch of other stuff

 

How do those strokers compare to yours?

 

I pieced mine together for cheaper and I don't have multiport fuel injection

 

I honestly think the best piece of advice here is to just live with it. The 2.5's are dogs but they're pretty reliable. I had a 95 YJ with a 2.5 auto.... that thing was horrible on the road but it was a great little trail rig. I didn't bother doing any kinds of power mods knowing there really isn't much to be had.

 

IE: It cost me about 970 just in parts to build mine. It does cost a bit to up it. But also, gearing makes a big difference on these rigs

 

I just don't see it being worth it to dump that kind of money into a 4banger for, what is still, not much power. Does it still sound like poopy too lol

 

Sounds like a skiboat (Hint on what some parts I used are...) Overall, Im happy, I can keep up with the stock Auto 4.0's and cruise 70-75mph no problem.
I just wanted something different than the normal "cookie cutter" stuff. Reliability and fuel economy were also a plus to me in my goal.

 

My 2.5 always reminded me of a tin can full of marbles lol. I supposed sounding like a skiboat would be a hugeeee improvement alone. I remember pretty much having to flat foot that thing everywhere just to keep it going. Felt like a semi driver taking advantage of all the downhills to have enough moment to make it up the next haha

 

That's odd. The only time I really notice the smaller engine is when I'm on the interstate. For two-lane highways and around town, I've got plenty of pep.

 

Clip of my engines first startup.

 

With a Thrush Turbo muffler

 

That had a pretty nice idle open header lol. Back to the can of marbles with the thrush though haha.

 

I don't like loud exhausts. The Magnaflow came off it almost immediately and went with a stock style Thrush instead. Open/straight through exhausts hurt your low end power. You need some backpressure.

 

I have an 85 XJ with the 2.5 and for what I do it is great. I would like a little more out of it but I think moving to the Weber carb will be the best upgrade for mine, which I plan do to soon.

I went to 235 tires which slowed it a little, but it has an auto with 3:73 gears which I think are a good medium versus the normal 3:55s in the newer models, only wish I had the optional 4:10s from this model year. I only broke 20mpg once and usually get around 18 on long trips and 16.5 driving to work. Having an overdrive gear in the tranny would be very nice on those trips. What I have noticed though is if I go on the interstate and run anything over 62mph the temp starts to rise, 70mph is about the max I can get without overheating. Probably need to have the original copper core rad rodded out to get out 30 years of buildup lol.

I think I will start looking for that front skid plate, I hadn't thought of that one yet, glad someone mentioned it.