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1 Year Later and I still Like my Cherokar!

17K views 72 replies 13 participants last post by  ColoradoMan 
#1 ·
Thought I would check in with the forum as I've browsed it briefly throughout the past few months.

I'm still enjoying my 2016 Trailhawk V6 and the mods have begun, Intake/Exhaust LED Conversion ECT

I have a lift kit for it as well (hazard sky Kit) but I've yet to install it. Turns out just like MK platform these is issues with alignment and CV axles getting cooked so I'm not totally set on installing it. This platform is a huge pain in the ass to lift so mods even after 3 years are not easy to come by yet.

There are 3 lifts available
Hazzard Sky (Very cheap lifts about 2")

MFC Offroad Lift 2.5" Solid aluminum Spacers, a bit pricey but worth it.

Dobinson Suspension Lift, 1.5" this kit includes new springs and shocks/struts which allow a bit more articulation, this kit is almost $1000 USD so its pricey but really the only way to lift a Cherokee the proper way.


I've got a set of 245/70/17 Falken Wildpeak AT3/W Tires (Got a set for my wife's 2014 Cherokee as well) So if anyone was looking at these tires they are great year round and winter rated.

There has been a million recalls on the KIL platform, one of which related to the transmission wiring, my Cherokee suffered this issue before the recall came out and one day behaved like my transmission had blown up, thankfully it was all fixed up and I haven't had any issues with the transmission since.

I love the KL platform, fuel mileage is great for the vehicle and I've even got to start modding my wife's 2014 after 3 years of begging.

I do miss my Compass though, I recently moved and got a huge garage and all my old parts from my Compass are now in my garage and each day when I look at them I remember how much time and money I spent on that vehicle, and I can only hope I don't end up doing the same with my current Cherokee.

My sister still has her 2016 Compass, so if I can convince her to start modding some of my old parts can go to good use.

The new compass is out and I LOVE the way it looks, its no different than the renegade from a drivetrain perspective so the Trailhawk Version is about equal to the FDII MK's out there, if the new Compass had a proper low range I'd be all over buying one, but I think Jeep hit a home run with it's looks.
 
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#51 ·
This seems to have gotten off track.....
But all that stuff is incorporated into the touch screens because it allows a larger display that is easier to read from odd angles. You know..... to keep people from having to crouch down to read a tiny display on your dreamed about "simpler" radio. It also makes things cheaper. Fewer switches and knobs to buy. If the screen is already there and capable of controlling the systems then you don't need the extra switches, knobs, extended wiring harnesses, etc. It also eliminates having to make several different interior dash panels for different control stacks. It's called progress. Vehicles of all types are more accessible to more people than they ever have been in the past. This is because modern technology and manufacturing techniques enable us to do things like install a central "info-tainment" system that is a control hub for the vehicles systems. This is all passed down from the technology that exists in commercial aviation. A system of travel infinitely more safe than our highway system. Why? Because technology has removed distractions of individual small controls and consolidated the system control groups into more centralized control modules.
And like it or not, DRL's and auto lights exist not because people are too lazy to turn on their lights, but simply because they don't. Whether or not you think they need more "training" or think they are idiots, is irrelevant to the solution. Relying on people to do the right thing every time is as naive as thinking a dealer will deactivate your DRL's. The next time your driving in the rain or just after sunset notice how many people don't have their lights on. The lights on your car aren't just there for you. They are also there to make you more visible to other drivers. This is why no dealership will "deactivate" a factory installed safety system like DRL's. And now why "auto lights" exist.
Funniest part of all of this is..... that it's usually the people who think they don't need it or want it that actually need it the most.
 
#52 ·
The next time your driving in the rain or just after sunset notice how many people don't have their lights on. The lights on your car aren't just there for you. They are also there to make you more visible to other drivers.
This is a double-edged sword. SOME DON'T have their headlights on, but because so many do, the ones without are nearly invisible.

DRLs also diminish motorcycle visibility for the same reason. Since there are so many other vehicles with lights on, a motorcycle doesn't stand out the way it used to. "If everything is special, then nothing is special." So now motorcycles have oscillating headlights . . . and soon every vehicle will have those too. Maybe we should all have strobe lights on all four corners! All we're doing is creating visual pandemonium. There is no substitute for prudence and awareness behind the wheel.
 
#54 ·
Sorry if I wasn't clear. Drivers ought to put their lights on in poor visibility conditions, and certainly at night. I'm not against headlights.

What I'm trying to say is under normal daylight conditions, when all cars have DRLs, motorcycles don't stand out like they used to. Through no fault of their own the m/c driver is less visible than they once were. While anyone ought to be able to see a Buick or a school bus, a m/c is obviously much smaller and consequently harder to see. If the m/c is the only one with lights on, it will be noticed; surrounded by an array of lights, not so much. Again, if everything is special, then nothing is special.

My other concern here was that, surrounded by DRLs, the few that don't have their lights on are less visible than those that do. It is easy for an inattentive driver to not notice the car w/out lights. Crunch.

I wasn't being sarcastic about the oscillating lights. Some m/cs have them.
 
#55 · (Edited)
I got what you were saying. I just disagree. All evidence and data show that "lights on" make you more visible not less. All evidence and data show that this is true regardless of how many other people around you have their lights on. Evidence shows that more than one light on the front of a motorcycle makes them more visible than having a single light.

The problem is inattentive drivers, as you even elude to in both of your posts. Not lights. Ironically, those inattentive drivers are also less likely to use their lights in those same situations, making themselves harder to see while they themselves aren't paying attention! So, the NHTSA and other agencies started asking for DRL's to become standard equipment. The data and statistics show that it reduced the number of accidents. Especially fatal accidents. If the number of DRL equipped cars made it harder to see motorcycles the numbers would have gone up not down. The numbers have increased and recent studies into that increase blame cell phone usage/distraction almost exclusively.

I find it interesting that we got on this tangent because a member here can't understand why a dealer wouldn't "deactivate" a factory installed safety system built into one of their vehicles. So, without evidence of an actual problem with the system, and in the face of all evidence and data that it prevents accidents, they want it removed because it's too superfluous.... This make absolutely no sense. That same member also complained about "TV screens" in the dash. While all evidence shows that consolidating the controls in a easy to read, easy to use, single point system reduces distractions. While using your phone as a GPS as he claimed everyone should do anyway, increases distraction because the screen is smaller and more difficult to manipulate while driving. Apparently, some people just need to learn the hard way, and unfortunately in this case, those lessons end with someone crippled for life or dead. All because an unreasonable, stubborn individual is incapable of getting past the fact that they are not the only person on the road, and that everyone else is just as important as they are. I understand that people form their opinions based on their own experiences, but the evidence is overwhelming in this case. Ignorance is a choice.
 
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#57 ·
Backup cams are just stupid, but lights....there was somebody in front of me on my way home tonight who didn't have their headlights on. You might say "then he should have autolights", but he's probably so used to it in other vehicles that he now expects it. That crap is a crutch. And in my Impala behind him, because I can't turn off the DRL's or autolights, I couldn't turn my lights off to alert him of his little predicament. Considered flashing my brights, but then he just might have thought I was trying to get him to speed up or something. If my lights need to be on that much, then they should just always be on and the switch gone, and I'll know to not buy that kind of car. As it is, I as the driver should be in conrol of my car. All the "purists" these days wanting everything to be completely automatic except the transmission and steering because "cool factor" is driving me nuts.

But, I digress. This is Tyler's thread, and it's gotten way off track as a result of me just comparing my Jeep's quarter-mile time to that of his Fiat. For the sidetracking all over the place, I apologize. For speaking my mind and standing up for the truth as I see it without backing down, I will never apologize.

That being said, how's the vroom on your little piece of Italy coming, Tyler?
 
#58 ·
It's going alright. I've actually been playing around with an 87 Octane tune for about a week now in addition to getting a little more kick that the factory tune i'm getting a little bit better mileage as well. I also have an extremely aggressive tune that was made for me, designed for a tank of 94 octane plus a can of boostane. Just waiting for the regular gas to be out of my tank before I load that up and see how it works, even if it works well i'll probably only run that for track days.

Last weekend I tuned another cherokee, 2014 with AFE intake. Nearly identical to mine even down to the same size aftermarket tires.

My vehicle with all the mods but running the factory tune, got beat BAD by this cherokee with only and tune and intake, its amazing how much a tune wakes up these vehicles.

I still haven't found anyone close to me with a MK to try and see if i can read their stock tune.
 
#60 ·
The so-called 2018+ "compass", the 500x with a "renegade" badge, and the thing Tyler drives are all more or less exactly the same Jeep-badged Fiat/Alfa Romeo with a 4x4/AWD system, just in different sizes and with a few subtle differences in available driving crutches, as I understand it.
 
#64 ·
Louvers actually work on mine, thanks for not noticing. Plus it's got Jeep features that I can only assume it's Dodge counterpart wasn't available with, like crank windows and manual pretty much everything in the door. But again, y'all know I'm gonna word it like that and still get off track every time. Back to Tyler's Italian scallion in this thread.
 
#65 ·
Had a chance to play around with Track Addict which is an App that comes with the HP Tuners Module. You can run a variety of different lengths so I decided to test out 400m (1/4 Mile)

Vehicle stats for below runs (245/70/17 Tires + Skid Plates+ Spare Tire ) Full Tank of Gas
94 Octane + Can of Boostane and "special" Tune

Run 1 15.77@87.92mph
Run 2 15.61@88.23mph

Run 1 was going East
Run 2 was going West
Same Location






Stock Best 16.05@84.76 (1/4 Mile NHRA Track)
No skidplates, spare tire and running 255/55/18 tires. 1/3 Tank Gas

I know its not entirely accurate vs what a track is but this would seem to confirm my vehicle is faster by a fair amount. Prior to the tune, TB & Manifold
All data was from the GPS in my Phone and the HP Tuners MPVI2

Absolutely can't wait for the track in the spring time, I predict a 15.2@90mph Pretty good for a 4600lb Fiat
 
#72 ·
Still not fully supported by HP Tuners yet, they have been helpful along the way, so I have faith they will be able to get something working soon. Granted I doubt they thought anyone would actually try and tune a 9 speed, so me being the first to try I expected some hiccups along the way
 
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