Exterior Modifications
This page contains pictures of the exterior of my 1993 Grand Cherokee Laredo. My jeep has gone through many changes in the last six years. Some of which include different combinations of rim and tire sizes, suspension variations and engine modifications. My main goal was to put emphasis on the "Sport" in SUV or Sport Utility Vehicle. Thus this is what I created to add the R/T to my Grand Cherokee.
Suspension
Since my Jeep is only a 2WD model, and I never take it off roading, I decided not to lift it. (Although I love to see other fellow Grand Cherokee owners lifted or dropped their jeeps) I wanted more handling out of my "SPORT" Utility Vehicle, so I figured, lowering the center of gravity should help my lateral G's. In 1994 there were no kits that were made to lower Grand Cherokees.(Who was stupid enough to do it anyway??) So for the sake of being different, and my lack of patience, I resorted to using spring shackles and compressed two coils on each of the four springs. (I believe I was the first person to lower a Grand Cherokee on this Island, but I may be wrong?) The shackles worked to lower the jeep, but the handling and ride was terrible. Then in 1996 Eibach started making a lowering kit for Grand Cherokees. I jumped at the chance, bought and installed the Eibach Sportline progressive lowering springs, to lower the jeep 3.25 inches in the front and 4.25 inches in the back. The spring changed the handling characteristics and the ride characteristics drastically! The jeep took turns at higher speeds a lot better, and the ride became more stable. (I felt it was more comfortable than the stock ride!)
W heels and Tires
| From the beginning when I bought my jeep, I knew I wanted to change the rims and tires.(Rims were 15 X 7 and tires were Goodyear 215 75 15, these rims and tires were not going to give me any performance off road or on road!) As soon as my first set of tires wore out, I bought a set of 15 X 8 Centerline Hammer polished aluminum rims and BFGoodrich 255 60 15 radial TAs. These rims had a 4" offset (stock is 4 1/2") making my rims and tires stick out. I now had a wider track and beefier tires, handling was improved dramatically.After a couple of years, I decided to stagger my sizes of tires. (I could fit bigger tires in the rear.) I used 255 60 15 in the front, and 275 60 15 in the rear. This also helped to create an even larger track and more tire surface area on the road, however, by changing to a larger diameter rear tire, the jeep looses acceleration. I also realized, by using a taller tire "60 series", this creates a lot of tire flex, which reduces handling characteristics. Also by staggering tire sizes, there can be no tire rotation, causing the tires to wear down faster. Upon learning this my current tire and rim combination has changed. I decided to go with a larger rim, to reduce tire flexing and a shorter tire "50 series". The current tire and rim combination is a set of 16 X 8 Centerline Saber polished aluminum wheel with a 4 1/2" off set. The tires are BFGoodrich 245 50 16 Touring TAs. This tire and wheel combination made my jeep seem even more lower. I feel this is the best combination of handling, acceleration, and ride. |  |
Intake
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I wish I had the V8!!!!! However I did not want to spend 5K more on the jeep just to get the bigger engine. So I decided to add some power to my truck....oh...oH..OH! I wanted my truck to breathe better so I decided to build an intake system. However in 1995 no one made an intake kit for Grand Cherokees. (I designed and built my intake system before K&N marketed their Kit!!!!) We decided to use a K&N conical filter designed for a Mustang 5.0 for more free breathing. (This filter is huge!! about 9" long and 4" in diameter!!!) After removing the stock air box and tubing, I fabricated a adapter piece of 3" PVC piping cut two inches long to adapt the intake hose to the cone filter. Using hose clamps and a fabricated aluminum bracket, I mounted the cone on to the intake hose and stableized it using the aluminum bracket. After fabricating this intake system, I realized that the fan was blowing HOT engine air on the air filter which counteracts performance. Thus I fabricated an intake wall to shield the intake air from the engine. I also mounted a duct from the lower front of the jeep to route colder, denser air to the intake system. (In theory, it sounds like it works) Two years later K&N decide to market a design similar to mine. (Great minds think a like?) I felt a small improvement on responsiveness and high end power and could hear the intake at 3500RPMs. |
Exhaust
Another modification to help my engine breathe better is exhaust. I've heard a lot of people recommend using Flowmaster, and heard it on many cars and trucks, so decided to go with a Flowmaster catback exhaust. The exhaust starts from behind the catalytic converter using 2 1/2" piping (stock is 2") to a two chamber Flowmaster muffler and out dual exhaust tail pipes. The exhaust sounded very mellow but deep and throaty when at 2000RPMs and up. I felt like I lost some low end, but gained mid and high end power. However,after six months I found that inside the catalytic converter the honey combs were melted. I decided to remove the catalytic converter and run a straight pipe from the headers. Wow what a difference!!!! I got more power all the way through the powerband, the car felt more responsive, and the high end was smoother! The mellow sound at idle was gone and my jeep sounded even more throaty and deep!!! Taking out the catalytic (although illegal) is the best performance modification for the money.
