Hemi Upgrade for my '07 Sahara

[tlemmen]

I am looking into doing a 6.1 Hemi upgrade on my 2007 Jeep JK Sahara with 38's and I have a few questions for you.

What is the cost of the upgrade?

Will I need to change out the front Dana 30?

Are the 5.13 gears ok to use or recommended that I have already installed? (I have ARB Lockers front and rear also installed already)

Does the Detroit location do the work also? ( I live in Michigan so this would be easier)

Are you using the A580 with the 6.1 yet?

Why should i use AEV as opposed to Burnsville, Screaming Lizard Customs, or Camp Crocker?

Do you use the new 5.7 VVT yet?

Should I get the 5.7 or 6.1?

It is not an everyday driver and the off roading so far is going to be at Silver Lake in the dunes.
Thanks for you help in advance.

[AEV Dave]

Will I need to change out the front Dana 30?

Not a bad idea, a 44 would be much better, but also not necessary especially considering your next comment.

Are the 5.13 gears ok to use or recommended that I have already installed? (I have ARB Lockers front and rear also installed already)

Ideally, 4.56 for 35s and 4.88s with 37s...they don't make 456 yet though.

Does the Detroit location do the work also? ( I live in Michigan so this would be easier)

Yep, no problem.

Are you using the A580 with the 6.1 yet?

We made the changes to the harness and have the castings done, but haven't released it for customers yet, should be another month or two.

Why should i use AEV as opposed to Burnsville, Screaming Lizard Customs, or Camp Crocker?

AEV is the only company to actually engineer an entire kit. We use all OE suppliers and test everything and also start with all the factory data. This is a properly engineered kit. Burnsville Autobody, Screaming Lizard will both use our kit, but seem to (more often than not) simply make a set of mounts and buy the "other" harness which isn't tested or built like ours. They don't make new AC lines or battery trays, they try to get away with all the stock stuff which works, but the durability is questionable in the long term, which is why we decided to spend the money on the extra parts. If you look at ours next to another in person, the differences are pretty obvious. The last I heard, COP had Burnsville Auto body installing the engines for him.

Do you use the new 5.7 VVT yet?

Should be within a month.

Should I get the 5.7 or 6.1?

The 5.7 is a better engine in a Jeep, the 6.1 doesn't have very good low end torque, but it would be great with the A580 which is designed for a high RPM engine. We now do a 5.7 Manual as well as auto, both are great. The 6.1 with the 545 is disappointing in performance, of course no one on the internet will tell you that.

dh

[Totenkopf]

Been waiting on that VVT 5.7. Will it be set up to work with the manual trans? To me it seems like a better choice than the 6.1, you just don't get the 6.1 bragging rights (mine's bigger than yours).

5.7 - 345/375
VVT 5.7 - 390/407
6.1 - 425/420

[we the people]

AEV DAVE

you better get with your engine supplier and tell them to get you a vvt.it sounds like that is the engine of the future. i as well as kent are proably going to wait for a vvt before we do our swap.

[AEV Jordan]

stay tuned, we just made a bunch of changes to the kit to accommodate the VVT engines, should be a little while till parts start rolling in.

[tlemmen]

stay tuned, we just made a bunch of changes to the kit to accommodate the VVT engines, should be a little while till parts start rolling in.

dh

AEV Dave,
Any idea how long? I want to get going on a DIY kit right away. I can't wait much longer or I'll end up just going with the current configurations available.
Have you driven one with the VVT engine yet? How drastic of an improvement is it performance wise over the standard 5.7? I would like to be the first to do an install if it is that much of an improvement.

[tlemmen]

or AEV Jordan

[AEV Dave]

VVT is on the way, but still a couple months out. A manual non VVT 5.7 is faster than a 6.1/545, so a VVT manual would be really fast and better on fuel...and have some real low end torque...but yes without the bigger is better bragging rights.

dh

[tlemmen]

If you need a test vehicle for the new VVT I would be interested in doing an automatic one. Seriously!

[AEV Jordan]

The first AEV JK HEMI VVT was shown at SEMA this week.

This is a news item about it on the front page of the site, which expands a little on what VVT is, why we don't mess around with unreliable aftermarket 'power' add-ons like superchargers and custom tunings, and a few other notes about the new system.

Link here, AEV JK HEMI VVT Conversion News

[Rus]

When are the VVT kits going to be for sale? Will they work with a manual transmission?

[AEV Dave]

Sometime around the beginning of 2010 and yes manual as well as auto. The Savegre Truck we showed at SEMA is a VVT manual.

dh

[JeepinJon]

I want one. Hopefully in a few years when the Jeep is paid for I can do this conversion.

[Hoaccab09]

Hemi Upgrade for my 07 Sahara

Just wondering if anyone out there has seen or have customised engine covers with 426 Hemi logos on a stroked 6.1L. Have been looking for a long time for something that looks close to factory but cant find anything. You guys seen anything?