4 Best Tuners For Jeep JK & Buyers Guide (2020)

by · Automotive Expert
Published
Updated

Tune-up your Wrangler, guys! Go ahead and give it a try! You will never regret it, I swear!

Have you been thinking of boosting your drivability? Want a more powerful vehicle and improve your fuel efficiency? Ask me how and my answer will be pretty simple: get your Wrangler a tuner!

Why you can trust me?I accept nothing from product manufacturers. Never. Here — only unbiased reviews and my opinion. I only earn commission from Amazon

I recommend:

our pick

Superchips Flashpaq F5

The original assistant for different needs

If you're trying to improve the off-road capability of your Jeep and maybe gain a few extra horses in the process - check out this Superchips Flashpaq programmer.

best value

Diablosport inTune i3

Close your eyes...puff - your Wrangler is better now

This is going to be a perfect option if you're looking for maximizing the performance of your JK, if you're looking for adjusting your wheel and tire size as well as your gear ratio, and reading and clearing trouble codes.

premium

Superchips TrailDash 2

This tuner has more features than the Flashcal and the Flashpaq, this is going to be a more expensive option, but if you're looking for the ultimate control and customization, this is going to be a great tuner.

budget

Superchips Flashcal

A programmer for a rookie

This device gives you a few options to go through and customize the vehicle for what you like.

There is a really rich assortment of them these days and even an experienced user can get lost and frustrated. Your choice should depend on a few questions you must ask yourself before you start choosing. Firstly, what kind of improvements am I longing for? What are the priorities? Secondly, how much am I ready to pay for it? And thirdly, how can I get it installed and how much effort do I need for it?

This article will provide a detailed overview of some tuners that are really worth considering! Take a look!

How long can I use my tuner? Are there any special requirements?

After installation, you may be puzzled with the question if you can use your tuner all year round, if there are any special terms for using it.

The answer is pretty simple. Any temperatures, either cold or hot weather conditions, don’t affect the performance. What’s more, you can drive under heavy load and it won’t make any impact on your tuning as well. You can change the tuning on your vehicle as often as you like. Also you can upgrade it as soon as a new version is available and you will be able to enjoy the latest and the best features they can offer.

Table of best tuners for Jeep JK

NameOur ratingTypeScreenWI-FI updatesProgrammed tunesCustom tunes Required yearsPriceShops
Superchips Flashpaq F5
Tuner/Programmer2.8yesyes415-19$$
Diablosport inTune i3
Tuner/Programmer2.8yesyes107-15$$
Superchips TrailDash 2
Tuner/Programmer5yesyesyes03-14$$$
Superchips Flashcal
Programmer2.8yesyes307-19$

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How I decided

box-icon
18
models considered
clock-icon
78
hours spend
interview-icon
12
experts interviewed

Best Tuners For Jeep JK

Superchips Flashpaq F5

our-pick
Our rating:
5.0

The Superchips Flashpaq Programmer is for those of you that have a 2015 and up JK that are looking for not only a calibrator, but also something that's going to tune your Jeep. And I gotta say it, for an appearance standpoint it's a nice piece and it's actually a lot smaller than I expected, which is certainly welcomed. It's a small unit that easily fits in the palm of your hand with a bright and very easy to read colored screen.

But you guys might not be really concerned with what it looks. You want to know what this little programmer can do to increase the performance of your Jeep. And let me tell you, this thing does quite a bit to enhance both on and off-road performance, so let's go ahead and work our way down the list.

There is a difference between a tuner and a calibrator. This is going to do what a calibrator does but also what a tuner does. If you're just looking for something that calibrates, Superchips does have the Flashcal. That's going to be a little bit less expensive and just will do the calibrations (you can check the Flashcal review down below).

And when I say calibrations, I mean for larger tires and also for different gear ratios. And what that's going to do is ensure that your speedometer and odometer are accurate. It's also going to, if you have an automatic Jeep, change your shift points a little bit, which is going to help give you a little bit more of that factory driving feel back.and give you some additional power.

Jake Tremeskifrom CA, 2013 JK, said:

I`m in love with Flashpaq F5 performance. The horsepower and torque grow right away. you really just plug it in, flash the computer, and then set this aside in your center console or in your glove box until the next time you're ready to use it.

Now I want to start with power gains. If you're trying to squeeze a little bit more out of your engine - this Superchips tuner can certainly help. Now on the full performance tune you can expect power increase of 30 horsepower and 30 pound feet of torque. But that performance tune is just one out of four that are available.

Now remember - Superchips did design to this programmer for jeeps so they worked a lot of off-road capabilities into this package as well.

One of them is a rock crawling tune. Now this is a Superchips exclusive tune, that's only for JK models. It offers a low throttle response and increases low-end torque, designed for precision low-speed maneuvers; this is perfect addition to help you improve your off-road trail driving.

Up next is speedo calibration. Now a few of the really common upgrades for any off-road build is a set of larger wheels and tires and ring pinion gears. Both of these mods though will throw off the accuracy of your speedometer.

Well Superchips Flashpaq can actually rewrite that software so your vehicle now knows that you made those upgrades and changes and it's gonna allow your factory speedo to be completely accurate.

But guys, in all seriousness this program allows you to adjust almost every system on your Jeep to improve the off-road performance. From transmission shift points and even shift pressure to even adjusting the idle speed from when your winch is running. If you're a die-hard Jeep owner, this may be the best mod that you ever install on it.

All right, so now that we have all the features of this Flashpaq programmer covered, let's talk about the installation.

Now unlike some programmers that only require plugging the module into your OBD-II port, this one will require a little bit more work and if you want to know how to install this boy, check Buyer`s Guide down below.

Key features:

  • Wi-Fi
  • full-color screen
  • multiple tunes

Product score:

  • performance (9/10)
  • quality (9/10)
  • price (6/10)

MY RATAING: 8

Pros
  • corrects your speedometer for a tire size
  • makes a big difference before/after
  • warranty
Cons
  • long installation time

Diablosport inTune i3

best-value
Our rating:
4.0

This little guy is going to have a number of different features. First of all it goes like a scan tool. So if you get a trouble code or a check engine pops up, you can go into your scan tool and you can see all of your trouble codes. If it's not something significant, if you don't want to keep it there, and you'll also be able to clear those trouble codes.

But most importantly, you can tune your vehicle to gain some horsepower and torque. You're going to have an easy tune and an advanced tune option to where you can either use the preloaded tunes and the Dyno-tested performance programs, or you can go into the advanced options and you can set up a custom program for yourself.

Mike Hillauto mechanic in California Automotive Repair says:

There are other options available on the page that are a little bit more expensive. Those are usually just gonna have some extra bells and whistles like larger screens as well as displaying real-time data with gauges. Now, in my personal opinion, if you don't need those extra bells and whistles, you're just looking to get the most out of that 3.6 liter, you're looking for custom tuning options and some other bonus options, then this is going to be a perfect setup for you.

Also, after your vehicle is tuned and you want to gather some data on your horsepower and torque gains, you can go into your data logging feature and data log for different periods of times.

Data logging is a great feature because, you can record real-time data of what's going on with your Jeep at that moment, when you're driving and you can restore to default PIDs.

What about the other options? It’s Wi-Fi configuration. If you're on the go and you need to update your tuner, this does have WiFi connectivity, so you can do that and tune your tuner right there and then. You can update your tuner on the go, but if you want to download the software on your PC, this is compatible with Windows, Linux, and OS X for Mac.

If you're adjusting to your wheel and tire size, if you're adjusting your gear ratio, if you need to adjust your idle time, your battery voltage, you can add, modify, and delete your parameters or restore back to your factory parameters in Analog Input Setup, also a great thing.

So, finally, this will also be 50 state SMOG legal, so this will pass all of your emission tests and you won't have to worry about that.

Key features:

  • Wi-Fi
  • 50 state SMOG
  • compatible with Windows, Linux, and OS X for Mac

Product score:

  • performance (7/10)
  • quality (7/10)
  • price (7/10)

MY RATAING: 7

Pros
  • variations of preloaded tunes
  • quality/price
  • can rewrite your software
Cons
  • some of customers doubting the performance of the engine after the tuning

Superchips TrailDash 2

premium
Our rating:
5.0

This is for those of you, who are looking for the ultimate control over your 03”-14” JK, even more than the Superchips Flashcal or Flashpaq.

If you`re looking for TrailDash 2 for a 15”-19” JK, here is a link for it.

This is going to have all of those features, but also have real-time, on-screen gauges and even switches, if you purchase an additional component, to give you the ultimate control over your Jeep.

All in one unit, it does pretty much anything you would want to do with your vehicle, from adding extra performance, increasing your mileage, monitoring your off-road functions and features, controlling accessories.

You can do a performance tune for 87, 89, 91 and 93 octane.

I know, you guys love the off-road, so there`s also an off-road tune where you can adjust your throttle tip in, your throttle sensitivity, so you get more control than off-road in low range. And because you`re an off-road fan, if you put on larger tires and different axle ratios, you can adjust for that. Tire diameter from 26 to 42 inch is covered in this guy. Different axle gears, transfer case systems.

Jack Barnesauto mechanic in Jeep Service, LA says:

As you might expect, because this has a lot of additional features over even the Flashpaq from Superchips, this is going to be more expensive. This gives you a lot more functionality, so you are going to have to pay a little bit more for it. But if you're looking for something that gives you the ultimate control and the ultimate insight into what's going on in your JK through all of those digital gauges, I definitely recommend this unit.

One of the other cool thing is the fact that you can put cameras on this. Superchips has its expandable accessory system, where you can just tap into this, run your trail camera up front, from underneath, your backup camera and it'll display right on the screen.

You're going to have tunes for additional power. Control of your TPMS lockers, calibrating for tire and gear size, an option sucj as turning on lights, engine and transmission temperature, and many, many other options, all while having this 5-inch touchscreen on your dash in order to make changes on the fly.

This unit will give you a lot of flexibility.

What about the installation? It`s just like for a Dashpaq.

Key features:

  • Wi-Fi
  • full-color screen
  • PC/Windows compatible

Product score:

  • performance (9/10)
  • quality (9/10)
  • price (6/10)

MY RATAING: 8

Pros
  • user friendly
  • controls almost everything you need
  • greatly improved drivability
Cons
  • long installation time

Superchips Flashcal

budget
Our rating:
3.0

If you a rookie-beginner-newbie on programming your Wrangler JK, this programmer will give you a great host of features and allow you to do some quick calibrations to count for things like tires and gear ratio changes, as well as give you some cool diagnostic and monitoring features. But this is just a short list of things that this thing can do, so we will tell what is all about. For newbies, I'll explain what these options mean.

Axle lock. You basically have the ability to lock the front or the rear axles manually through the device. Now it's very similar to what you can do on the dash with the factory switch, but here you can actually lock them in for high, which you don't have on the factory.

Engine idle. This is an idle speed adjustment just to give you a temporary option to raise that idle if you're doing things like winching or if you need an elevated idle for any reason.

Tire size. You can literally move the adjuster up and down to program in whatever tire size you like.

Gear ratio. You`'ve got pre-selected gear ratio options here ranging from 2.73 all up to 5.38, so whatever you'd like to program that in if you've made a physical adjustment to your gears.

Transfer case low ratio. This is just a preset adjustments for whatever you modify those that gear ratio to be.

Lamp delay. It`s an interesting option. It's tellinh how long your headlamps and will be on after you shut the vehicle off, so here you can adjust it to be whatever you like in this device.

Running lights. This changes the way that your daily running lights function, so you've got several different options here and these are detailed in your manual depending on how you want them to be set up.

Accessory delay. Very similar to the lamp delay in that, in this case, when you shut the vehicle off, until you open your door all your radio and your accessory lights will all stay on. You can adjust it to be 45 sec, 5 min or 10 min, so it's whatever you'd like it to be.

Lane change. This is the OneTouch lane change, so if you ever notice on your Jeep just tap the blinker, you'll get it to flash 3 times or so, if you do a hard click, it'll stay on indefinitely. You can turn that feature on and off.

Lamp flash. This is just a feature, when you lock your Jeep, you can make it so that your headlights flash. If you like or you can turn it off , it's totally up to you.

Horn chirp. It's the same scenario, when you lock the Jeep, whether you want it to chirp at you or not, so if you get up a lot early in the morning and you don't like that feature, you like to wake up your neighbors when you lock your Jeep, you can go ahead and turn that feature up.

TPMS off-road. With this device you can actually shut off the entire TPMS system. It is an optional feature that you don't have to do, but you can turn that off. When you turn the TPMS off, all your TPMS sensors will no longer be read, so keep that in mind. But if you're going off-road and you're just in the pressure really low for your tires, you have maximum grip you'll want to turn that off.

Fog lights. This will give you the ability to let your fog lights function with your highs. If you'd like, that's a preset feature from factory and you can toggle that on or off.

Chester Owensfrom CA, who drives Jeep JK (2013), says:

It's really fast at updating the Jeep, and I have no issues with the user interface or with any of the options that it gives you. I also like the fact that this is upgradeable to essentially the Flashpaq that you can pay a little bit of additional money and download those tunes for higher octane use onto your Jeep.

It also has scan features, which is to read and clear trouble codes. You can monitor gauges such as RPM or coolant or intake air temperature and display them all on the device. You can also data log from here, which is where you can activate four parameters and keep track of them over a certain period of time and export log file from the device directly.

And finally we've got the battery voltage which just as you see here they'll just give you a digital representation of what your battery's at currently.

Key features:

  • Wi-Fi
  • PC compatible
  • multiple tunes

Product score:

  • performance (5/10)
  • quality (8/10)
  • price (7/10)

MY RATAING: 6.7

Pros
  • user friendly
  • mileage
  • great tech support
Cons
  • none

Best Tuners For Jeep JK Buying Guide

How to install Superchips FlashCal/FlashPaq/TrailDash 2?

First thing that you need to do is remove your factory PCM and get some info off it. Things like your calibration ID and the VIN number.

Now once you have all that you need to go to Superchips website and fill out the form for PCM cross shipment. The reason why you have to do so is that this programmer will only work on an unlocked PCM.

Now once you do that, Superchips will either send you a PCM that they have that's already unlocked and you simply just have to mail your factory one back, once you receive it or you may actually do send yours in first, as they unlock it and then send it back to you.

Now once you receive your new PCM, just disconnect the battery and then the two main connectors on the PCM itself. After that, it's just four simple bolts to remove it and repeat the exact same process to install the new one.

With the new PCM installed, plug your Superchips FlashCal/FlashPaq/TrailDash 2 into the OBD-II port of your Jeep and then start tuning.

What ECU is measuring?

The inputs, that come into the ECU, we can choose a wide range of stuff to measure for data logging and a whole bunch of advanced tuning stuff, but the sensors we actually need for the engine to run:

  1. Air temperature
  2. Coolant temperature
  3. Throttle position
  4. Manifold pressure
  5. Engine speed

With these five signals, coming into the engine management system, it'll know how fast the engine is turning, the demand or the load on the engine from the throttle position and the manifold pressure, as well as the temperature of the coolant and the air.

So with these things we know enough about the engine and the engines operating conditions, in order to look at a lookup table of fuel and ignition which is set by the tuner.

Conclusion

So, guys, from the overview you’ve just read through, you must have already got it that a tuner will change your driving experience for the better. The tuners we outlined above have a variety of options to offer. They can adapt your speedometer for your tire size, they can make any sort of modification to your car and what’s more, they can even rewrite your software. If any of the changes listed above don’t meet your expectations, no worries – you can always get back to original modes.

Most tuners don’t require much effort to be installed, thus it’s not a big deal and don’t bother with it at all. These tuner programmers really make a difference to your JK and it’s worth paying for this comfort. You can be sure that the price and performance ratio is balanced!

Dash ahead, get a tuner, and enjoy a better ride!

Resources:

  1. Automated tuning of an engine management unit for an automotive engine, researchgate
  2. Car tuning, wikipedia