Chris Pyle

2010 Jeep Wrangler LS Swap

Chris Pyle’s 2010 Jeep Wrangler JK Unlimited packs an LS-powered punch under the hood courtesy of MoTech Premium Conversions in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conversion, which consisted of a new-in-the-crate 2014 L94 LS Gen IV 6.2 liter and a 6L80 transmission, was done roughly 2 ½ years ago. The engine and transmission was dropped into the Jeep with custom bolt-in adapters, and a bridge was installed between the swapped engine’s ECM and the Jeep’s so that everything runs smoothly. 

“Throughout the time that I’ve had it, I’ve been adding things and improving bits here and there”, says Chris. “One of the things I did was install the Banks iDash DataMonster gauges in it. I originally had a Bluetooth module connected to an Android stereo head unit, and it worked alright but there were issues. It was slow to update, and I’d sometimes lose the connection between the BT module and the radio. It was wasn’t super reliable, and I’d have to restart the Android device to get things to work again. It was okay, but I wanted something more stable. When I looked at the options that were out there I came across the Banks unit, and was super excited. It connects to both the LS ECM and the Jeep’s computer. With my current set up I can see real-time results. I’ve also done some more mods directed at cooling, like radiator and a cowl hood. The iDash lets me see how these changes affect the operation of the engine easily. Trans temp, coolant temp, exhaust temp for instance. To me the iDash has been a key piece in making it all run right.”

Chris also added a Banks 4-Channel Analog Module to the iDash. “Another reason that I went with the iDash was how easy it was to add extra sensors with your modules. Right now I’m just running two oil temp sensors (one going into the cooler and one out). When the time comes to add more data, all I have to do is plug in extra sensors and install. It’s just that easy!”