Monday through Friday, Ryan Anderson is a well respected businessman who is a Senior Regional Vice President of a large insurance company. On the weekends though, he and his 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 can be found at Milan Dragway burning rubber and putting the hurt on the poor unsuspecting soles that line up in the next lane. This Chelsea Michigan resident found his passion for fast vehicles and horsepower at a very early age. Ryan always wanted to push the limits and make things go faster. He spent hours reading through hotrod magazines, and at the time, he was committed to owning a fast ride but he didn’t quite know what it was going to be.
When the Jeep brand announced the introduction of the 5.7L HEMI® back in 2005, he knew he had to have one. He purchased a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with the 5.7L HEMI and fell in love with the torque and horsepower it produced. At the same time, the SRT8 was introduced. When he saw the Jeep SRT8 with its 6.1L HEMI pumping out over 400 horsepower, he knew it was time to trade up. So, he went to the local dealer and bought a 2008 Grand Cherokee SRT8. The first time Ryan took the Jeep vehicle down the drag strip, he was hooked. Even in its stock configuration, the SRT8 laid down some very impressive 0 to 60 times. He knew that the all-wheel drive platform offered an advantage over many other performance vehicles and therefore his Jeep 4×4 didn’t stay stock for long.
As the saying goes, “there’s no replacement for displacement” and Ryan collaborated with Inertia Motorsports and built a 426 cubic-inch Stroker out of the GEN III 6.1L HEMI architecture. Other modifications included a B Woody cold air intake, oil catch can, 85mm ported throttle bottle along with CNC ported cylinder heads and intake manifold. The short block was built using forged pistons & rods, light weight balanced crankshaft and a custom ground camshaft. To allow the massive HEMI to breathe properly, Ryan installed 1 7/8-inch long-tube headers with electronic cut-outs and a Cora cat-back exhaust. At idle, the exhaust tone sound like a NASCAR racer! Hooking up the approximate 700 horsepower to the ground is pair of Nitto drag radials on the rear.
As for shock and awe value, not too many owners suspect what’s lurking under the hood. As Ryan puts it, “On the street it isn’t uncommon for [other hotrods] to pull up beside me at a stop light for a quick challenge. But when the light turns green the only thing they see is tail lights and SRT8 badge staring them in the face! The most recent challenge happened down in Indianapolis during the Hot Rod power tour. I could see a brand new [cruiser] creeping up on me while driving down the highway. He pulled up beside me and I could hear him mash the accelerator. I immediately matched him, crushing the accelerator and at the same time opening my exhaust. Let’s just say, when I down shifted, he almost had a heart attack. He tried to stay with me for about ten seconds, but again I pulled away without a challenge. He tailed off and stayed at least a quarter mile behind me. He didn’t even consider trying that again!”
As of right now, the only future plans Ryan has for his awesome Grand Cherokee SRT8 is to keep tweaking the tuning to extract more power. He feels there’s a lot more left and like most gearheads we know, will keep plugging away with refinements.
When asked about his impressions on the new 2012 Grand Cherokee SRT8, Ryan replied “I love the new version and as current owner, I can imagine the possibilities of the new 6.4L HEMI. It’s going to be a gear-heads dream!” As for future dream cars he would like to own, Ryan has been eyeing the new Challenger SRT8 with the 392 HEMI. “I love the styling and can only imagine how much tire smoke I could generate on the streets!”
Ah yes Ryan, spoken like a like a true enthusiast!