Greetings,
I recently bought a new 2010 Ram 1500 SLT quad 4x4 5.7 hemi mds (bighorn package) in brilliant black. Love the truck, power is very nice at 390, but I wanted to seek everyones advice on the 'most bang for your buck' performance improvements I could do to this truck, to make it faster (more hp), and perform better (and look better). So far I had the following ideas, please comment or add to this list, and if you could tell me the best product/part number/manufacturer/cost to get the parts from, and which I could install myself as opposed to having to pay a shop to do it -
1) cold air intake - (K&N?) - which model is best & price (approx) - I think I can do this one myself - how much HP would it actually add, and does it make the engine sound better when giving it the juice?
2) Performance chip - I know literally nothing about these - are they worth the money & investment for the HP gains? Any drawbacks or problems they can create? (I've heard they void the factory warranty for example) Can I do this myself or is it better to have a shop install? Which make/model/part is best for this engine? cost? How much HP & speed would it provide ?
3) Exhaust system - this truck of course came with the factory dual exhaust system - I assume there are mufflers & resonators under there from factory? What would be the best modification I could do for the money, to add some free-flow HP, and some nice sound that would be a bit louder than the mellow factory dual rumble it already has? Mfgr/brand/part no/price? I know I'd have to have the dealership or muffler shop install any mods such as this. One other question - I have heard some after market exhausts cause problems or some annoying highway noise when the MDS kicks into economy mode - I want to avoid this problem, so any advice on that, other than shutting off the MDS on highway.
4) Gears - this truck has I guess the standard factory gears - they are 3.55
My 2006 Ram had the 3.92 gears. The '06 was of course much faster off the line I recall. This 2010 is fast too but you really have to mash the pedal to the floor off the line - I am not a gear-head whatsoever, so please bear with me if I say something wrong here - but from what I have read, the lower 3.55 gears are better for "top end" speed on the highway, say from 60-100 mph - while the 3.92 gears would be slower in that speed range, correct? And of course the 3.92's would thereby be quicker off the line, and the 3.55 gears a bit slower off the line right? Overall, for this 5.7 hemi mds engine, which gears give the best of all worlds, performance wise? Should I just stick with the 3.55's, or change them out to some other gears to increase speed & performance overall, both off the line and at much higher speeds of 60-100+ mph? (Yes I do like to go very fast sometimes, I cut my teeth on a '69 firebird 400 ram-air beast)
5) These 2010's seem much lower in the front now than my prior generation 2006 Ram - alot lower in fact, to the point where winter weather (ice & snow clearance) actually worries me with these new trucks. I had read somewhere that there is a reasonably priced, fairly easy to install, 3" lift kit of some sort that can bring the front end up a bit higher - has anyone done this and what recommendations can you all give me on doing this? Downsides? Such as less stable highway performance at very high speeds? I am sure they dropped the front end severely to make it hug the road at high speeds better, and to cut thru the air a bit better (less drag). I do not want to cause problems with aerodynamics or stability by raising it 3" - appreciate any advice on this.
Any other misc ideas or things I could do to beef up the HP & performance that would not be super major radical jobs to do on this truck/engine - please let me know. Love the truck but I'd just like a bit more HP & speed, and maybe make it look a little better too - that super low front end just bothers me for some reason after having the much higher 2006 Ram 4x4 for so many years. We do get 2-3 ft of snow in winter where I am at, so ability to clear and get over that snow can be an issue for me.
Thanks very much for all your help & advice on these things.

 

I can weigh in on the air questions. I've had K&N systems on all 3 of my dodge trucks. K&N claims +15hp on the kits i got, but you have to assume they're exaggurating a little bit. I'd say probably between 10 and 12hp, around 4,500rpm.

My truck came with the dual exhaust also, but the muffler itself is pretty much garbage. When mine was cut off, nearly 3/4 of it was purple, an immediate and unmistakable signal of flow restriction. Stuck a magnaflow in it's place, which was easy because i didnt need any custom pipes built, and neither will you.

Both are drop in upgrades that will give you at least a little more edge; enough to notice anyway. I spent $550 on both after shipping/labor.

And lest we forget, group-think usually says premium fuel will give you a little more hp as well.

 

How can you feel or judge 3-5 HP? Or have you dyno'd?

IMO the best bang for the buck is a Superchips Programmer. Theres several threads on the warranty etc, and you do it yourself its quite simple

 

imo the most bang for your buck is the tuner (superchips)after that it all depends on what you want more intake noise,louder exhaust,etc...

 

I wasnt saying i could tell if there was a difference, i was just pointing out that manufacturers most often exaggerate.

Also, could you tell the OP (and the rest of us) about your experience with the superchip? I'm going to buy one if i the feedback is good. =]

 

Does anybody offer a supercharger for these trucks? A guy at a local car show had a Whipple supercharger on his Hemi Challenger. Now that would be hot.

 

To:RJP3526

I as well have a 2010 ram 5.7L... There are many options and everyones different.This is how I modded my truck,performance wise
1. Airaid Cold Air Intake(15hp&20+ft/Tq)
2. Poweraid Throttle Body Spacer(not to sure hp increase& over 20ft/Tq)
3. Flowmaster 'Super 44 series' muffler swap(with stock dual exhaust piping)
4. Diablosport Predator prgrammer U7137(25-30hp increase with 93 octane tune)

I hope this helps. It has improved my speed ,performance & HP/TQ drammatically.The C.A.I & T.B.S I installed my self with basic hand tools,which took less then an hour and was much easier then I anticipated(which I recomend to save you money from getting them installed)I bought the muffler and had a shop install it in place of the stock muffler can, which ran me 50 bucks for labour.And I also installed the predator which was easy enough, after watching an install video on youtube.THE SOUND,POWER & THROTTLE RESPONSE IS AMAZING.0-100kms/h time is est.6-7 seconds,and my top speed is over 200 kms/h... Good luck with your mods and good chioce of truck

 

Don't get caught up in hp claims, especially when using multiple parts. You'd be fortunate to gain a total of 20hp/tq from that list of mods, and now premium fuel is required. Most of the "power" felt is sound. Louder feels faster. Most simple bolt-ons come with a compromise...louder, less filtration, raising the powerband (trading low rpm power for higher and calling it a "gain" since the peak has increased). Tuners can benefit in more ways than just power (shifting, gear, code retrieval, etc), and they're easily reversed. Don't get me wrong, if you like the sound of a custom intake, or the growl of a custom exhaust..bolt ons are nice. Just don't expect significant, uncompromised gains.

 

The ex on the sport Ram is not a true dual ex, the stock y pipe is still in place, all you have is a factery cat back ex, getting rid of the y pipe, run two ex pipes into the stock mufflers will inhance ex flow, use mid grage flue.

 

Airaid throttle body spacer, K&N 63 series intake, Bullydog tuner. Wondering about exhast too.