I have a 01 ram with a 318 and 5 speed, I want to know what you people think will give it the most usable torque. It has airraid intake, Poweraid spacer, flowmaster cat back, ASP power pulley, 180 thermostat. It has 2" leveling kit with 20" wheels, I tow a 3500 lb trailer and it cant get out of its own way. I had headers but they were a pain because they were always leaking. Thank you in advance

 

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That what I have been thinking about. My only issue is that I don't want to spend that much money, because when the engine craps out. I will want to put a 360 in it. I was looking at an intercooled procharger, can it be used on a 318 and 360 ? If that was the case then I could run the supercharger until the 318 quit and switch to the new engine. Any other advice on superchargers? Install? Brands? Drivetrain problems etc?

 

I'm going to be doing some custom modifications to my '97 Ram come next spring. Personally, the truck has plenty of torque, I'm just trying to squeeze out a few more MPG, as taking a 7 hour drive (the kids to visit their grandma) at 12 MPG is really really not a very pocketbook friendly concept. Especially at $2.25 a gallon.

I've never got the chance to tow anything with my truck, however, I have hauled some very very heavy loads without problems before.

IMO, your truck is probablly not designed for towing. Mine has a NV4500 manual tranny with a heavy duty Dana 60 limited slip rear axle, not to mention the 360 under the hood. Those three features give my truck all the pulling power I really need. My wife's old truck (just traded in for an Earnhardt Monte), was nothing to be used for towing. It was an '01 Ram, had a 318, a NV3500 Manual Tranny (not the 4500 like mine) and, more than likely, did not have a very heavy duty rear axle. It drove and rode like a car.

She wanted me to trade in my '97 for the Monte, and she'd give me the '01, and I said "HECK NO!!" If I wanted to feel like I was driving a car, I'd have gotten myself a new GTO! Oh no, when you're driving my truck, you KNOW it's a truck!

I think that your tranny is going to be one of your major factors regarding pulling and towing. If you don't have that low-low gear like the NV4500 has, then you're just not going the most from your engine with any weight behind it. That is, not considering the cu in factors.

A supercharger will increase your torque, thus increasing your acceleration and improving your mileage slightly. However, I don't think that you're going to see THAT much improvement when your truck is loaded down. It'll make a world of difference when taking off from stoplights in town, but slap a boat or an camper behind it and I'm not so sure...
Don't forget, that Superchargers NEED high-octane fuel. I put only Premium plus STP Octane Booster in my wife's Monte. Superchargers are nice, but considering their price, and extra costs associated with fuel, they really aren't all that their cracked up to be. Especially for towing.

If you want to burn rubber from one stoplight to the next, thus attracting every cop at Jon's Drive In Diner, then get a supercharger. If you want a lot of "Umphf" behind your truck when you tow, save up for a 360 and an NV4500...

..when it comes to towing, there is absolutely NO substitute for cubic inches.