Thrid-gen Ram Stock Cats With Long Tube Headers? Yes, Please!

If you can weld, using the stock Hemi cats with long tube headers on your Ram is fairly simple.

Long tube headers are a great way to add power to your third-generation Ram with the 5.7-liter Hemi engine, but if you live in an area where catalytic convertors are required for road use, getting rid of the stock manifolds presents a problem. Fortunately, Dodge Forum member truckin151 put together a great DIY thread showing how easily anyone who can weld can use the stock cats with long tube headers.

Long Tube Problems

Long tube headers typically flow better than shorties, but the two different types of high performance exhaust components present a frustrating issue with the third-generation Hemi-powered Ram 1500. While the shorties will bolt right up to the stock exhaust system and the integrated catalytic convertors, long tube headers extend much further down, so the stock system will no longer fit comfortably.

Ram owners who live in a state without any sort of emission program don’t have to worry about the cats, so when installing long tube headers, they simply have to cut the cats off and connect the headers to what is left of the exhaust system. On the other hand, if you live in an emission state, you need to run cats to be street-legal.

The simplest solution is to buy aftermarket cats and all new piping under your Ram, but that gets expensive. Those Hemi owners who want to save some money on their exhaust project can use much of the stock piping and the stock cats, but they need to be able to weld or have someone who can weld help with the build.

RAM Header Project

To add long tube headers to your Hemi Ram with the factory cats, you will need an addition piping kit. The OP installed Pacesetter headers and he bought the Pacesetter off-road Y-pipe kit. It is an off-road kit because it doesn’t come with catalytic convertors, but that is the point of this project.

The header collectors and piping kit all measures 3 inches in diameter, but the stock system is 2.75 inches, so you will first need to alter the stock cats. You do this by placing the new piping against the outside of the cats, tracing a circle and then cutting around that circle. At that point, the cats will weld right up to the new 3-inch piping.

The OP cut the new off-road pipe kit apart, making a portion to go in the front of the cats where they connect to the headers while the rear of the cats are welded to the Y-pipe. He also welded bungs into the Y-pipe for the O2 sensor, so after the headers were installed with this custom setup, it will pack more power while still meeting emission component requirements.

Advantages

Following this DIY when adding long tube headers to your third gen Hemi Ram has a handful of advantages.

• Using the stock catalytic convertors is far less expensive than buying new cats
• This design puts the cats and the Y-pipe in a near-factory location, so there is no excess heat applied to the transmission
• Long tube headers add power and sound to your Hemi Ram

Of course, the only real downside to this approach is that you have to know how to weld, but if you do not weld, you just need to find a friend who will help you out and you’ll be able to add long tube headers on a budget while still meeting emission requirements (in most states).

Click here for a closer look at the DIY on how to install long tube headers with factory cats on your Hemi Ram.

Join the Dodge Forums now!

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

Facebook   Twitter