Built 5.7-liter Hemi in this 2011 Ram has nitrous, but it doesn’t need it to run 11s.
It has been years since Ram has offered a purpose-built performance truck, but one 2011 Ram 1500 owner Matt Fikac has put his modified pickup into the high-11s with motor-only while the nitrous has helped the truck to get very near the 10-second range. Today, we bring you a look at Fikac’s truck on one of its 11-second runs without the bottle, along with a list of what it took to get this half-ton pickup to run these numbers.
Custom Build
The run above of this 2011 Ram 1500 Express running in the 11s comes to us from the YouTube channel of Moe’s Performance – the shop which had a big hand in making this truck so quick. Moe’s added their 87-millimeter throttle body and their XTP camshaft package, while a set of 1 7/8-inch longtube headers, Modern Muscle-ported cylinder heads, an underdrive pulley, an electric fan from a V6 truck and a Hemifever custom tune all work together to make the kind of power needed to propel this truck down the quarter mile in the 11-second range.
In addition to the built engine, this Ram also has 4.56 gears, an Edge Racing 3,400-stall torque convertor, a QA1 rear coilover suspension setup, a Wilwood rear brake conversion, Centerline 15×10 rear wheels with Mickey Thompson ET Radial Pro tires out back and Racestar 17×4.5 with M&H 28/4.5/17 front runners.
It should be noted that this truck also has a Nitrous Outlet 85-millimeter plate kit and when it is running on the bottle, Fikac “only” runs a 4.10 gear. With that setup, he has run a best time of 11.09 at 120 miles per hour, but today, we are focusing on his naturally aspirated record.
Record Run
In this video, Fikac’s 2011 Ram 1500 Express is making a quarter mile run against a Ford Mustang GT. In a race between these two vehicles in stock form, the muscle car would almost certainly walk away from the pickup, but the modifications made to the Ram make it considerably quicker than the Mustang.
As the green lights drop, the Hemi-powered pickup roars away from the starting line, immediately taking a big lead over the Ford. As the two continue down the track, the Ram just keeps on pulling away, laying down a time of 11.998 at 110.66 miles per hour. This run marked the first time that a modern Hemi Ram ran in the 11s without nitrous or forced induction.
We don’t know if his record still stands, but back in January of 2016, this was the quickest NA Hemi Ram in the world thanks to this remarkable run.
"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.
