removing 1 lbs of rotating mass = removing 7 lbs of stationary mass

true for snomobiles anyway

 

There is confusion here
about the important difference between
'rotating weight'
and the correct
"rotational moment of inertia"

The smart bicycle guys
who have to use muscle power to turn their wheels
have figured out a simple way to measure
"rotational moment of inertia" of a wheel
using a simple home-made "rotational pendulum"
which is nothing more than a wheel hanging from a stiff steel wire
that you twist, then time its back and forth motion with a stopwatch:

http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/...es/9662.0.html

 

I am also experiencing the same problems as the other guys. I have a 99 Ram 2500 4x4, 5.9l, stock wheels and tire size. Automatic. Let me say that I have been struggling with this since I bought the truck. I have,since November 2006, in an effort to remedy this perfomed the following. New plugs, wires, cap, rotor, new Accel coil. Checked compression(fine). Had my buddy use his Snap-on scanner to check the "fuel sync" relating to the distributor. New TPS, new IAC. Had the dealer do a BG intake treatment. Checked fuel pressure. Checked the intake plenum gasket(good). Checked all the grounds to the PCM for corrosion. The best way to describe it is that it seems as though the brake is stuck on all the time. All the wheels spin easiy. I am just glad(sorry) that soemone else is having the same issues. I average a whopping 10.2 MPG(I check it everytime I fill up)! I could live with the mileage if I had, oh, say 400HP to go with it! I have alleviated some of the shifting issues by adjusting the cable on the transmission. I owned a 98 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 5.9 a few years ago and it didnt drive anything like this thing. My wife is currently driving a 99 Durango with the 5.2L and it will run circles around my truck( I know it weighs considerably less). My last truck was a 2001 Chevy(SORRY) with the 5.3L and it had far more power and got @ 4mpg better, yes I realize thatthe 5.3L is a modern engine butI'm ready to move on to another vehicle if I cant get this fixed. Its not right. I know its not race truck, but I cant even spin a tire if I wanted to, even with the brakes on. I have the LSD in the rear and all the other trucks I had with an LSD(including the 98 1500)would get totally sideways on wet pavement, this thing wont even break the tires loose!What is all the talk about "torque management"? Is this an area to look at? Can it be by-passed? I would go back to the Chevy in a second, I guess hearing that GM piston slap every morning wasnt so bad after all! It is just frustrating! The truck only has 66k miles and shouldnt be worn out yet.

 

Look on your pcm for a sticker that says authorized software update, andsearch this board for "Death Flash". Lots of info on it. The pcm update was to stop pinging due to excessive carbon build-up in the combustion chambers caused by burning oil from the **** poor plenum gasket design. It severely hinders performance and gas mileage. My truck had it from the factory.
Best fix and IMO single best mod you can do without going into the motor:

http://www.bgperformancepcm.com/

M1 flash is best and you don't have to have an M1 manifold to run it.

 

Yes the B&G flash is the best, I am running it also.

However, if you are not done with the major performance mods to your drivetrain, engine and tranny, hold off on getting the custom flash because you will need to get it flashed again after the work is done. B&G custom flashes these to your current configuration and if you change it a lot the flash that you have paid for already will be wrong for your updated engine.

just don't want you forking out another $400 to $430 bucks when you don't have to.

 

I used to think the same thing, now I think that the whole "custom flash" thing is sort of ambiguous. Especially where B&G is concerned. When I gotTom Fox to flash a box, I fealt pretty confident that it was somewhat custom. From talking to him, it sounded like he had a bunch of flashes for different mods that he would start with, and then tweak them to suit particulars. As far as B&G goes, I think that alot of guys that think they have a custom flash are really just running one of the three flashes that they offer. I have the sameM1 flash now that I have had all along. I did send my box to B&G to have it leaned out, but it turned out that it was an issue with the cam I was runnng at the time. I sent it back and had the regular old M1 flash put back on it. When I was budgeting out a stroker,I was told that the M1 flash would learn a 408 yet they still offer a 408 flash.


Edit:B&Gdidn't charge me nearfull price the second and third time

 

Mine's got 3.55s and it runs about 75 mph at 2000rpms in overdrive. So that's probably what you've got, or just slightly lower. What do you guys withthe 4.56s get?

 

These posts surprise me. My truck runs really strong the only time it ran like described by these posts was when the cat was plugged, (total dog for about 2 days) but after reading this forum I didn't hesitate to change it out for a magnaflow. I can't see anyone "wondering" why these trucks have no power if the death flash,plenum,cat,O2 sensor haven't been addressed. These problems really aren't that difficult or expensive if you do them yourself and it's obvious they are known issues from this forum alone.

 

I have the special California emissions truck with three cats. Anyone know if that makes it inherently underpowered due to the extra restriction in the exhaust system? Is there any extra restriction compared to a 1 cat truck?