I just bought a 97 ram 1500, 4x4, extended cab, short bed, 5.2L, 5speed. what are some upgrades to get this truck to run 14's-15's 1/4 mile time, or at least have a quick 0-60 time.

P.S. the cheaper the better.

Thanks

 

Erm, its a truck, and a 4x4 at that. "Fast" really isn't in its job description, and most certainly not when coupled with "cheap"...... You can do fast, OR, you can do cheap, but, not both.

Best suggestions? First make sure everything is up to snuff. Tuneup. plenum isn't blown. fuel pressure is up to spec.

Then..... when everything else is as it should be.... A less restrictive air intake. Some of the 'cold air induction' systems flow far better than the stock setup. There is some debate on whether an open element air cleaner actually gets you any power. sure, it probably flows better than stock, but, it is drawing in that nice toasty warm air, from the engine compartment. Spectre has one the some folks here like. Under 150 bucks.

Go for the harland sharp 1.7 roller rockers. kinda exaggerates the stock cam, but, doesn't require a custom tune. These run right around 300.

SCT Tuner from Hemifever here on this site. Canned tunes are 275 at last report. Members have had very good results with JUST this mod.

Will that get you sub-fifteen second quarters? Don't know. Depends a lot on the condition of your truck, and what size tires you run.

 

The truck appears to be in perfect condition. The previous owner put $5100 in the truck to make sure it ran perfect and then had to sell it because of a med condition. Also I'm going to be running 33's on it.

 

Then the above, plus gears...... gears are NOT cheap. Well, ok, you can get the gears for a reasonable price, its installation that beats the crap right out of your wallet.

 

i say sct tune 1st all our truck are de-tuned from facotry, and the 2000 and up have the death flash on top of it :/

 

First thing im doing is definitly getting a cai. Once i get a job I'll get the SCT tuner. Whats everyones opinion on the fastman 50mm intake

 

The price/performance ratio there isn't really worth the money. You can do a lot of the TB mods yourself....and pay a machine shop to 'straighten' the bore, and have a lot less money into it.

 

Ok maybe ill do that somewhere down the line.

I also have a question that doesnt relate to performance.
Is there a trick to getting the truck into 4Low because i have not yet been able to do that.

 

Rolling 3-5MPH in 4H, depress clutch pedal, push the transfer case shifter to the right and quickly and firmly (but not like a pissed off gorilla) shift to 4L. If you hang up in the middle, practice your cussing skills.

 

Yep, you have to come to a stop put in neutral an just slam the selector into 4-low. All are 2nd gen 4 low gears have to be done that way.

I heard some say you can roll slowly an do it too?