Earlier today I had my doors blown off from a base model silverado. I have a 2000 dodge ram 1500 ext cab 2wd. The obly mods I have is a CAI and flowmaster w/ exhaust cutout. What should I be doing to get more power? I've been considering things like, headers, 4.10 gears(are these to much for stock sized wheels?), under-drive pulleys, and a cam. Opinions?

 

Headers, and y-pipe. SCT tuner. 1.7 ratio Harland sharp roller rockers. Bigger throttle body. Maybe even a better intake manifold. (expensive.....)

But, before you do ANY of that, make sure that what you already have works the way it is supposed to. (fix the plenum, see the sticky thread.)

 

Time to get serious.

 

How would that work? It's for Chevy. It says LT-1 on the manual.

 

If u have the death flash you will lose to a geo metro lol

 

And if the plenum hasn't been fixed, it will definitely need it after that!

 

I lol'd. Does the whole truck have to make it across the finish line to count? Because the rod he throws out the bottom and/or top of it will be faster than a bullet.

 

Sorry man, do not get me wrong here; I love my dodge but GM's LS series motors are far superior to our Magnum motors. Even their 5.3 would knock the doors off our stock 360. The LQ4 and the LQ9 would make you blush for days. GM's head design and intake R&D make them tough to beat. Funny thing is these mentioned motors are already considered old.

Reason I am so bias is because I have a conservatively modded 500HP/490 ftlb LS1 I built that
I put in my RX7. Its a good time

Now what i did to my magnum 360 that really made a difference in performance was a SCT tuner with a 91 octane map from hemifever. It is a night and day difference BUT your truck already has to be in great operating condition( my ram is pristine that i bought from a super OCD friend)

 

Well I am stilling learning about this truck as i have only recently got it, I would'nt know anything on diagnosing a plenum problem but what I have noticed is recently in cold weather it takes a lot of RPM's to get it going or it will rev and then catch. It only does this when cold though.

 

Have you ever installed a camshaft? Not something for beginners. At the very least, you would need a friend who has done it. Then make sure you know the difference between Chrysler and Chevy/ford TDC alignment.

Here is a good link:
http://www.bionicdodge.com/bionic/in...p?topic=9197.0

If you are serious about a camshaft, PM B1llyW on bionicdodge and he can give you the specs on that camshaft. Or you can get some stuff from rich at: http://stores.hi-potek.com/StoreFront.bok

I would do this:
1. plenum repair and 180* thermostat AND SCT from hemifevertuning.com (265 dollar package, 3 canned tunes and SCT).
2. 1.7RRs if you are not doing a camshaft. I think it is better to do because if you throw a cam into an engine that you don;t know much about, then you may mess up your motor. I did it with my Camaro in 2002.
3. Headers AND new y pipe. I have JBAs, and they are good shorties. Then possibly a hi-flow cat.
4. you have a 2000 dodge ram, with a one piece pulley/dampener combo. You would need to spend about 200 dollars for the pulley and dampener to make it work (Bolt them together). And even then people have reported engine failure because of the new pulley/dampener not working properly. Hence why i have not installed mine.
5. Get electric fan(s) with a controller. Flex a lite black magic 180* extreme is a good one. moe's garage sells the setup for about 260.

After that, you really should not need much more. And all that will cost you about 2000 bucks. Add another 1000 if you are getting a camshaft (need new lifters, pushrods, should get 1.6 roller rockers, valvesprings....). When you get a camshaft, you should really get new heads as well. You will need tougher valvesprings, so might as well get heads with proper valvesprings. At least another 1000 right there.

Basically, to get enough HP and torque to rival hemis and anything newer, you will need to spend about 4000-5000. For that (plus what you paid for the truck), you may as well ust gotten a 2003-2004 Hemi truck.

Lastly, you should not do anything to a motor unless you know it will respond well to mods (like not start falling apart). Just when you think you are done spending money, something will break. And it will be something that does not have to do with performance, but will cost A LOT.

Take it slow, it took me 5 years before I put 1.7s on.


Also, you are not going to beat any newer trucks with a 2000 dodge ram. a 2003 Hemi would blow your doors off. Heck, a 1996 454 silverado would get you.

4.10 gears are not too much for stock tires since 4.10 is what the "off road" package rams have.