Specs: Ram 1500 2wd
360CI 5.9L V8
1/4 ton suspension

Im new to owning a Dodge Pick-up. What I do want to know is what would be the best thing to do such as:
Lift size
Tire Size
Engine Modification (Im aiming to obtain 400 HP)
True Dual's or Cat-back's
Im trying to do all this without over-compromising my trucks FE, since right about now she's running 18mpg HW and 15 city

PLEASE DO GIVE ME YOUR (PROFESSIONAL!!) OPINION!

 

First thing you need to do is address the plenum/pcv valve, there is a link on the top of the tech section.

I think you can kiss decent mileage goodbye if you really want 400hp outta the 360, should have bought a Hemi, although merch225hp has a pretty well modified Ram with good gas mileage, not sure what kind of HP he's getting, you can check out his garage for more info on what he's done to his rig.

True dual's with an X pipe and a good choice of muffler will have a nice sound, I'm fond of MagnaFlow.

As far as lift's anything over 3" requires larger control arms. Depending on how much tire you want you may need to re-gear.

Your getting pretty good mileage, I'm not sure I would do too much do it.

 

Its not even barely realistic to get 400ph while not affecting FE. Each one of your questions have tons of threads on individually. Try doing a search at the top of the page and you will have hours of reading!

You should decide first what you want to tackle and can afford. Try one mod at a time, it will be easier to do it that way.

 

2wd... so, lifts become more interesting. Keep in mind, that with spindles, you will more than likely need new wheels as well.

almost doubling the horsepower output of your engine, and trying to maintain fuel economy, are mutually exclusive goals. That kind of power output is going to need, intake, cam, heads, higher compression, bigger valves, headers, free flowing exhaust, and some manner of tune. Either a custom tuner (which adds the expense of a wideband O2), or sending your PCM out to be tuned...... depending on the year of your truck.... If you are OBDI (pre-96) you would be FAR better off going with a standalone system to run the engine, and maybe trans... Or, just rebuild it to tolerate boost..... and use some flavor of forced induction. (which will also require some serious electronics to make it run right.)

And then let's think about that weak *** 46R? you have in there. It won't survive long behind 400 horsepower..... so, there's another couple grand you are going to have to spend to either replace it with something that will last, or, rebuild it and upgrade the snot out of......

 

if you want 400 rwhp kiss that mileage goodbye. for all your other questions the awnsers are herehttps://dodgeforum.com/forum/search.php

you just have to look. pretyy much any serious mod liek you want will severly decrease mpg's

 

@HeyYou To help you out with the year, she's a 99.
@Stewie01 I am aiming at with the exhaust. True Duals with an X pipe, And dual Flowmaster 40 series with Delta Flow. And if I just wanna have fun with it throw tips on. (Probably not where as I like the classic muscle sound of the Flowmasters.)
My general Idea's at the progressive modification plan I came up with is, First, A K&N Cold air intake, Followed by exhaust (True Dual Straight pipe, and run the 2.50" pipe out of the back, For my lift, I was thinking about going with a 3" suspension lift by Fabtech, and put it on 30" Mickey Thompson Baja-Claw Radials.
I need to get a new Trani then. Which I am aiming at a Monster Transmission.
And in the subject of a Chip, I was going to go for a Bullydog. But my expertise runs out when it comes to the electrical systems. And im not trying to make my truck get 20+ mpg, Im just trying to keep it at the level it's running or at the most a -2mpg reduction. Any worse and I would have to install a reserve tank.
What she is stock right now is the 727 transmission, And she's running 245 hp

 

Isn't Bullydog for diesels??

Being it's a 99, go with an SCT tuner. Gets rid of torque management, and boosts output a little. 265.00 bucks from HemiFever. (custom tunes are 100 bucks more.)

Did you mean 33" tires? 30" are smaller than what's on there now.

Doing gears would be a good idea, and if your trans still works, you can get some more life out of it. (4.10's for 33" tires.)

 

Well... 30" tires will definately fit with a 3" lift...

Considering the weight of the boots you are wearing can cause the mileage to fluctuate by 2mpg, any serious build will have more of an impact then that.

Any "chip" is garbage. If you already bought one, place it in your toilet, and pull the lever for maximum results.



FYI: I am pretty sure you have the only 2nd gen ever to have a 727 installed as factory equipment. You might want to consider leaving it stock, because it's probably worth a fortune, considering it's a one-off!!!

 

do exhaust first starting with headers, and ****ty stock y-pipe(gotta breathe out before you breathe in), CAI's are a waste on our trucks, for a programmer get a superchip or a SCT tuner from hemifever, for the trans get a viper trans from PATC, the stock trans is a 46RE not a 727. the 46re is based of the 727 but they are not the same. 727's dont have o/d. with the lift 30 will look bad so youll probably want to end up getting a set of 33's or equivilant. with that you will want to regear your rear end so it wont affect you milage as much and you will regain some of the low end loss by the bigger tires. something in the range of 4:10 would be grat for you. unless you are expecting an apocolyspe you wont need a reserve tank....heck im building my rig for one and i still dont have a rexerve tank.
also that 245 is crank hp, you probably maybe getting 190 at most to the terra. and with bigger tires you will get even less.

if you want 400 wheel hp youll want to build a 408 stroker or get a procharger. otherwise it will take an insane amount of $ and special parts to crank that much of of a 360. if you do boost or build a 408 you will need better casting heads. and head studs if you do boost. hemifever will be able to program you PCM if you go the forced induction route or if you build a 408.

if you dont want to drop 10 g's on your motor for a 408 or about 5 or so g's for a procharger then you wont get 400 rwhp but you can get a better cam, an airgap intake, better heads, 2.02 valves injectors(require a new PCM program that hemifever can do if you buy one of his SCT's), ceramic coated longtube headers, 3 inch mandrel bent y-pipe, the rest of the exhaust would need to be restriction free for the best performance

 

Oh my bad, the 33" tires.