I NOTICED MOST OF YOU HAVE 4X4'S AND OPINIONS WILL VARY ON THIS BUT HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE IF I REPLACE MY 295/75 16'S WITH A 295/60 OR 65.. WHEN I PUT THESE TALLER TIRES ON I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED A DRAIN IN THE LOW END POWER. THEY ARE PROBABLY THE WORST MISTAKE I INTENTIONALLY MADE YET. JUST ABOVE THE VOLANT CAI.
I WANT A CAM FOR MY TRUCK. BUT I DONT WANT IT TO INTERFERE WITH THE ECU OR CAUSE ANY OTHER PROBLEMS. WHAT CAM WILL GIVE ME THE MOST POWER WITHOUT KILLING ME SOMEWERE ELSE??
WOULD A SET OF ROLLER ROCKERS HELP ME ANY? IF SO HOW?

 

I have had similar questions on the topic of cams. I have talked with a lot of people. One of the most helpful was John Mercedes at SouthEastRT. He knows tons about building power in Rams. He basically recommended going with one of two directions to make some serious power. Here is the gist of what he told me over several e-mails and phone chats:

A) Go with a custom comp cam, ported R/T performance heads, headers, exaust, and bored TB. It's kinda pricey, and takes some custom tuning, but he said the guys with R/T's have seen upwards of 75hp increase by porting R/T performance heads and matching to a custom cam profile. He also recommended staying with 1.6 ratio rockers if you go with a cam. He said not to bother porting stock non R/T heads. They are thin wall castings prone to cracking, and he gave up on going them after doing several and not getting much results.

B) Stay with stock cam, but go with 1.7 rockers, M1 manifold, headers, exhaust, bored TB, and performance pcm. This yields really nice results for the price. You can also top off this setup with a Vortech blower if you can swing the $$$.

Lastly, no matter what you do, change your gears. These trucks are heavy and love the gears. Generally a nice increase in low end torque is seen from them. Go with at least 4.10, more if you like to run a larger tire.

We discussed a lot more, but this kinda sums it up. You should send him an e-mail at john@southeastrt.com. Tell him what you have, and what your goals are, and he will have some suggestions. He is friends with Dan Arcand aka the Fastman. There are also lots of people on this forum who have experimented with cams. They can probably be helpful too.

As for me, I am going with 1.7's, but probably not a blower. I'd rather put that on my Mustang.

 

Go with this setup. Bumping up the rocker ratio is like adding a mild cam to the vehicle. If you're dead set on a cam, Mopar should have a mild purple camshaft for your truck as well. Just remember, don't do a cam AND rockers. Do one or the other. Too much valve lift is not good. [:'(]

You could also add ported heads to this list. Maybe a 3 angle valve job. There's a lot you can do with heads. Just make sure you find a shop that knows what they're doing.

 

THANKS FOR THE ADVICE. IM REALLY GLAD I STUMBLED ACROSS THIS FORUM. I THINK I MIGHT GO WITH THE ROCKERS AND LEAVE IT AT THAT. IT SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT BE CHEAPER AND EASIER. IM DEFINATELY GETTING THE FASTMAN T/B HOW MUCH DO THOSE INTAKES RUN THOUGH??
THE SUPERCGARGER IS DEFINATELY A NO.. THATS JUST WAY TOO EXPENSIVE FOR ME.

 

Manifold: http://www.mopartsracing.com/parts/ram.html

Part# 5007398AB - $350 - Don't forget the install kit

Part# 5007852 if you're going to eliminate your EGR valve.

 

THANX FOR THOSE PART #'S AND PRICES.

 

Hey Reed... when you talked to john about the setups, were you guys talking about high hp or high tq?

from what you listed, most of it sounds more for high hp.

another thing worth mentioning is the use of Rhoads lifters... their new v-max lifter MAY be going in my motor before the end of the year. I'm still looking for a stock intake to put back on and once I have it, then the swapping will begin.

 

Well, John said they have used the 1.7/M1 setup (with blower mind you) for the heavier Ram trucks that get setup for mud bogging because they need the torque. That said, I've seen mud boggers, and they are usually making runs while maintaining really high rpm's, so I think this is a setup that produces more on the top end then the bottom (which is pretty consistent with just about everything else I have read about the M1 intake). My question would be whether this type of setup will actually hurt your low end torque, or if the bottom will stay the same, just more on the top end.

Tell you all what I will do. I have already decided to do the HS 1.7's (without the M1 or blower though, need more $$$ for that). I will take my truck down and have it dyno'ed before and after. I know I already have a modified setup compared to stock trucks (CAI, TB, headers, exhaust, gears, programmer), but it might be useful information none the less. Everyone says that 1.7's are the way to go, but I have seen few posts that actually detail the results after installation. So, give me a few weeks to do this, and I will keep you all posted along the way.

 

Another thought/question I had related to Steve's comments about top end versus low end when using the M1 intake. I've read that you can use a turtle in the M1 to take up space and prevent low end torque loss that is often seen with the M1. Would doing this also negate top end benefits that the M1 is known for? The reason I ask is because I think I want to improve my top end at this point more then my low end. I can pull all I ever need to from a stand still, but where I see problems is when I hit a hill, trans downshifts, and I am trying to accelerate at 40-55 mph and my engine is reving at mid to high rpms. My truck does not have a tachometer, so I can't give an exact RPM range, but it is not at all what I would call low end. If the M1 will help this, I might try it, but I don't want to sacrifice the low end torque I have managed to produce up to this point.

FYI, I ordered my 1.7's today, and some Mopar Magnum performance valve covers for looks (since I am going to have mine off anyway).

 

Reed, go get a 7x9" K&N filter and replace the cone one that is on your FIPK II kit. it will make a big enough difference to put a big *** grin on your face...! when I put mine on I lost a little bit of low end but gained quite a bit on the top end, enough to make me want to keep the 7x9 on there all the time.

Now with the ported kegger and the heads, I cant use it and keep decent low end torque. it screams on top, but the bottom suffers too much. hence the switch back to a stock kegger.