Alright, I love my 318, this thing is a hoss! But, with just under 300,000 miles, I can tell that it is a little lacking in it original performance. Well, as soon as I finish my car, the truck is going to be restored and upgraded. Here are some of the different thigs I've been looking at doing, let me know which you think would be the most effective.

Last night I found a bolt-on supercharger kit that gives a 45-55% horsepower increase, and I have seen a twin-turbo setup for the same price ($3500) that promisses 650 horsepower at the rear wheels! Now, in my opinion, the twin turbo would be the way to go there. What do you think? (Oh, and I don't do it regularly, but I do tow quite a load every once in a while.)

Along with the turbo or supercharger, I figured a nice set of 360 heads would help everything breath a little easier. A cold air induction setup would help too, plus, it would just look cool. As we all know, cooler engines run better, so I plan on making a custom ram-air hood with vents that allows air to be drawn in the front and pass through the top of the hood to keep it all cooler. Hi-po plugs, 8mm wires, and MSD ignition system, a programmer to tweak all the settings. Sound like a decent plan to you guys?

Ok, next idea: Six-speed tranny. I know that they make aftermarket versions of the 727-B that come as six-speeds (They replace the valve-boby and clutches.) Are there any applications for a six-speed 904? (I think that they call an A48-E now or something like that, but it is a 904 with electronics.) Is a six-speed gonna help me any, or would it just be a "for show" type deal? Any performance or mileage gains? I guess that would depend on the gear selection wouldn't it? Ok, well, anyway, new tranny for the truck. If nothing else, a complete rebuild and upgrade of the current tranny, and the addition of a seperate tranny cooler to keep it all running better.

OK, now, this is by far the biggest idea of all, and is very possible and wouldn't cost much as I already have the hardware sitting under my house: 440 cubic inches of American Muscle (drools)! Now, I know I can't expect much on the MPG side of things, but the stock torque and HP of the good ol' 440 is incredible. Edelbrock makes a MPI system for Mopar big blocks now, of course, it's about $3K and that would be one thing I want. And if the twin turbo setup on the 318 can make 650HP for about that same price that the 440 would make about 500, I think the turboed 318 would be the way to go. No engine swap, and no loss of economy. The 440 would be killer, but I think that the best way to go is with the 318 for now. Maybe a 440 build up later on when I get more money and time and, well, a second truck even (Haha!) and can devote it to that project. But just think about the possibilities of a twin-turboed, MPI 440 sitting under the hood... Talk about a Lightening Killer...

So what do you think? I'm leaning toward the turbo over the supercharger, a complete rebuild of the engine (rings, bearings, gaskets, etc.) including upgrading to a set of 360 heads. Or should I even do that? I mean, is that just asking for trouble? This engine doesn't smoke, ping, knock, or anything like that, I still get great fuel milage (Great for a truck...), and aside from the tranny slipping a little (which a few hours and a rebuild kit would take care of easily), nothing is wrong. Is it worth the rebuild? If I don't rebuild it, and I still turbo it, what is that going to cuase? Let me know what you think. This project is going to happen, hopefully soon, as in within the next few months, but it might not happen for sometime. It depends on a few other factors, but it doesn't hurt to get opinions and do research now... So let me know what you think. If you have anysuggestions, let me know.

 

i really think rm-indy is the fella you need to converse with..seeing he runs impressive numbers on the 1/4 with his ram 360. his site http://rm-indy.com is impressive to say the least...

 

your going to put some nice forged pistons in right? and put roller rockers? and i think the 318 will have just as bad of mpg as the 440 if you turbo it. you should get a 5 speed and be done with the auto tranny crap to.

 

Unless your 318 gets a lot better mileage than mine, 12, I wouldn't worry about that part. I would stick with the 318 if you plan to use this as a daily driver. Also keep in mind that if you put the 440 in it, and you happen to live or move somewhere that does emission testing, you might have a problem getting it to pass. The above mentioned site for RM indy is a good one, also you might get in touch with Dan the fastman Arcand at www.thefastman.com He is very knowledgeable and great to talk with.

 

300,000 miles, i would say that motor is gettin a little tired, almost 180,000 on mine, I average 8 MPG on my 5.9 so when I do my restore, I'm going with the 408...456 HP/ 499 TQ and an APS tranny, if I'm driving it at 8mpg, WTF the difference if its 6. We have alot of Hemi drivers in this area some of which are friends of mine, should be a pleasant surprise when I get it done.

 

Wow - Even with 300,000 miles, oversized wheels and tires on 3.55:1s and a worn out tranny, I'm still averaging 15-16 mpg... I get around 20 on extended highway trips if I can just cruise for a while and not have to keep adjusting the throttle... Also, I thought that turbos gave you a boost in fuel economy? That's what my research has shown... And as far as emmisions goes with the 440, if it is properly tuned and running correctly, it will be no worse than any other application... And I could always buy a computer controll module and wire it in to the MPI system. They do this on Freightliner trucks (Another D/C brand.) They generally come with a 600HP Detriot Diesel, which notoriously have the best emmisions readings. Well, that is because the readings are taken within the first 5 seconds of start-up for Class 8 diesels, and for those first 5 seconds, the computer is allowing only the absoluteminimum amount of fuel to be pumped into the engine. Then it goes back to normal, so you keep all your power, without having to even come close to the emissions limits... Neat trick, huh? I could do something like that for the 440 if I needed it pass emissions, but I live in East Texas, and we don't have them here; not yet anyway...

As a sidenote, those Detriots still do great on emissions. They far surpass Cat and Cummins. J.B. Hunt did a study too, and found that they can consistantly achieve 7 mpg (a great average for a Class 8 diesel) at speeds of up to 62 mph, so to cut down on their fuel costs, all their trucks are governed at that speed. Brand new '06 models have been increased to a max of 67 since the newer engines are now more efficient. It is ironic to me why Dodge doesn't use the Detroit engines. They make a Cummins look like crap - both with performance and ease of maintainance - and we all know how favored those are amongst us... Detriot is slowing being phased out of the Class 6 and Class 7 trucks thought, a new Mercedes engine is taking it's place... They are basically the same, except for a slightly more advanced valve system on the Mercedes. I hate to say it, but I expect that the Cummins is headed out, and the Mercedes is headed in... Not anytime too soon, but probably with the next redesign... Say '09, perhaps?

 

You will never get 650 Hp at the wheels by bolting on a supercharger or a twin turbo. You would have to do some other mods besides that, 650 hp would be almost a 300% increase in hp for a stock 318-not gonna happen. The superchargers are rated at 45% to 55% for a reason-reliability on a stock magnum motor. A rebuilt stock bottom end will grenade on you at 650 horsepower, you'd be better off to buy a seasoned short block rebuilt for forced induction[different rods,pistons and crank] if thats what your set on doing, the 318 and 360 use the same heads so you could pick up some performance heads for it, but to run the psi your looking at to achieve that amount of hp you would need to run mls gaskets and have the cylinder heads o-ringed [expensive, r/t supercharged heads + 0-ring option = $2900 at KRC] unless you have an affinity for replacing head gaskets. The motor will probably not be any good for towing purposes when its done either. The stock trans will not last with that type of hp or torque -even after a rebuild- you will need a built up trans for that. If it was me,I would just put a 408 in it if you want more power, you could still tow and have a streetable truck and it would cost you less in the long run + eliminate a lot of headaches,or buy an older well taken care of Power Wagon that came with the 440 and fix it up. I believe it is also a federal law that you can not replace an emmision equiped vehicle/motor with an older non-emmisioned motor, atleast here in Utah that is the case, unless it is strictly used at the track.Good luck with the project.

 

well, I don't know whether or not you couldn't get 650rwhp, but that's what was claimed and the website had dyno readings to prove it, but at the moment, i can't remeber the link. I will go through my favs and try to find it. But, we all know that if it's on the net it's the truth right? haha. my truck is rated at 220hp, so 650hp is about a 200% increase... And I don't know about the 904, but I know the 727 could handle that kind of power, and I happen to have one of those in the small block A model at my house, so if nothing else, I've got a tranny there... It's not electronic, but it's stronger and it's the same gearing (or very similar atleast)... anyway, turbochargers put out hp, not so much torque... why do you think turbo cars stall then surge away in races? nothing on the low end for two reasons... they boost mostly hp, not torque, and there is a limited air and exhaust flow when a vehichle is not moving... And yes, if I go with the twin turbo setup, all of the rings and gaskets will be upgraded... I wouldn't put that much stress on bearings and seals that have almost 300,000 miles on them! same goes for the tranny.. which i did talk about in the original post...

as for the 408, why? if i'm going to go with a new motor, why not the 440? I already have it... and if I buy a crate motor, why not buy a 528 Indy Race Hemi for a few K more and go all out! haha, what a thrill that would be! no, the 408 isn't for me...

and as far as i know, it is legal to put any motor into any vehichle, but, anything newer than 1967 must have mufflers, and anything newer than 198-something must have cats (or atleast appear to ;D ). Basically, if you put an older motor in a new car, that is fine, but it still has to meet the newer cars requirements... I could put a '69 426 Race Hemi in my '95 Dodge Intrepid and it would be perfectly legal so long as I had cats and muffs. We don't have emissions testing here yet, so i wouldn't have to worry about that... i would have to worry about how i'm going to keep the nose off the ground though with that setup, haha! (that was all hypothetical - a hemi 'trep would be nice, but a '69 Hemi in a '95 'trep is way too much trouble for me right now, haha!)

one of the main reasons i'm leaning toward the 318 over the 440 is the weight... the 318 is much, much lighter, so i will get better fuel economy and have a better power/weight ratio... the back end is light enough as it is, and adding more weight to the front will only help to make it worse... i have a 4x2, not a 4x4... i need to be able to keep some weight on the rear.... burn outs are fun, but doing them constantly with no effort or intention would be crazy... also, the reason i am leaning toward the turbo over the supercharger is that superchargers actually take power to make power... they are belt driven, by the engine, which is more resistance, which means more work, which means less power... turbos take advantage of wasted energies and don't rob the engine of any power... a turbo is more efficient... there is not as much power at the bottom end or when going slow, but a small electric fan placed in front of the turbo would fix that... also, it is recommended that supercharged vehichles not be used for towing... there is nothing wrong with towing with a turbo... there is one thing i have considered doing with a supercharger though... take a high-torque electric motor (like a starter, for instance) and have it actually spin the supercharger.. basically it would be and electronic superchager... i know a starter can't be spun for very long or it freezes, but a simliar motor with high torque like that would work great... this would place more of a demand on the charging system, but with an upgraded alternator, nothing would be effected. the engine already has to spin the alternator anyway, boosting it's output wouldn't cause any power loss... but i still favor the turbo over the supercharger for this application... and just being able to say that you have twin turbos is a pleasantry in itself....

oh, and to address reliability of the magnum motors; i can't speak for the 360, but the 318 will take beating and keep on going... over have of the vehicles in my family have them, and atleast 3, including mine, have almost, if not over 300,000 miles on them and they still run and tow excellently... the magnum motors hold up great if you service them like you are supposed to... you can beat the mess out of them, but as long as you keep putting in new oil, changing all the filters, keeping up with other routine service, they won't give you a problem... the biggest thing that happened to me was a water pump going out after the bearing froze... i still have excellent compression too... if i remember, anything over 110 is acceptable, most of mine were around 160, the lowest at 145, the highest at 165... not bad for 300,000 miles! these engines are very, very reliable, especially the 318... and no one can convince me otherwise on that...

 

The 318 will get close to the same milage if you stay out of the boost. There are huge differences in quality of turbo kits, some are just thrown together and the buyer ends up making it fit. I would do lots of research!

 

The hell with the 440...go with a 488 (V10)! That's my suggestion! Slap the blower kit on there with a few other mods and a built tranny from DTT (built for 600hp/600tq and beyond diesels), and you'd be good to go. [8D]