im looking into doing some mods to my 02 2500 5.9 i found the page for cheap or free v8 upgrades but i was looking into either the hypertech tuner or a cold air intake. any suggestions

 

I would get the Hypertech first, because the truck's computer will just relearn stock settings after a while with a CAI with not programmer. I have a Hypertech and a truck that had the death flash, and the difference is like night and day. The programmer is the best investment i have made so far, my next will probably a round air filter.

 

i was considering the hypertech but i was told theres a good chance that my truck will start pinging like crazy and ive read some reports of people noticing no difference at all.im looking for gains mainly for towing. what are you gains after the tuner??and i hear that alot about the cold air intakes or most mods being relearned by the pcm so what your telling me is if i buy a k&n filter it will be useless

 

If your looking for good gains for towing, a fastman 50mm throttle body will net you some pretty decent power gains. Hypertech tuners are great but combined with the wrong mods can lead to some pretty significant pinging problems. There's a few simple thing's you need to due to maximize the gains from the Hypertech tuner. (1) Good gas. Personally I prefer 94 Octane Chevron. It's never let me down even when doing some pretty heavy-duty towing and hauling through the mountains over here in B.C. (2) Good plugs. Nothing platinum or iridium or kryptonite or whatever they're coming out with these days. Buy copper-tipped plugs and preferably plugs that have a slightly cooler rating than oem. Autolite 3923's have taken on a bit of a cult following around the forum and I've had great success. (3) A 180 degree thermostat is one of the cheapest mods you can do to help prevent pinging. Your engine will slightly cooler and richer, keeping those detonation demons at bay. As for a cold air intake, before you drop $200 on a K&N, check out this post regarding a simple and cheap 3"x14" air filter. http://https://dodgeforum.com/m_613741/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm