Well i have the homemade CAI that i decided to do just as a project to see how it came out, I like it, it was fun to make and it sounds good....sucks alot of air....i used a spectre dry filter. They are like $40 i think, you can use whatever filter you want...but if its looks you want under the hood i would go with the True Flow, i think the design is great and i think some on here have it. I have seen the volant and it looks good too and works well. Some have had good results out of the airaid tube but then some have made there own. The vararam is Bad *** i think its really different. Also i noticed you have a hood scoop, Is it stick on or just not cut out. if you have the $ and its a one piece hood, i would look into going directly into the TB. i cant remember the brand of kit but you cant get much better air than that. Also speaking of the TB a Fastman TB is an inexpensive add on that can help as well as make yourself a power wire, there are right ups about those.

As for Exhaust i have a Flowmaster 50 HD. i didnt do much research about how the Magnaflow provide the best performance for our trucks. So that being said and hind sigh is 20/20.....
But i do love the sound of my truck but i would sacrifice that for better performance. Now the cherrybomb extreme sounds AWESOME on the Hemi. Check out HammerZ71's posts and he has a nice vid along with shots of his gorgeous legs.....sry Hammer i had to LOL.......But Lxman (i think) has a truck similar to yours and he added the SS catback magnaflow kit, installed it himself and LOVES it. I have always liked Borla products, just not the money for them and always have found deals on other things. I got my Flowmaster for $50 brand new....also keep in mind Fm now offers SS mufflers in all of there models or at least almost all of them.

As for the tuner, i have a superchips, i got mine off of ebay for a steal, but mine was specifically for an 03 Hemi, and since there are no trans options for that year on the other models i was ok with it...but i love it, i will never have another truck or suv without one. Some swear by the Diablo, and they are good but i think they shine with more custom setup....but i could be wrong...either way get a tuner....and like i said you can save some good money on ebay....just doubl, triple, quadrule check that the tuner is NOT vin locked.

 

Pacesetter's are cheaper and are well used with these trucks and they put out about the same performance gains as the ones that cost a grand more if not better. If you do not have an inspection I would absolutely go with the longtubes as you dont have any reason not to. Just be sure to get the ceramic coated ones and not the painted or you'lll run into rust issues later on. Also look into their Y pipe as well as it will all bolt right up to one another and you an do it in your driveway.

For muffler's, aside from getting a good performance muffler, its all about what sounds good to you. I love the soundof the LT's + XR-1 it sounds amazing. But thats my preference. They do cost a bit more than most of the others though. Just look around for one you like, just remeber though that the tone of the exhaust after the muffler is installled will change with certain mods like the CAI and headers. Both of them will change the tone of the exhaust so look for someone with the same or similar setup that you want and try and find a clip of thier exhaust.

If you go with the long tubes though you absolutely need to get a programmer as well as you will need to get some more fuel in there so you don't run to lean and get a lot of KR. I'd stick with either superchips or diablo and not even bother with the others, the more you research the less you will find people running with that tuner and the edge tuner. If you are planning on doing a big cam and more big ticket items you will need to get some custom tuning done and in that case you should go with the DSP/trinity for now as they are the only tuner out there right now other than SCT that can do a custom tune (SCT can only custom tune certain years though) and you can adjust the fuel trims usuing it along with a multitude of other items. If the headers is about it for now as far as major mods go then go with the superchips programmer as they have a sweet transmision setup setup out now. Only thing with the superchips and LT's is that you are going to need to pick up a 180* stat and do the powerwire mod as well to get the added fuel in there. Personallly I have the DSP and I like it but I am also doing a cam swap in a while so I needed something to run it. But if and when superchips gets with the game and produces a tuner that will do custom tuning I will be swapping back.

 

I'm taking my Honda in for the E-check tomorrow morning, and I will specifically ask them about just what they are looking for when they hold the mirror under the vehicle. I think that they're only looking for the presence of the cats and O2 sensor, and not where it's located. I don't think that they're concerned if it's moved back 8 or 10 inches. But I don't know for certain.

Be advised though that the answer I get will probably only apply to this area (Hamilton county, TN). Different states and counties could well have different requirements.

It's important to me because I want to go with long tubes myself, but I don't want to end up removing them next July and reinstalling the factory manifolds to pass the e-test.

 

Check and see if you are in a CARB requried state or ask them. That will also tell you what you can go with. I know here they just plug into the OBDII port and thats it so I dont know what they look for while doing an inspection.

 

again..thanks a bunch guys. as i said my entire exhaust is shot. it was all aftermarket crap. Rust cancer everywhere. so i splurged and went with the stainless borla cat back set up. i'm pumped to get it. actually anyone looking amazon has a few left at $621.66 with free shipping which is like $300 off normal price not including the shipping savings. i think i'm sold on the Vararam hemi set up. it looks cool and seems like it will do what i want. found a good price on it too marylandspeed.com has them for $298 and free shipping. haven't ordered it yet but i will. by the way cjs4444 to answer your question from what i was told the hemi sport package was a dealer add on so the ground effects, the stickers on the bed, and the hood scoop were all put on at the dealership and the hood scoop is a stick on. i know...not my thing really but i still liked the truck. they could charge more money for the truck that way. anyway, now that i've advertised for other sites i have a few questions. whats your opinion on leaving the cat placement and just buying a delete pipe for it and just swapping them for emissions once a year? again in illinois they just hook it up under the dash and let it idle for awhile. but my luck they would start nosing around and i would end up screwed.

 

I know for certain that they hold a mirror up under the car to see what's under there, but I don't think that the testers in our area have the knowledge to know exactly where the cats need to be. I think that it's only a check to see if they're there.

I think that they're minimally-trained drones. They look underneath with the mirror, plug in the computer, turn the key and check the idiot lights, then start the car and let the computer do it's thing. Then shut it off. Oh, and some time during that test, they check the gas cap for leakage. All that for $10.

Funny thing is, I can get plates on line, but I still have to go get the e-test. Where's the time savings there?

 

Borla's good. I had a Borla on my Escape - put it on in 2003, and it was still fine last month when I sold the car. And that includes 1, almost 2 northern Ohio winters with corrosive road salt.

 

IF you want to go all stainless you should look into dynatech headers. They have a long tube header system that includes cats and y pipe, all 304 stainless. Then you will never have to worry about it rusting out.

I have a vararam and I like. However, some people are not happy with the quality of it. It IS made of PLASTIC. The hoses are very similar to dryer hoses, just a little heavier. The bracket is cheap metal. The one side rests on the windsheild washer fluid bottle. The front scoop is the cheapest looking part of all, but can be hidden like mine. I just wanted to warn you about this before you order the vararam. In my opinion the performance is worth it.

Here is the bumper insert that I have and it hides the cheap scoop nicely.

 

Hey 04 looks like you and Glass have alot in common....he seems to have alot of the things you are looking to add. That was good news about the Vararam, i was wondering how nice of quality it is.

 

It pays to talk to your local e-test authority, if you live in a place that does the test. I spoke with the tester today while the Honda got its test. They do look under the vehicle with a mirror, but they are only looking to make sure that the catalytic converter(s) is still there and is connected to the exhaust. I mentioned headers to him, and he reiterated that as long as the converter is there, is connected, and the vehicle passes the e-test (no CEL, no bad codes), it's fine.

So, it looks like long-tubes are in my future!