I am extremely new to the truck world. I own a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 with the 4.7L engine. It is an automatic with the factory tow package. Wanted a hemi but could not find one i my price range. I have owned the truck for about 1 1/2 yrs now. The truck currently has 216k miles on it, and still runs like a champ. The engine was replaced about 60k miles ago with a Jasper replacement motor. I am trying to find where I can find cheap easy mods to make my truck more powerful as well as better for pulling an enclosed trailer with a race car inside. Tow mirrors would be a great start, as well as the best air intake system...thinking of replacing my hood for an SRT hood, would love a true ram air system. Also want to know the best exhaust system out there for this truck. Trying to save on gas as well lol. Nerf Bars are something else I am looking into buying, but not sure which company ranks the highest. I have experience modding cars, but trucks seem so much different to me. Thanks for all the help!

 

Most of the things you are asking about such as CAI, exhaust and nerf bars are going to get you a countless number of suggestions because some people have good luck with a certain company and another person will have a terrible experience with the same company and some are just loyal to certain ones so you are going to get bias responses for those. As for more power you'll want to look into an e-fan, gears, a tuner, CAI/exhaust combo, and headers. Those are the "cheapest" mods to do for starters. I'm sure I'm missing some things right now but others will chime in

 

Yeah...I kind of thought about the Nerf Bars, intake, and exhaust after I asked the question. Still want to hear what people say, as I only know race performance parts, which do absolutely no good on a truck. I have always heard straight pipes are the best, but do not what size diameter to get. My Supra had a 3.5" racing exhaust on it which was perfect for the amount of hp it had. You have parts for offroading, street performance, and everything else with trucks, which is why I became a member to help me build the correct truck for what I need, while only replacing parts as they wear out. The tow mirrors are big, because I personally have never seen anyone upgrade that. I have heard it being done on here, but no companies or sites were mentioned. I am currently working with Mishimoto to become sponsored by them again, and should get 2 electric fans, among other cooling parts to replace the ones that currently are in my truck. What gears would you recommend for what I am doing? Have never used a tuner, but know there are a bunch out there. The reason for the intake question is on my race car I have a true cold air intake. On trucks I have heard a true ram air is the best way to go, but want something that has been tested and proven rather than go out on a limb. A CAI/exhaust package would be great but have had no luck finding one, or at least a good one. I want to replace my exhaust from my headers back, but again hard to find for the 4.7L. Everything I find seems to be for the 5.9 or Diesel motors. Thanks for the help, and anything more you could give me would be appreciative!

 

I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone makes full length headers for the 4.7 but there are some shorty's available. Biggest chocke point on these factory exhaust systems is the damn Y pipe. You might get some gains just replacing that with something good, like say a Magnaflow Y piece. I am assuming you have 3.92 gears, so as mentioned upgrading (to 4.56's) would be a big help. I know my QC weighs 5300lbs & its 2wd, yours will be heavier with 4wd. That being said, it will be pretty pricey to get both of your diffs upgraded. The 08+ heads I have heard will not work with the older engines, but HO cams will. The 08+ intake manifold is also supposed to give some impressive gains, you will need the adapter that comes with it to use your original throttle body. You can also get bored out TB's for this engine as well. The 4.7 in the Ram after 2008 was rated at 310hp, with some of these mods and some good custom tuning (big piece of the puzzle here) you should be able to make some decent power.

 

Ok...well the gears would be nice to get, as I know that will help. Would it be better to possibly look into swapping a Hemi motor into my truck? If so which year would be recommended? I have read posts on here about swapping motors, and it seems the 05's and 06's have the best motors, as long as the 06's dont have the coil packs. How would this improve my tow capability? I do know that the Hemi motors have way more parts available for tuning...and would love to get one that has the engine step down for highway driving if the power isnt needed to save gas. Thanks for all the help! Should I go to Dodge to order the 2500 tow mirrors, or is there another place to get them cheaper?

 

The 03 might be a little bit more challenging to swap an older Hemi into but I know it can be done forsure. You just need all the wiring harnesses and the PCM that go with it. As for the year I would say find an 05 because it doesn't have MDS like the 06-08 motors and tuning wise it's the most tunable. I have MDS in my 08 and as soon as I get my tuner this week I'm disabling it