Hello Guys

I have a 2003 with the 5.7 Hemi and I would like a bit more pulling power and just a bit more zip in general . I am all ears on what has worked the best for you guys .

- Is there a programmer like the diesel trucks have that works for the hemi's

Thank you for any input

 

If you can swing some new gears, that will give you the biggest improvement in towing as the hemi needs to rev a bit to generate its power. Bring your revs at cruising speed up a few hundred RPMS and you'll be reaching a lot more of your ponies and most importantly the torque #. Tuners will help you tweak your shift points etc to give you that extra feel of zip around town and most of the big gains with bolt on add-ons come in at revs higher than you want to be towing at, and even at that, we might be talking about 10-20HP and nothing like diesel gains.

 

Thanks for the reply

I was really curious about programmers and what kind of gains could be had - Is it worth getting one

 

You have a 2003 - you won't be able to change any tranny parameters, only engine parameters. To me, this kinda makes the tuner cost too much for the benefits.

An e-fan, intake and exhaust will provide some small improvements. Gears will help the off-line jump, but if you spend a lot of time on the interstate, your highway mileage will drop. Stop-and-go mileage may improve. Your ROI will be a long way down the road, though.

 

For towing/hauling, gears by far are your best bet, even though your TQ and HP numbers won't change.

The '03 is kinda the red-headed step-child and as such none of the programmers do it justice, although there are some modest HP/Torque gains, just nothing for the tranny. I'd do the TMR mod first and foremost because it offers a pretty good seat of the pants boost and IT'S FREE.

If you are going to get into serious power adders then I'd swap out the valve springs to at least the '04+ springs or even the 6.1 springs. The '03 has weak springs from the factory...

 

So basically I am very limited as far as chips or programmers . Sorry but what is the TMR mod

 

Gears...

 

It's a mod that basically deletes torque management only available to '03 Hemi owners. It's one of the features that we pay $300 for a tuner to be able to do on '04+ Hemi trucks.

Torque management is the amount of built in "slip" in the transmission for a more car like ride, but it sacrifices shift firmness.

Do a search here and in the '03 Hemi owners club section, it's discussed about daily among '03 owners.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...elete-mod.html

 

I read the TMR mod thread and it sounds interesting - thank you