Hi,

I recently traded my 2001 Ram with a 5.9 in on a 2003 4 door with a 5.9. The issue I have is that the new truck seems to have significantly less low end power with slower throttle response than my old truck with the exact same motor. It also gets a little worse fuel mileage. Is there a simple explanation for this? Did Dodge detune the vehicles? Also, will a dealership reprogram the PCM?

I used to be able to spin the tires fairly easily on my old truck. This truck seems to lay down off the start. You punch the throttle and it takes it's sweet time putting the power down. Any thoughts would be great. I am comparing both vehicles with stock equipment, no mods.

 

It does feel sluggish.
I have a 2002 5.9L quad cab too....it is definatley underpowered and a gas hog. (I get about 12mpg[:@])(220 miles to 1 full tank of fuel[:@])
Mine had the 17" stock wheels. I swapped them for the factory 20" wheels and changed the gearing to 4.10's....it runs better this way and can maintain its speed going over overpasses.

I guess that is why they came out with the Hemi[>:]

I wish I bought the Cummins Deisel[&o]

 

...I was wondering how the older Dodge Rams did with the 5.9L
I regret buying this truck....but I do love they way it looks

 

I was always under the impression that with some mods, the 5.9L V8 could really crank out the power. You might try taking a test drive in a new Ram with the 4.7L and find out if that truck pulls any better than your 5.9L. If your 4.7L pulls stronger, then something might be off with your truck because the 5.9L should still be stronger (stock).

The guys in the 2nd Gen forum might be able to help you get more power/efficiency out of your engine as most of their trucks have the 318 and 360. Also, I didn't look it up but 3rd Gens might be a little heavier than the 2nd Gens.

 

well the difference in the 4.7 and 5.9 is not that big, the 4.7 stats if i remember right are 230hp and 300ft/lbs torque.. the 5.9 is 245hp and 330ft/lbs torque.. thats not a huge difference in the numbers between the two for 1.2L...so were talking about 15hp and 30ft/lbs and the 5.9 is 1.2 bigger thats not a great trade off for such small numbers, no the 5.9 is probably a bigger block and probably does have some more weight than the 4.7 , i know the 4.7 has aluminum heads(i think im correct) and OHC drivin, im not putting down the 360 but i have seen some crazy 360's before you may want to look into stroking it or something?? the slower responce is probably from drive by cable it wants to give you a smooth acceleration, where as when we had the throttle cable it was almost instant, i dont konw if the 2001 had drive by cable or not?