Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum, at least posting-wise. I've read a lot of the different topics and whatnot, but I just made the move to create a user account. As I said in my New User Post, I have the 2011 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi. It's red and completely stock. I have a lot I'd like to do to it, but I'd be happy to hear what everyone thinks on the different areas I'm looking to change; who likes what, who doesn't like what, what's good, what's crap, etc. I'm sure there have been previous threads concerning this, but I can't find them, so I'll take the "do some work, look for the threads" responses like a man. Haha! Anyway, here goes...

1. Lift - Ideally I'd like to go with a 4" lift. I don't really want to go the hockey puck route, I'd like to do it right, but at the same time NOT break the bank on this. I've seen where the MOPAR lift (Superlift) is priced very, what I would call, outrageously high. I'd like something that will keep my CV joints as close to how they are now.

2. Wheels - I've looked numerous places, both on the forum, and on different websites, including Dodge's website, and I can't for the life of me find out what the backspacing is on the stock 20" wheels. I want to go aftermarket, and smaller, but without knowing BS, I can't even start to look. Ideally I'd like to get something that kicks them outside the wheel wells as well. I'm looking at going to a 35" tire as well.

3. Exhaust - I'm not telling anyone anything they don't know when I say that the 2011 Ram's don't have a true dual. I'm going to try to stay as close to what is there as I can, at least for the time being, unless I find that because of what I want, changing it is the best bet. I want something louder, throatier (is that even a word?), and sounds like a truck should, but I don't want much (if any) cab resonance. Any opinions?

4. CAI - Who is getting the best bang for the buck?

5. Tuner - No clue where to go in this direction, I've never used one on any of my previous vehicles.

I guess I should say that my ultimate end-game is to have a truck that looks good, because let's face it, even though the new Rams are nice, they sit a little too low for what a lot of us like. I don't plan on doing too much/any hardcore wheeling in it, more along the lines of cruising some trails (low to moderate difficulty), and cruising the sand dunes (no sand drags, no ***** to the wall, no jumps). I just want something that looks good and can back it up if need be. I appreciate everyone's help and opinions on this matter, and sorry if I've rambled.

 

1. Lift- Look around. There are several options from Mopar to Rough Country.

2. Wheels- Factory back spacing is 0. So around area and you'll be fine. Bolt pattern is 5x5.5

3. Exhaust- Pick your poison. Depends on if you like the baffled sound or the glass pack sound. General rule of thumb is that the longer the muffler, the quieter it is, and the shorter the muffler, the louder. FM 50 series is reported to not drone in these trucks, but again, it's a highly personal choice.

4. CAI- Pick your poison again. You aren't going to see tire shredding results out of a different air cleaner. For the best bang for the buck though, I'd be leaning towards S&B which is a company making products just like Volant's, but at half the cost.

5. Depends on where you want to go later with the truck. If you never ever plan on tearing into the motor in terms of a stroker kit, head upgrade, headers, cam, and or forced induction, then Superchips will be the better option for you since they only offer canned tuning at this point and time. Should you feel that you will indeed be adding new hardware to the motor later, then you need to be looking at Diablo for a tuner. It does basically the same thing that Superchips does, but it also packs in the ability to support custom tuning which is something you would need to take full advantage of major engine upgrades. Both cost about the same with the Diablo usually being a little higher. In a factory 5.7 motor, the SC tuner will produce a higher HP and TQ gain than a Diablo tuner will. This is only comparing can tunes though.


EDIT: Just checked and at this point and time, S&B is NOT supporting the 2009-2011 Ram 1500 trucks, so that is an out. People here seem to like the Mopar CAI and the AFE kit with Volant dropping in there along the way.

 

I'd get the KORE Lift, 17" wheels with 4.5" BS, 35" ProComp Xtreme All Terrain Tires, the AEM CAI (same as Mopar for less $$$) and the 18" Mufflex Muffler. I'd stay away from tuners as they can void your warranty.

 

My two cents are to leave the truck as is.

Chrysler spent hundreds of millions developing the truck. It's a great truck in pretty much every regard. It's plenty powerful, sits nice and high already, and downright luxurious inside, especially for a truck. No, it's not as high as a 2500, but then again, it's just as high as an F-150 (but not an F-250), all of which make Dakotas/Rangers/whatever look like they're on the ground.

The accepted view in the trade is that all the go-faster mods and such devalue the truck, because when it gets traded, they have to rip it all out again and put it back to stock, which costs money. In general, mods are personal taste, and it's unlikely the next owner will share the taste of the first. For that reason, dealerships rectify most mods. The exceptions being things like conservative aluminum wheels vice steel ones.

For my money, I'd either have bought a blinged up truck in the first place, or spend the money on something really worthwhile, like taking the wife on that trip she's been asking about. We have two Laramies (in different colors), and the neighbor across the street has a white Sport. All three trucks look great, and the only mods on any of them are tonneau covers.

Just my 2 cents, and many on here have a different view, but you did ask for the input...

 

I agree with you to some extent.

You are totally right that Chrysler is going to put WAY more time and money into developing the vehicle the right way, than ANY aftermarket company ever will.

At the same time, though, Chrysler is making a vehicle designed to appeal to the most people possible - meaning lower engine noise, lower emissions, and (especially in these newer trucks) lower wind resistance to equal slightly better mileage (lower ground clearance).

Having said that, I would never get a tuner, because there is no way I would risk my lifetime warranty. I do have an aFe CAI because they take about 2 minutes to put on or take off. The rest is pretty much personal preference - definitely go for a suspension lift, though, not a leveler or body lift - WAY too many accounts of possible CV damage on here for me to risk it (be that's just me).

 

That's all fine and well for people who plan on trading the truck off in two or three years, but for people who plan on having these trucks for years or until they wear them out, your advice has issues. I knew going into this truck that I'll likely have it for at least seven years and maybe longer than that, so why wouldn't I want to get it where I want it when I'm going to have to own it that long?

Also, buying a," Blinged up truck" from the factory is laughable to me. Not one single truck is manufactured today that is 100% the way I want it. Hell, I would be hard pressed to find any vehicle that's even 75% the way I want it. Besides, half the fun in owning a vehicle is making it yours. Doing things that make people look at it and wonder what's different about it from the other trucks they see. That has a lot to do with it.

As for the claim about AM accessories and hardware not being tested as "strictly" By in large, I would usually agree with you, but items such as lift kits, tuners, and like modifications have been around longer than these trucks and by in large, our drive train has not changed since 2003. It's the same motor attached to the same transmission with minor tweaks being made along the way. Yes, on these trucks, buying a tuner is a bit questionable considering that there are some people reporting their engine hours being reset when they flash their ECM, but once again, if you know what you're doing and not just relying on what someone says, then you will rarely have an issue. I can certainly understand how easy it is to just sit back and be spoon fed answers and go about your life, but if you don't research what you're trying to get into, you will be likely to see the negative in something and go on your happy way.


All that said, yes certain mods can and will increase the cost of ownership for your vehicle. It's an easy concept to understand. I know that if I lift a truck, I can expect increased wear on the drive line, suspension, and front end steering components. I know that if I increase the bore and stroke on a motor, that I can expect the overall life of that engine to not last as long. I can expect that when I change a cam shaft that I will be increasing the travel of rods and valves and that I will be wearing them out quicker. HOWEVER, most companies out there will have their own warranties, and their own replacement procedures that will keep your covered. I know of an admin here on this forum who had a ball joint fail on his 2004 Ram. He is running a Rancho lift and replacing parts like that is to be expected. What wasn't expected was that he wasn't charged for the replacement part even after he'd been running the lift for several years. Granted, he was not dealing with Chrysler either.


I guess what just set me off here is that I'm picking up a vibe that basically says: "IF Chrysler didn't do it from the factory, THEN you don't need to be doing it either" No that this is just limited to one specific brand. insert what ever brand you want and roll with it. It would be like me saying," Don't run any kind of tire other than the factory Good Year tires found on your truck because that's what Chrysler decided to use.". It makes no sense to me.

 

I have a 4" BDS lift on my truck, it's awesome. It gets me to places I know I couldnt go with it stock. I use it to pack in a couple jumps on our MX practice track, 4strokes really tear it up quick... Cheaper than buying a tractor. 4.5" backspacing will work with basically any lift as well as stock height, stock is 5-1/4" backspacing, so they stick out 3/4" more.

I have some of the other stuff still to do that is on your list. Lift went on first, and I'm content with how it is setup. I had some unexpected medical bills last year, otherwise I'd have more done.

 

Hey thanks everyone for your quick responses so far. Great opinions! I guess I should be more clear, I do NOT plan on getting rid of this truck anytime soon. If I did, I wouldn't even consider doing any of these things to it, aside from maybe a CAI, since it's such a quick on-off thing. I plan on keeping this truck for a long time, so anything I do will not be a waste of time or money. The whole power thing is not a huge deal to me, as we know these Hemi's are putting out pretty good power right out of the showroom. Also, like I said, I'm not looking to do any hardcore wheeling with it. I agree with both ideas, keeping it the same, and making it my own. I want people to look at my truck and see that it's different, but not so different that they don't know it's a Dodge. Anyway, thanks again to those who have replied so far, I'm still looking and shopping around, but I will keep you all updated.

Just found this on another thread, but is it true that the smallest wheel I can run on this truck is going to be a 17" based on the size of the rotors? Please advise! Thanks!

 

I'm not sure I expressed myself well, if that's what you picked up from my post.

To be clear, my position is that Chrysler invested well, let's just call it a "shedload" of money in the truck's development, and will have optimized everything so far as possible, in order to produce the most capable truck with the widest appeal. They will have tried different engine maps, different gear ratios, different materials yadda yadda until they got to the point of the 2009 1500. The fact they got it so right is evidenced by the very minimal differences between the three model years the 4th gen has been produced. They produced the best 1500-class truck that's ever been made. Newer F-150s come close, but not quite to the same level, and certainly don't have Mr HEMI on their side, nor coil springs.

Now with that as the background, ie I'm driving a fantastic truck the minute I drove off the lot. My issue then becomes asset protection. Sure it will depreciate, but I don't want to deliberately hasten the process by putting money into the truck that has to be reversed when I come to sell it (I'm thinking 4-5 years). Moreover, anything I put into the truck performance wise will move the balance of the factory compromise one way or the other. Since they spent all that effort and money already, I see it as self defeating. I already have the best all round balance. I might gain a few HP. But then I'd lose some mpg. Or I might gain some mpg, but possibly lose some power. Some of the factory compromises will have been cost based. So I change the paper air filter for a K&N. The one that cost Chrysler $2 is replaced with one that cost me $40. So I'm out $38 (as I have already paid for the "good enough" $2 one), and gained 5-10HP. Well I already have 390 horses that I very rarely use flat out, so I gain nothing at all that is of use to me, just lose $38.

I have some lovely plastic covered wheels. They shine up very well. Look like polished chrome. They resist the brake dust, and do the job very well indeed. I could of course change them out for real polished aluminum wheels, and gain peace of mind that I'm not showing plastic wheels to everyone. And be out at least $1000. No value whatsoever to me, and I'd have to find a place to store the OEM wheels. Again, the ones I have already are the best compromise. No they aren't aluminum faced (although the ARE aluminum internally), but they look good for longer, and cost me less than if Chrysler had specced fully polished aluminum.

This is my POV, and I'm sure there are others. I'm certainly not saying that because Chrysler didn't do it, you shouldn't, be my guest. I just think you'd be moving the balance of the compromise in a certain direction and therefore losing somewhere else, even if "only" financial. I'd far rather put say $3000 into something I can make use of, rather than put it into my truck, which will be still the same basic vehicle, a RAM 1500 Laramie at the end of it. The OP asked for advice, and I gave mine. For the reasons I have stated, putting money into an already excellent truck just doesn't make sense, and worst case, not only costs money, but devalues the truck as well. Double jeopardy.

 

See, if you took your line of thought to a lift, I could agree with you. Very first thing I do when I see a lifted truck sitting on a used lot is go the other direction.

As for your $40.00 air cleaner, I think you're a little off base. Consider, over the life of the vehicle, you would be replacing that paper filter say around 10,000 miles (or I would based on where I live) That's $10-$15 every time you do it because you know you're not going to pick up one for the $2 that Chrysler paid. By the time you hit 30,000 to 45,000 miles, that K&N has paid for itself and you don't have to deal with the hassle of changing them out all the time.

Split verdict on the wheels. Yes they are plastic, and yes as you can tell, I changed mine out. Not totally because they are plastic, but because on the 2nd day I had this truck some idiot in her Kia slammed into my driver's side rear wheel and busted that plastic cover up. You can't replace the plastic cover and Chrysler wanted $700 for one wheel. By the time we threw in a four wheel alignment and a rear axle inspection, the total was over $1000. New wheels for Laramie of course. Regardless of that incident, they were going to be changed out at some point. AND you don't have to find a place to store them. Not at all. Sure, I did for about a month and a half, but then I sold them and had some extra coin in my pocket. As for looking good for longer, well that's all a matter of how well you take care of things.

Tuning is another gray area. Personally, I will do it just for the extra power, but I also plan on slapping a set of heads and a cam on this truck eventually and at that point, I will need the tuning capability.

All in all, I know I'm going to have this truck well over 100,000 miles if not more, so I'm going to make the power that I want it to, lower it to where I want, and throw the audio system that I want into it as well. Sure, it's a loss of money when you get right down to it, but would you rather be happy, or would you know that you saved a few bucks all the while know that you can't take that money to the grave with you?