our 97 3500 dodge ctd w/ 5 speed has been getting sluggish. been doin some studying on here, and learned the cat needs to go. 160000 mile of gravel roads and cornfields i'm not looking forward to it. this is an all stock truck, no mods at all, i would like to move the fuel plate foward and spin the star wheel on the governor some. my main question is how far can i go without getting to hot of egts, i have no gauge... but if i must i'll get one. this truck pulls a trailer bout 40 percent of the time and is loaded hard maybe 10 out of the 40 percent. can i move just the star wheel only or should i move the fuel plate also?? any suggestion or other info would be great, i don't want to spend much money on this girl if i don't have to thanks much.

 

I would buy a pyro and boost gauge. They are a good investment. You want a lot of power (and a new clutch) take your fuel plate out and grind it flat. This kind of plate is called a 0 plate. You can use a grinder, just go really slow make sure the metal doesn't get hot. If you can't hold the metal, it's too hot. If it gets too hot, the metal can lose it's strength. After you grind it, use an emerald cloth or a diamond stone to smooth out the ridges. You can also buy a fuel plate if you're not comfortable grinding the plate. They're also called a torque plate and a cam plate. Adjusting the vavles and bumping the timing can really wake up the truck and help out the mileage. I put in injectors and a 0 plate and it really woke up the truck.