I just traded in my 02 5.4L F-150 for an 05 Ram Hemi, I had a K & N FIPKIT on it, and had just the stock muffler replaced with a Magnaflow. It rumbled a little, and hissed like a supercharger when playing with the throttle. I gained about 1-2 MPG with the combo. I want to do something similar with my new Ram Hemi, but don’t want to waste my money. While the K & N was nice, I think I could have spent my $$$ more wisely. I like the deep rumble, but not the annoying, OMG, Shut that thing off noise. I would much prefer someone saying wow, that thing sounds awesome, verses, someone saying it sounds obnoxious.

I have listened to the Magnaflow system, and it sounds the best I think. I have also listened to the Flowmaster clip, but wasn’t completely impressed, and I have also listened to the Borla generic Truck/SUV sound clip, which wasn’t bad. I have an uncle who works for a muffler shop, so I know I can get a steal on just about anything I want + a 12-Pak for the install. What’s the consensus on the exhaust systems..Before you answer, don’t forget to factor in the rest of the post.

I have searched through the posts, read peoples different opinions, but really haven’t been sold on any combo yet. When I first talked with my uncle, he recommended the Magnaflow. Since I only replaced the muffler part on my F-150, I only gained a little sound, and with this new Ram Hemi, the stock exhaust sounds better than my F-150 with the Magnaflow muffler on it. I have also read in some posts about the Flowmaster 40 Series they didn’t gain any performance, or rather, their power/torque curve raised. I have also seen where unless you do some engine mods, i.e. turbo/supercharger, a true duel exhaust is a waste of money since you are actually defeating the purpose of the exhaust. With a stock motor, a certain amount of backpressure is required to maintain engine performance, and unless you are pushing more air through the engine, freeing up more air exiting the engine is money wasted to a certain extent.

I could be totally out in left field here, but I have been reading, doing my searches <--- N00B, like I should, and this is what I have to weigh against.

In regards to the Air Induction, as much as I would like a functioning Ram Air Hood scoop, I think money at this time could be better spent in other places. While the K & N was nice, its pricey too, and I honestly wasn’t impressed. Within 1 year, the mounting bracket that supports the intake tube broke. The thing actually whistled like a Harmonica at first, until I called K & N, and they said it was a common problem with the 4.6L V6 model, and I needed to add 24" of heater hose from the oil breather to he intake in order to quiet the noise. While it did sound neat, after the added heater hose, which I got a ton of people asking If I had a supercharger in it, I would have preferred a better performance increase, rather than a neat sound.

I looked at the Volant CAI kit, and it says I either have to loose a Fog light, or customize the fog light hole in order to take advantage of the Ram Air portion. So, in regards to CAI, what best suites the needs of the HEMI, without having to start grinding a bigger hole around my fog light. Don’t get me wrong, if everyone says the Volant kicks @ss, best performance, yadiyadiya, then so be it, I make the fog light hole bigger. But I am sure there has to be other options, with the same amount of performance, or better.

Throttle Body Spacer- Hmmm, Little lost on this one. I had a TBS on my F-150, cant say I noticed a difference, but, it was there. I did some searches, and have come to the conclusion after reading various post that there really isnt anything to gain by having one on the Hemi. Correct me if I am wrong, maybe my eyes were bleeding from reading so much.

Performance Chips- I know theres a ton out there, but heres the question, which ones dont VOID the warranty. I know there is a few out there that comply with the vehicle warranty, as well as those out there that the moment you hook them up, even for a minute, they VOID it.

Thanks in advance,
Sorry for the long post, but I would rather do all of my research, and ask all at once, rather than a bunch of small posts here and there..

Chris

 

As for the...

Exhaust- get a magnaflow muffler...build your own kit. Don't Go flowmaster they are cheap and sound like ****.

CAI- check 360intakez.com they make an amazing CAI for cheap about 1/2 the K&N and it AMAZING.

Throttle Body Spacer- why waste your money?

Performance Chips- superchip

wanna put more money in? get a set of headers. More? Bigger Throttle Body. EVEN MORE!? S/C it.

IF you want More your nuts.

 

Thx Black,

Glad someone wasnt scared to post..

As much as I would love to throw a S/C on this bad boy, I can find better ways to drop $4500. I already got a $4000 going into stereo.

Superchip has their new Hemi Programer out, cheapest I found it was for $399...Anyone else find it cheaper? I really wish we could use it on mulitple vehicles at once. Being a computer weenie, I know it can be done, but, Im not a Programming Computer Weenie, Im a networking weenie...LOL

I will check out the CAI you recommended.

Thx Again...

 

I also have an 05 Ram Hemi 5.7 Quadcab SB that I would like to put a Cat back exhaust on. I can't decide between Borla or Magnaflow though. I think either would be fine but my concern with the Magnaflow is if I have to remove the 20" spare tire. I think Magnaflow kit # 15863 is the correct kit but have herd that the spare has to be removed. Has anyone installed one of these kits that can confirm this.
Borla is what Mopar uses and I know that it will work with the big spare and towing package but they only have an out the side system and are about $200 more.
I appreicate any advice.
A side note FYI
I have installed an SRT ram air hood with air box from ramairhood.com and it is sweet. http://www.ramairhood.com/store/scri...p?idproduct=42
Acceleration was improved and MPG went up about 2mpg. (When I can keep my foot out of it.) It added a nice sound also.


[IMG]local://upfiles/22834/6EC34DDE4C134EE5961D1F2AA651D3C0.jpg[/IMG]

 

That hood looks great. In the flair of the late 60's you need to add the HEMI decal on the side of the scoop. One of the sponsors of the site sells them.