Hi,

I just bought a one owner 2001 Dodge Ram 2500, V10, Club Cab, AT, 2wd, long bed. 99,250 miles.

Clean as a whistle this truck was used only to tow an RV. Owner died and I bought from his daughter. Sat for 2 years.

Ive previously had a few $8k Ford 7.3’s over the last few years without luck. spent way too much broke down, etc.

I was towing a 13k# Toyhauler doing some deliveries around the states but have gone to a smaller 6K# Toyhauler and felt i needed to go back to gas.

Took the Dodge to my mechanic for fluids changes Diff, transmission, coolant flush and general check. Found someone had overtightened trans pan bolts requiring a redo. Same with trans filter which was crooked and sucking air! Changed out clutch fan.

Questions:

Looking to upgrade:

Exhaust/Headers/straight pipe. Im in a county that doesn’t require cats so i may get straight piped. Recommendations for headers product.

Cold Air. K&N only?! Anything else available?

Tuner?

Looking forward to keeping this truck for awhile with many miles to go!

Thanks in advance for any recommendations or observations.

My new ride!

 

Cats are federally mandated. Local laws notwithstanding. They need to be there, or you open yourself up to some significant fines. Bear in mind, I don't EVER recall hearing anyone prosecuted for that.....

Some shorty headers won't hurt you. But, they don't make a lot of difference either. I bought some of the cheap chinese stainless steel fellers off EBay, and they worked pretty good. Make sure to get the dead soft aluminum or copper gaskets. They seal up will, and don't need to be re-torqued.

Nice Truck. Welcome to DF!

 

Welcome. Please don't straight pipe. You really need some sort of muffler and a cross over to keep it from sounding like a clapped out chevy. Cold air intakes give you looks and sound. That's it without other supporting mods. Be sure to check the plenum. Check out the 2nd gen Ram section. Tons of great info there. You're lucky, that section is the most active on this forum.

 

Stock system is already a cold air intake...... Draws from the drivers side radiator support. Spending a couple hundred bucks on a CAI is a waste of money, and gains nothing at all.

 

K&N does do what they say it will. The benefits are over stated though. The engine will only pull a certain amount of air. Lower restriction doesn't make any different. The extra hassle to clean the filter isn't worth it to me. The only time it will be a benefit is when you have a maximum load, are heading uphill and you're at WOT. Otherwise the stock filter does just fine.