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Hp limits?

2K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  yashew 
#1 ·
I have an 03 ram 5.7 and wanted to start doing some performance upgrading. Only thing is I don't want to go so far as internal rebuild. Just intake and exhaust basically. My question is how far can I go before it becomes too much for stock internal to handle?
 
#7 ·
if you want power. get a cam and heads to go with your cai and exhaust if you want more power than tune it to properly use the cam and heads and if it still isn't enough go with a stand alone fuel management system. that should get you to about the 400 to 450 hp range with the right parts. but i'm also not a big fan of superchargers i'd rather make power without forced induction or bottles. lol. guess i'm kind of old school.
 
#8 ·
ok im going to look into another tranny but on that note should i go with an OEM one or is there a good aftermarket one anyone recommends? And mb power wagon... I agree I would like to stay without forced induction but im actually going to be attempting most the work myself. i dont have the money to have a dealership go in the motor and dont really trust the local mechanics to do more than an oil change without messing up. i figured a a bolt on blower might be within my capabilities though.
 
#9 ·
as flr the tranny take a look and see if a tci tranny will give you what you need. or check out and see if the tranny from a power wagon is different from what you ahve and will handle what you want to do. i think they might be different but i could be wrong. i do believe if you want to bolt on a blower you will need a different cam to handle it. i have done a few big block engines with blowers but i always matched the cam and the heads and the pistons to work together but those were all old school big blocks from the late 60's and early 70's. not sure exactly what our style of engines can handle for a blower without needing new internals. have you put in an electric fan and an underdrive pulley system? that will help squeeze a little more out of the engine. have you considered a better intake manifold? or an aftermarket efi system?
 
#11 ·
Thx Hemilonestar for the clarification on the tranny. and MB Power Wagon... im honestly just learning as i go im still young and inexperienced Im not sure what an underpulley is and I have looked into better intake manifold. as for the EFI how difficult are they to install? ive been doing research lately on a few things but for me actual experience is a lot better than reading about somethings.
 
#12 ·
Underdrive pulley allows for less parasitic drag on the engine from whatever accessory it's installed on. There are choices for intake manifolds, but they all require (except the XV, but you don't want that unless you go forced induction, and even then, only maybe) modifying your front timing cover and accessory drive to accommodate a front throttle body. Your stock intake manifold is good to at least 450hp. Big valve heads and a good cam matched to it will go a long way, but once you really start getting into it, the limiting factor will be tunability (or lack thereof) which is why a stand alone FI system was mentioned. Some 03 owners use a piggyback system (like SMT6) to tune.
 
#13 ·
im cammed, ported heads, lt headers and spray a 150 shot...have over 244k miles and bottom end is original stock parts...
 
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