[SullyB858]

Hey folks!
I am looking into getting my Hemi souped up a little bit without breaking the bank too hard. This 14.5MPG is kind of killing me, lol. My odometer is reading 104K miles, but I just had a new long block (from the Dodge plant in MI) put in at about 86K, so she's still pretty new. I have done a little research and would like some input from you folks who may have already done this. This is what I am looking into doing:

1) Cold Air Intake: I'm looking at going with the AEM BruteForce air intake system. My mom has it on her Jeep Rubicon, and several of my friends have it on their trucks (various makes/models). Feedback?

2) Cat-Back Exhaust: one word; Flowmaster. On my previous truck (Chevy Silverado) I had a MagnaFlow but I can't seem to find one for a Dodge Ram, so I was gonna go with Flowmaster. Plus I heard they are a good system anyways and not too pricey.

3) Headers: JBA Titanium Ceramic. Found those online and haven't really done much research on them. Is there a better company that is not too pricey? (JBA wants about $850).

Also, if I am changing out the headers and the cat-back, would you folks rec. that I change out the Y-Pipe and the cat as well to performance grade? Complete the whole system?

Like I said, any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

 

[gonefishin776]

1) Good choice. Can't really get a BAD CAI, but don't expect to get 30 HP and 3 MPG from it. They truely are more for looks and sound. Although they will help some, I have an aFe stage two. S&B makes a cool one for your truck

2) A muffler is a muffler..doesn't matter what truck it goes on. A billion guys on this site run magnaflows. Keep with your flowmaster, they sound better anyway in my opinion. People will say the straight-through design of the magnaflow is better performance wise than flowmaster but I dont think it's a huge difference.

3) A lot of guys run JBA, I think BBK is another company.

4) Might as well do the y-pipe too while you are at it.

No matter what you get, we have an AWESOME vendor here on this forum called Discount Auto Performance, run by Jeremiah and Andrew. Their contact info is below, they will set you up with the best deal around on any of these items. Well not sure about headers and AEM actually, but doesn't hurt to ask.

[email protected]
[email protected]

 

[TheSatinPumpkin]

add 4.56's to the list.

 

[HemiLonestar]

Converter with the gears and cam.

 

[05ram]

Superchips 3865
14" Magnaflow dumped with Mag Y-pipe
BBK headers
BFI cai if you can find one, S&B 2nd choice
Fastman TB
Sonnax LPB
That's what I did to my 05 Hemi and it all worked awesome together, good luck with your choices.....

 

[bballejo]

What kind of cams would yall recommend
and a tune would be better then a chip wouldn't it?

 

[HemiLonestar]

What kind of cams would yall recommend
and a tune would be better then a chip wouldn't it?

Isn't like the older days (I say older because old days was carbs) where you burned a chip to put in the engine computer (like Grand Nationals). Programmers are pretty the way to go now and are capable fo doing much more, including diagnostics (pulls trouble codes & resets most general ones). The only "chips" you really find now for modern vehicles (besides the Jet chip) are actually air intake resistors to try and fool the computer into thinking the intake charge is cooler than it is. Get the Superchips (or a Diablo).

 

[starquestbd22]

To the OP....lot of good info here. I'll throw a little more at you to think about.

No CAI is going to amaze you with the performance gain but in addition to the ones mentioned already you should check into the Vararam.
http://www.vararam.com/hemi.html

I would not buy a catback system, especially considering you seem to be planning to redo the entire system anyway. Just pick the muffler you want and have it welded in. Magnaflow, Borla, and Dynomax are probably at the top of the list performance wise but I agree that the performance gain from the muffler alone is minimal at best. If you just love the sound of the Flowmaster, I wouldn't let the performance issue bother you. Another popular header to look at is Pacesetter. They make a killer set of longtubes that are priced great. I would definitely swap the stock y-pipe for something like Magnaflow or I think Pacesetter actually makes a y-pipe of their own.

Depends on how much money you want to drop but the early Hemi engines respond great to cam swaps. Comp cams are popular but I would probably start here if I were looking for one.
http://www.inertiamotorsports.com/camshafts.html

Have fun!

 

[HemiLonestar]

See, you're lucky, you have an 05, (arguably) the best year for custom tuning. You could go a little more radical than say, someone like me with an 03 with cams, etc, because it can be tuned properly without any hassles to make it run right.