2011 5.7 Hemi New Member Introduction

Hey guys. New member here. I've been lurking for the past 4-5hrs reading and searching for info on both of my trucks.

I must say, I am quite green when it comes to my trucks and haven't ventured into the realm of modding them.



First off I have a 2011 5.7 Hemi 2500 that's completely stock except for a leveling kit. And it rolls on 20's. Otherwise bone stock. I also have a '97 12v Cummins that I have to read up more before I start asking too many questions about. Also bone stock.(That will be next summers project)



I snowmobile and have a sled deck on the truck in the winter months. I also tow around a 2-place trailer frequently.



So I'm in search of some bottom end power and better mileage. Of course I realize if I wanted a truck that gets good MPG I should have gotten a half ton. I realize that, but unless I'm completely empty and have a tail wind she's not pretty. I average about 11-12MPG while city driving. And about 14MPG while on the highway. When I'm loaded with a couple of sleds, gear and a buddy that drops to around 8-9MPG on the highway(depending on how many hills we have to climb).



Now the fun part, I have 2 kids and a 3rd on the way and a kickass wife that I've finally convinced to let me spend some money on the truck. I have my "mad money" but that all gets used up on the sleds and boat. So I've had to be diligent but it's finally paid off!



What should I be looking at first? I want to get a BFI and an exhaust. I'd like to go duals. Then what's next? Throttle body? Tuner?



I haven't come across a tuner or heard of a tune that focuses more on bottom end/torque and fuel economy. Am I missing something?

Welcome to the forum, lots of info on here. Enjoy

Welcome Sir , read lots post lots and help others when you can!

welcome

Welcome

I'm leaning towards a Vararam intake, any thoughts on the 2500? Does it fit like it would on a 1500?

I'm also swaying closer to buying headers as most companies are claiming close to or just over 20ft/tq. Then go with a Flowmaster, res delete and dual 3". Is this going to have enough backpressure to add to my MPG instead of take away from it?

Moe's is going to be the end of me as I also have a ported throttle body in my shiopping cart but want some more advice on what size to buy. Seems like I wouldn't need any more than 85mm but the forum is making me think that if I bolt on the headers, the bigger the better?

And I'm not sold on a Diablo tuner as the SC is claiming better numbers. Everyone calls for the HemiFever tune for the Diablo but I haven't figured out where to buy this specific tune. Or will the tunes coming from Diablo be good enough for a truck that will never see the 1/4?

Again, I'm not looking for ET but for towing power and reasonable MPG gains over stock.

curious, whats yer gear ratio?

Nice truck welcome!

thrashie said:

curious, whats yer gear ratio?

Click to expand...

No idea. where do I look to find out?

The list as I sit includes;
Vararam Intake
E-Fan Upgrade
87mm PTB
Diablo I2
Hemifever Tune
So far undecided on which brand headers and exhaust I want.
Billet Catch Can

Considering it gets pretty cold up here in Alberta I am hesitant on the 180* t-stat. Should I be...

If I have backassward gearing I may have to look into that as well. Or leave this thing alone and focus on my Cummins instead....

Am I going in the wrong direction in terms of fuel mileage and low end power.....I do not care about ET, just MPG and MPG while towing.

Reeb said:

No idea. where do I look to find out?



The list as I sit includes;

Vararam Intake

E-Fan Upgrade

87mm PTB

Diablo I2

Hemifever Tune

So far undecided on which brand headers and exhaust I want.

Billet Catch Can



Considering it gets pretty cold up here in Alberta I am hesitant on the 180* t-stat. Should I be...



If I have backassward gearing I may have to look into that as well. Or leave this thing alone and focus on my Cummins instead....



Am I going in the wrong direction in terms of fuel mileage and low end power.....I do not care about ET, just MPG and MPG while towing.

Click to expand...

So after months of lurking and reading as much as possible I went K.I.S.S. and did the following;



MBRP Single CatBack - economy and cost made me go simple here.

BullyDog GT Tuner - no need for a "custom" tune as most guys I've talked to don't really specialize in economy and low end power. Moreso on quarter mile times. And it's the best price I could find....by a long shot.



I decided against headers as I've been told by many that long tube headers aren't available for my truck and short tubes have a fuel smell that permeates in the cab. With 3 kids and a wife with me a lot that wasn't going to cut it. Plus it saves my bank account. And without the headers I talked myself out of a PTB and simply can't spend the money on a CAI when almost nobody on here sees any gains except for intake noise.



I've also read about 500 threads on e-fans and the results are all over the board. I can get a Mopar fan for cost(sister dealership I work for is Ram) but the results on fuel savings is suspect it seems.



The catch can and cabin air filter are next on the list of things to do. Along with new spark plugs and a diff change. Trans got done last Summer.



I'd like to upgrade lower ball joints as I've done them twice in 80k and don't want to cheap out any longer. And my P/S seems to be leaking by looking at it however the res. has stayed on the top hash mark for more than a year??

If you have a hookup at a ram dealership why not trade up to a 6.4?

That was an idea but we decided that the wife needed a SUV before I needed a new truck. This one is paid for and I didn't like the idea of payments when I just paid this off 6 months ago.


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Welcome

If I were you I wouldn’t waste my time with canned tunes as the gains would be minimal at best. I would look into a Hemifever or Jay Greene tune if I were going that route as they can tailor them to your specific needs and get you some noticeable extra power that you’ll really be able to feel and not just on the butt dyno.

Welcome. Nice Truck!