Sluggish on take off...

Hello all,
I have a 2012 Ram Express with Jay Greene Tune, Flomaster Outlaw direct fit muffler, K&N CAI, BBK shorty headers and Moe's 87mm ported throttle body. Note that I have 20" chrome clad wheels with 275/60r20 tires and a 3.55 rear end.

If I take off at normal commuting speed it sometimes shifts and seems to lug along like I am hauling a load. However if I am more aggressive with it it seems to do better. Does that seem normal for the 6-speed automatic?
I don't ever pull anything and I haul very light loads if any. I am mainly turning it into a sport truck and like to race the heck out of other trucks and the occasional sports car.

In an attempt to gain some lower end power, I was considering one of the following and would like some input or an additional option if there is one:

A) I was going to swap out the 3.55 gears for either 4.10 or 4.56. I was already to do so and found great deals on the ring and pinions but the labor in North Georgia to install the kits is around $600 everywhere I look. Seems pretty darn steep to me!!! If I could find it cheaper I would pull the trigger in a heartbeat....I forgot to mention that my truck is a 4x2 standard cab.

B) the second option to prevent being ***** with the gear install labor was to maybe do a 2/4 drop and change the tires to something like a 275/40r20 or so.

Any input would be great. I understand I could do much more with any amount of money but I have a kid in college and I have a wife who doesn't truly understand my passion for this stuff. Obviously to her it is all a waste of money.

Sounds like MDS. Mine does that during no load it's for better mileage

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

A couple suggestions
1. Shop around more for a better labor cost on setting up the rear end and change gear ratio to 4.10's.
2. Buy an Edge 2800 converter, maybe even a 3000 depending on how much you are going to race.
3. Ditch the shorty headers and get some long tubes.
4. 180* thermostat
Jay

you will notice more with changing the gear

tuned by Jay Greene

Give this a try and if it doesn't do it for you, they have a liberal return policy.
https://www.pedalcommander.com/product/dodge-ram-5-7l-v8-383-hp-2009-throttle-response-controller/


F.O.F

What i have found when looking in to these issues for my own knowledge...I believe this to be a torque management issue. Stomp the throttle and the truck doesn't want to go. Roll into the throttle and these trucks giddy up. If you want stomp throttle and go, then a torque converter is the answer. If you want to get off the line more quickly, do the gear swap too. I just did gears and when the truck goes it GOES. $2500 for my gear swap. But i have a 2013 4x4. Gears, front and rear, LSD, used front diff (2013+ needs a 2011 or older front diff to swap gears) and install. Id take $600 all day long. But gears didn't fix the "stomp the throttle and go" problem. I did gears to turn the 35" tires more easily and get some "power feel" back. Your tuner should be able to play with the torque management a bit but as far as I know you can't turn it off. (Unless you pull the ABS fuse. Conversation for another time.) Headers, gears, CAI, larger throttle body are not going to change the torque management. The truck wont give you all of the power immediately. Your tuner can shut off MDS and they can increase the throttle response. Please, anyone with different info chime in. I believe this all to be correct.

jay can do whatever you want but jay is a great tuner and probably has it set the best it can be (safely) without tearing anything up. the 6 speed isnt helping the fact.
also jay kinda keeps the truck stock at part throttle for drivabilty. most people with the 6 speed who are aggressively driving end up going with a different gear because if its lack of nuts


tuned by Jay Greene

Gear and tq converter are the 2 best mods you can install to improve power down low. The 3.55's really hurt with the 5/6 speed trucks, so I would look to step up to a set of OEM 4.10's to help overall power and driveability in all rpms. Then the tq converter to give you that aggressive, tire smoking launch.

Have you tried this? Does it work with a vehicle that already has a custom tuner?

Yes. Every 5/6sp truck I've owned has had 4.10 or 4.56 gears with no less than a 3000 stall Tq converter. Having custom tuning only makes this combo even better.