new guy questions

ok, so I've been a dodge owner for all of 3 days, so prepare yourself for the extreme beginner's questions.

Performance oriented, my truck is stock as far as i know. (05 ram quad cab 5.7) What are some of the basic mods, bolt-ons, tweaks, etc that are commonly accepted as something "everyone does"?
Like everyone else, I want to have my cake and eat it too, in other words, more perfomance, better mileage. I've read a few places that adding a cai will have a marginal effect in both of these areas. If that's the case, what cai's are good, which ones to stay away from? Where do you guys typically look online for QUALITY parts, not chinese stuff? Anything else I should be aware of with my new toy? And if this has already been asked, which im sure it probably has, feel free to point me in that direction.

Thanks!
tim

welcome to the fourm! as for the cai type of stuff, you'll have to wait for some of the others to chime in on that. as for basic mods - exhaust/muffler, hid's/projectors (if you want projectors), air intake, tints, those are just a handful off the top of my head, but you will get lots of other ideas too. BTW, everyone says this but, your wallet is going to hate you

A programmer is always a good choice, but yeah Cold Air Intakes, Exhaust Systems, Headlights, are always a nice way to start

If you're looking for performance, do the big 3 first. Cai, exhaust, tuner.

oops, forgot to mention, it does have some sort of exhaust work done it. It's got a nice throaty sound to it, so obviously a muffler of some kind, and the previous owner ran dual tailpipes out to the corners, probably doesn't mean jack squat, but it's not "stock". For a CAI, which ones are good, which ones are bad? are there some better than others? for a programmer, again, what's good? what's bad? my wallet already hates me, i have a mustang that's another expensive toy. =)

it doesn't really have to be in any order either just depends on your wallet

1. CAI - if you're up for saving a few bucks and not spending a fortune on something that is only gonna gain you 5-10hp and maybe .5 mpg, try making your own. lots of guys have done a "DIY CAI" basically made of pvc plumbing pipe

2. Exhaust - more options than you can shake a stick at. look up some sound clips online and see what you like. Magnaflow is one of the more popular and what i use, but certainly not the only option. Avoid flowmaster. although it has good sound, its very restricting and has a tendency to rust out very quickly.

3. Tuner (not to be confused with a performance chip)
If you're planning on camming the truck later or doing anything that requires custom tuning, go with a DiabloSport Predator U7137. Because you have an '05, you'll also get the best of what DSP offers in the area of tranny tuning. The other good choice out there is the Superchips Flashpaq 3865. SC's tune is just a smidge weaker than DSP, but its more than made up for in the ability to control anything and everything you can think of with the tranny. This particular "which is better" can be debated all day, so either choice is fine.

4. E-fan - You can buy expensive ones as a kit, or you can use the e-fan out of a Ford Taurus 3.8L. do a search on efan and LOTS of info will come up. Basically you'll free up about 1-2 mpgs and roughly 10-15hp. The taurus fan with controller can be had for less than $100.

5. Headers - Longtubes are best (Pacesetter is most popular). If emissions prevents longtubes, shorties are also better than stock.


Start with that for now. Its very important you get supporting mods before trying to go with bigger performance stuff. if you have ANY questions about any of this stuff feel free to ask here or PM one of us

forgot to mention, with the CAI, if you choose to just buy a kit, there is none better than any other. For the cheapest price, i'd get the cheapest ebay kit you can find and then put a good K/N cone on it. the cone is what matters -- the rest of it is just tubing (hence why people make their own)

I have a kn intake and love it. Just really depends on how much you want to spend on one cause you can get a cheap ebay one for $60 or you can spend $400 on a bfi.

excellent advice, thanks! One last thing, where do you guys shop for parts? With the advent of the internet, the number of fly-by-night shady vendors is astronomical, I'd like to avoid them if possible.

hmm... places to shop. Airram.com, ebay, the classifieds (forums, craigslist, etc.)

usually when you find things to buy on truck forums like this, they are well taken care of

A_F hit all the mods on the head, only thing he left out was gears which if you do all in town will boost mpg. Its all up to you and whats amount of money you would like to spend.

Yep Af pretty much has it covered. It really comes down to how much you want to spend to get it to run like you want it to.

Since it already has an exhaust a tuner and cai would the next two on the list, probably go tuner before cai though as you will get more out of the tuner than the cai.

Welcome to RF by the way, and if you have any questions about litterally anything, someone on here has more than likely already done it or is in the process of doing it so just ask away

thanks for the help guys. The warm welcome is much appreciated!

Also we have trusted vendors on the forum like Scott with Supperchips for your programmer ask him anything, he can answer it for you on that end .
Jeff is also a good dude and is our vendor for performancelifts , he sells just about everything .
Moes is bad news and will not be representing RF as of next month .. so I would not recommend them .

Welcome to the forum! Another thing for exhaust is a glasspack. It's a cheaper way to go, but it still sounds pretty good!

Vararam CAIs kick ass. Stay away from the BFI, Lance is a tool and he steals from people (the owner of the company that produces the BFI).

Superchips kicks ass - the tranny tuning MAKES it the best. Hands down. Nobody does WOT all the time.........so - yeah.

Exhaust, cutouts rock. Loud when you want it!

Welcome to the forum man!