did i buy a black ram or....the black sheep ?

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gesjr

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About two months ago i bought my black 02 ram 1500 . I payed cash and had a limited amount i could spend. I looked around for a couple months and this was the best deal by far in my price range but now i have a few regrets. First off i kinda wish i had gone yr newer so i had gotten a hemi . I like the 5.9 but what a gas hog these things are . This was the yr the 1500 got the new body style and i am finding that a lot of mods list there parts as 98-02,,93-08 . What about me ?? Haha EVen when looking for something as simple as a reese hitch it can be a chore . Having done some research i have tracked down some basic bolt on mods tho . In the opinion of this forum should i go cai and exhaust first or jump rite into a tuner? On another site almost 100% of the members say go sct while here superchips seems to be a fave. Would love to do a gear swap but at four bucks a gallon i cant afford the mpg hit . Its my daily driver and i have to feather the pedal to pull 11.5 mpg as it is . Any suggstions on such matters is appreciated. Dont get me wrong i love my ram just wonder if i got the wrong yr. Sorry for the rant but geeeez that felt good !!!
 

MADDOG

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Do the intake and exhaust first. That way you'll reap all the benefits of the tuner having them in place.
 
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gesjr

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I spoke with sean and hemifever and he suggested the tuner first. Of course i realize he is in the bizness of selling tunes . A good friend just bought an 07 ram, what mods do you guys suggest in order for me to to be able kick his stock hemi ass in our friendly but competetive game of "lets line em up ". Haha
 

Bluesmoke91

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id say go exhaust and intake first...like mentioned above, when you get the tuner, your truck will already have the supporting mods for the full tuning benefit. Also, you mentions a gear MPG hit. I thought a gear swap was to help your mpg......
 
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gesjr

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id say go exhaust and intake first...like mentioned above, when you get the tuner, your truck will already have the supporting mods for the full tuning benefit. Also, you mentions a gear MPG hit. I thought a gear swap was to help your mpg......
I could be way off base but got the impression lower gears got you there quicker but your also gonna turn more rpms at cruizin speed thus resulting in more gas consumption . Maybe somebody with more info will chime in .
 

05singlecabHEMI

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id say go exhaust and intake first...like mentioned above, when you get the tuner, your truck will already have the supporting mods for the full tuning benefit. Also, you mentions a gear MPG hit. I thought a gear swap was to help your mpg......

That depends on what kind of driving you do. If you do a lot of highway driving you want lower gear, and if you do a lot of city driving you want a higher gear.

Id say do the CAI and exhaust first then once you do the tuner you will see a mpg gain. Unfortunatly the 5.9 will always be a gas hog lol. I think i have the whole owners manual for the 5.9 2002. Its got every little detail about the truck. Its in my shop somewwhere...
 

05singlecabHEMI

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I could be way off base but got the impression lower gears got you there quicker but your also gonna turn more rpms at cruizin speed thus resulting in more gas consumption . Maybe somebody with more info will chime in .

Higher gears is for low end acceleration. So like 0-60 times
Lower gears is more for high end for like 60-100.
So if you have higher gears lets just say you have 4:56 ratio going 70mph, your rpms will be higher then if you had lower gears like 3:55 ratio.
 
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gesjr

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Higher gears is for low end acceleration. So like 0-60 times
Lower gears is more for high end for like 60-100.
So if you have higher gears lets just say you have 4:56 ratio going 70mph, your rpms will be higher then if you had lower gears like 3:55 ratio.

So yeah,i did have that assbackwards in my mind . Never claimed to be the sharpest tac in the box . I live in the sticks. A lot of stop and go . Usual cruzin speed is 45-55 around these parts . Whats a good compromise between performance and mpg under those conditions or should i just leave well enough alone. Dont wanna spend a lot for limited returns,just wanna get up to speed quicker. Also have noticed when get into the pedal my truck cut out at about 5500rpm,shouldnt my trans shift before rev limiter kicks in ?
 

05singlecabHEMI

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So yeah,i did have that assbackwards in my mind . Never claimed to be the sharpest tac in the box . I live in the sticks. A lot of stop and go . Usual cruzin speed is 45-55 around these parts . Whats a good compromise between performance and mpg under those conditions or should i just leave well enough alone. Dont wanna spend a lot for limited returns,just wanna get up to speed quicker. Also have noticed when get into the pedal my truck cut out at about 5500rpm,shouldnt my trans shift before rev limiter kicks in ?

couldnt tell you the milage and what not cause its the 5.9. but i would guess if your doing stop and go and no high way id go with a higher gear.

unfortunatly if you plan on doing the
tuner CAI exhaust and gears, you probably looking at maybe $2k ish.

not so sure on the trans. but on my buddies 96 5.9 it does the same thing on WOT from 1-2. but then again the truck is modded to all getout and its not the original tranny.

im on the 91 performance tune on my tuner and i noticed a pretty good mpg increase.
 
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gesjr

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couldnt tell you the milage and what not cause its the 5.9. but i would guess if your doing stop and go and no high way id go with a higher gear.

unfortunatly if you plan on doing the
tuner CAI exhaust and gears, you probably looking at maybe $2k ish.

not so sure on the trans. but on my buddies 96 5.9 it does the same thing on WOT from 1-2. but then again the truck is modded to all getout and its not the original tranny.

im on the 91 performance tune on my tuner and i noticed a pretty good mpg increase.

I have no other trans issues ,everything works great other than at wot it tacks all the way to rev limit before it shifts. You have to lift in order to shift before it cuts out .
 

Hammer_Z71

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The '02 5.9 gasser is pretty much the red-headed step child of the 3rd Gens. A 2nd Gen engine tranny combo with 3rd Gen frame/chassis/suspension, etc.

The 5.9 is a pretty damn stout engine, basically designed in the late 1960s as the "LA" series of V8s that included the LA318 (5.2L), LA340 (5.6L) which I personally thought was the best of the three, and the LA360 (5.9L). This engine basically remained intact through the years save some technological upgrades like fuel injection.

But being long in the tooth, the HP to displacement ratio is pretty low by modern standards making about 230 HP at the crank (185 RWHP) although due to it's displacement Torque numbers are pretty good at 330 lb/ft.

Gas mileage has never been a strong suit, my '98 Regular Cab 5.9 4x4 after a 3" body lift and 2" level and 35" tires got about 9 MPG in overall use and if I didn't do much over 65 mph I could just nip 12 MPG on the highway. By comparison, my '04 Hemi is a QC, is about 1200 lbs heavier after mods, has roughly the same lift height and runs 35" tires also and I average close to 13 MPG in over-all use and usually see 16 MPG on the interstates with the cruise set on 70'ish.

Due to the plenum issue that plagued this engine basically since the day that Chrysler ditched the carb and went to a throttle body design, the engine was pretty de-tuned at the factory (Google "Death Flash") and so benefits greatly from a tuner. Best gains I've ever seen on a non-diesel are obtainable with a tuner for this engine. Superchips can net you almost 50 HP and 50 TQ on this engine - but at a risk of blowing the plenum gasket (which can be fixed for good with an aftermarket kit like a Hughes).

Re-gearing will also help this truck, but remember unlike the Hemi you don't have a 545rfe which essentially has two over-drive gears. So over-doing it will cause more MPG woes. I'd go no more than 4.10s unless tire size exceeds 35"...
 
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nussdawg395

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I've got the 02 also. I have some of the same feelings as you but you'll find out a few things along the way. I really wish i would have gotten the hemi. At the time i wanted a truck this caught my eye price fit i needed a vehicle NOW and got it. I love the truck and plan on keeping it. Most websites list things as per the 2500/3500 model specs which changed in 03. Everything that fits an 03 will fit an 02 1500. Get a tuner! I highly recommend and as stated above this engine sees the most gains out of one. Also do the plenum fix. As hammer said its a problem that if it hasnt hapened yet, give it time, it will happen. Other than that i think you'll find out its not that bad of a truck.
 
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gesjr

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I've got the 02 also. I have some of the same feelings as you but you'll find out a few things along the way. I really wish i would have gotten the hemi. At the time i wanted a truck this caught my eye price fit i needed a vehicle NOW and got it. I love the truck and plan on keeping it. Most websites list things as per the 2500/3500 model specs which changed in 03. Everything that fits an 03 will fit an 02 1500. Get a tuner! I highly recommend and as stated above this engine sees the most gains out of one. Also do the plenum fix. As hammer said its a problem that if it hasnt hapened yet, give it time, it will happen. Other than that i think you'll find out its not that bad of a truck.

Thanx for all the info guys. All that being said ,what tuner do you recommend? Here sc seems to be the fave while other places brag up the sct tuner . Are there big diffs? I kinda like the idea of sct being custom tunes compared to a sc canned tune but my tuner knowledge is very limited so suggestions from you guys is welcomed. What can i expect from either one of these products? I know the sct is available w/3 tunes for about $50 cheaper .
 

talon6

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superchips will suit you fine if you are not planning on alot of mods such as cam,heads,and things of that nature. if you are going to go crazy with mods get the sct. it will support everything you want to do. i learned this from experience.lol. i have had jet chip,superchips,hypertech, and now sct. i really liked the superchips before my mods out grew it.

and your 5.9 without alot of mods wont keep up with the hemi. i have a hemi too. and bone stock it runs very well. and the 5.9 gets some pretty crappy fuel mileage. its the nature of the beast.

hammer summed it up well.
 
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suzukiquadrider

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About two months ago i bought my black 02 ram 1500 . I payed cash and had a limited amount i could spend. I looked around for a couple months and this was the best deal by far in my price range but now i have a few regrets. First off i kinda wish i had gone yr newer so i had gotten a hemi . I like the 5.9 but what a gas hog these things are . This was the yr the 1500 got the new body style and i am finding that a lot of mods list there parts as 98-02,,93-08 . What about me ?? Haha EVen when looking for something as simple as a reese hitch it can be a chore . Having done some research i have tracked down some basic bolt on mods tho . In the opinion of this forum should i go cai and exhaust first or jump rite into a tuner? On another site almost 100% of the members say go sct while here superchips seems to be a fave. Would love to do a gear swap but at four bucks a gallon i cant afford the mpg hit . Its my daily driver and i have to feather the pedal to pull 11.5 mpg as it is . Any suggstions on such matters is appreciated. Dont get me wrong i love my ram just wonder if i got the wrong yr. Sorry for the rant but geeeez that felt good !!!

i agree with you 100%, looking at parts 03-08. and taking it easy unloaded getting 11 gets old. Once i am back to work i am planing on doing some mods such as intake and exhaust. I also agree with Turp do supporting mods before you chip.
 

nussdawg395

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Thanx for all the info guys. All that being said ,what tuner do you recommend? Here sc seems to be the fave while other places brag up the sct tuner . Are there big diffs? I kinda like the idea of sct being custom tunes compared to a sc canned tune but my tuner knowledge is very limited so suggestions from you guys is welcomed. What can i expect from either one of these products? I know the sct is available w/3 tunes for about $50 cheaper .

You can get a hemifever tuned SCT with 3 tunes for your truck which are basically canned tunes. Your real benefit with the SCT is it is able to have custom tunes if you get into cam swaps etc. The superchips works great for me. It really woke my truck up, but i have no actual experience with SCT to say which is better.
 
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