Brilliant Black Laramie 1500 in Alaska

[doug2013]

Hey everyone, little bit about me. In the U.S. Army stationed on fort wainwright for about 3 years now and i recently bought a 2009 ram 1500 4X4 Laramie. First mopar vehicle. The truck has 95k miles and has all the bells and whistles. It has been in Alaska all its life, the truck is immaculate nothing broken or worn out previous owner took care of it. Tell me what you guys think.

Current Mods:
Oil/Air catch can
Cabin air filter mod
22" SRT10 rims on nitto terra grappler G2's 305/45/22 tire size
LED interior lights
15% tint on front two windows 4% on the back and sun strip
Carven exhaust
drilled and slotted rotors
tinted tail lights and 3rd brake light
headlight mod. highs and lows on with high beams.


What should i do next ?


First day i got it




After i cleaned the engine bay


Catch can installed


Cabin air filter mod


Buffed the paint


Got the exhaust in. couldn't be happier with the sound


Got the srt10 rims. not replicas oem rims and brand new G2's for 800$ for all 4 couldn't pass them up

 

[NoveskeFan]

Nice RAM and thanks for your service! I like color matched stuff, so if it were mine, I'd change out all the chrome for color matched parts. With those wheels, it would look killer all blacked out.

 

[doug2013]

You know everyone keeps asking me and telling me if im going to do that but thats a lot of chrome to black out or make disappear lol.

 

[NoveskeFan]

True. I know LMC Truck carries the smooth paintable door handles for about $25 a piece. They might have the grill and bumper covers as well. Can always change out a part at a time

 

[doug2013]

True. I know LMC Truck carries the smooth paintable door handles for about $25 a piece. They might have the grill and bumper covers as well. Can always change out a part at a time

That is very true. I am very cross between the chrome and blacked out i just just see so many rams blacked out, and i like to stand out. I might do a couple of things here and there but maybe not everything.

 

[doug2013]

Light update

Got a few updates with the truck. Got some Hid's in the fog lights and Headlights 35w 5000k in both. Had to solve the da vinci code of wiring the previous owner had done. They had the high beams wired to the low beams so both stay on when you hit the high beams. So a lot of cutting and re splicing had to be done. but i mounted the ballasts and canbus modules to the metal support behind the headlight. Fog lights couldn't of gone smoother had no issues at all installing them. I mounted the ballasts and canbus modules as high as i could to keep them out of the weather a little better also wrapped the connectors in aircraft grade anti chafe tape . Also Got some switch back Led turn signal bulbs from retroshop's garage sale to get rid of those nasty amber things.

Headlights only

Headlights and stock fog lights



Both done


Ill post some more pictures at night to show the light output after i aim them.

 

[NoveskeFan]

Looks great! I'm looking to do the same for my truck. Big improvement over stock?

 

[doug2013]

thanks! I haven't actually driven it at night yet i had 24 hour duty and slept all day yesterday so i planned on going out tonight and finding a good sized wall to aim the light a little bit. but so far they are definitely brighter. I am very glad i stuck with the 35w, 55w would of been too bright those housings are huge.

 

[doug2013]

So i finally got to drive at night and i still couldn't get a good picture of the output due to the roads being wet and reflecting most of the light but. I got the lights leveled pretty well still might have to adjust the headlights but we shall see. Also not too happy about the headlights being a slightly lighter shade than the fog lights so ill probably order 6k bulbs for both just to see which i like more and to also have an extras set for the 24 hours of darkness coming up here in Alaska. Does anyone know if there a rule of thumb to adjusting your headlight other than not blinding people as much lol

 

[DamnRam1500]

Your truck looks amazing! I love everything you have done to it! I hope my new express will look this nice some day!

 

[doug2013]

Your truck looks amazing! I love everything you have done to it! I hope my new express will look this nice some day!

Thank you. It definitely has come a long way since i got it.

 

[doug2013]

Bilsteins installed.

Drivers side of the truck was sitting quite a bit lower, original struts at 95k so it was time for a new set. After doing some research i ended going with bilstein 5100 shocks. My next choice would of been the belltech 9610's. I wound up going with the bilstens because of the popularity, lifetime warranty and the quality of their products. I couldn't be happier with the ride quality the truck definitely feels smoother and more planted.

Install: ran into quite a few problems. First the balljoints wouldn't loosen up Probably due to the alaskan dust and water and ice and the fact that they have never been off before. Next after taking my caliper off my brake pads fell out and i lost 2 of the 4 spring clips that go on the pads (pads were constantly rubbing the rotor after i put it back together). The nuts at the top of the strut were fairly seized on the strut rod. i ended up getting them off after using an impact gun. I knew from the beginning that the rears were going to be a pain, i cut a 13/16 wrench to about 4 inches of length and tucked it behind the strut mount and eventually got them both off and the new ones on. I also replaced those spring clips on the pads, the wheels spin freely now.

 

[Hemi395]

Nice truck and a nice list of mods! What kind of rotors are those?

 

[Hawkman]

I just realized you have the set up I want for my 2014 Laramie 4X4. How do you like the ride of your 22 inch SRT wheels and tires on your truck? I have the Bils already installed in the front, after Christmas will be looking at picking up the wheels, and then tire around spring.

Nice looking truck

 

[doug2013]

Major update to the truck. Upon arriving home in Florida from my PCS trip about 5300 miles from Alaska to Florida. I ordered ARH long tube headers and catless y pipe install was super easy and fitment was perfect. I went with 6.1L hemi MLS gaskets haven't had a single leak. Jay Greene hooked it up with another killer tune. I color matched my bumpers and grill, fixed my tailgate and ordered some projectors from the retroshop. Hids in those of course. Also scored some 2015 hemi badges I put lime green overlays over them as well.

 

[doug2013]

I have some c bar LED taillights back at home but I wont be able to install those any time soon since I'm on deployment. Also added a s and b intake 180 thermostat.

 

[doug2013]

Sorry for the late reply but i love my SRT10's 22 inch rims on a heady duty tires is more comfortable than i thought it would be. Tires are great the tread wear is remarkable. 60k mile rating and I definitely see getting that much out of them. With the stock shocks the ride was firmer for sure but with the bilsteins it still rides like a dream nice and smooth but you have a better sense of feeling the road. body roll drastically decreased when I added the rims and tires. only downside is the size of tire is expensive and much heavier but they do seel the lighter rated G2's.

I just realized you have the set up I want for my 2014 Laramie 4X4. How do you like the ride of your 22 inch SRT wheels and tires on your truck? I have the Bils already installed in the front, after Christmas will be looking at picking up the wheels, and then tire around spring.

Nice looking truck

 

[MADDOG]

Nice mods!

 

[ramportin1]

Very nice work and awesome truck. I also love those rims. Any exhaust video after the headers i could hear? Love exhaust vids lol

 

[JB1]

looks badazz, front end looks great color matched