Looking for more power for towing...what mods?

[IQRaceworks]

My 04' Ram QC Hemi has been a great truck over the years, but I'm starting to use it for towing alot more than I used to (5,000lb boat, 4,000lb camper), and I would like to get some more midrange power/torque out of it.

I've got the standard bolt-on stuff....CAI, SC Tuner, free-flowing exhaust....and I'm ready to do more. What are some other mods I can do to get more power in the rpm range that I usually run while towing (2500-3500)? Maybe a cam swap? If so...which cam?

Any other info would be great!

 

[usaf2006]

So I've been researching my own upgrades, and I think the 268H comp cam is a good bang for your buck cam. It'll work well with a stock motor, but give a good little bump in HP. There's a list of parts needed for the swap in a sticky thread on the performance section here. Another good thing to upgrade is the throttle body from stock to a ported one. Check out Moes Performance for those.

What do you have for exhaust? Headers? Long tube headers would be a good upgrade if you only did a cat-back exhaust. Other than changing gear ratios, that's just about it for bolt ons mods. If you've got large tires on there, going to a more stock size will help a little bit.

Oh, swapping to a 190* thermostat can help marginally, or so I've read. It'll at least help keep the motor a little cooler. Also swapping all fluids (diffs, trans, motor) for synthetics would be a good idea.

 

[ST-8]

4.56s, bigger trans cooler an deeper pan, an ride out. A comp 260 would help but I would prob do the gears an see

 

[ralaubach]

I'm in the same boat you are. Just bought a new camper and needed to up grade stuff. I already had a trinity tuner, I hen CAI, ported TB, and I swapped my 2wd trans pan for a 4 QD one a while ago (little bit more capacity while not paying 200+ for an aftermarket one). It did ok but I still wanted a better towing truck

What I did:
Trans cooler: Upgrade to the 1ton trans cool. Very easy assuming the connections come off good for you. I recommend taking the passenger side head light out for ease of access. Part number 52029089AB. Double check, but I have a 2007 and it fit no problem.

CAI: I had one but heard great things about the vararam intake. They were true..... Love the thing. Kind of expensive, but hands down the best I have ever had on my truck. And yes it is kind of a pain in the ass to install and its bulky and kind of in the way when doing anything on the top side, but I love the added performance I got from it.

Helper spring: don't really help with the "power" of towing but great for ride quality. My trailer dry is 5500. The helper spring prevent rear end sag and I they don't have a negative impact on the ride when not towing.

Gears: I still wanted more and have heard nothing but great things about going to 4.56. Currently waiting on a quote back from a mechanic, but that's my next step. As for cost, probably the most expensive of options, but probably the most effective. North of 1500 parts and labor.

Also hit up the towing section. Some good stuff in there as well.

 

[RubberFrog]

This was my old tow setup before the new truck. I put a cam in there and it was a night and day difference for towing. It was fun when I wasn't towing also- nobody expected that big truck to get up and move!

 

[Ceri]

For towing, gears will have the most dramatic impact on the feel of the truck. Expensive, but like you said, you've done the easy stuff for the most part.

Regarding headers, if it's 2000-3000 rpm you want, look at shorties over long tubes. A little exhaust scavenging in that range would be beneficial, but we're only talking about 10-15 hp difference. Gears will be the biggest game changer.

 

[usaf2006]

I thought long tubes gave improvements over the whole rpm range where as shorties only improved top end