Butters
Junior Member
Greetings all!!! I spent the last 10+ years with a 2000 Silverado RCSB and am very happy to have moved beyond 20th century suspension/styling and on to a new to me 2012 Ram R/T.
The previous owner literally did everything I was planning to do on the performance side of things to this truck. I like to not leave well enough alone and wrench in the driveway, but that sort of got old and I learned a few good lessons with the previous Chevy about what really works and what doesn't. However, there are a couple things that the previous owner didn't do that I see a potential leap forward in performance/fuel economy: V6 efan mod and headers
First, the V6 efan mod. So happy to see this is literally a direct swap and a quick install once the PITA clutch fan nut is loosened. I scratch my head as to why, with all the emphasis put on fuel economy numbers in full-size trucks these days, Dodge didn't upgrade to an electric fan setup with the launch of the Gen4's. Venting aside, here's the question: I don't want to mess with the whole 180 thermostat thing that I see so many do with this mod. I know it's cheap, but my truck is already custom tuned by Hemifever, so I don't want to lower engine temps and invite the need to data log and have things changed around all over again, blah blah blah. Just looking to do as I did on my previous Chevy and unlock that free power being robbed by the clutch fan and clean up the front of the engine bay for around 100 dollarsish. Can I simply swap the efan in and then use my Diablo intune 1000-dcx device that came with my truck to tell the new efan to turn on at the 195-200 temp range that folks seem to go with when using the 180 thermostat and will this keep the operating temps where they sit now? I read that the efan is able to keep up with the hemi cooling needs but just want to make sure that by doing this I don't start having to get nervous and monitor the temp gauge more than my speedometer, lol.
Second thing is headers: We have inspections here in Massachusetts and the fact that I love the exhaust cutout the previous owner installed, I wish to not ****** my y-pipe and I need the cats. I gained very little when I swapped the Chevy manifolds for shorty headers due to the stock manifolds flowing nearly as well as a shorty header. However, Dodge definitely used restrictive boat anchors on the 5.7 hemi. Only way I am going this time is stainless steel direct-fit (shorty) JBA headers. I have researched headers a ton recently and am caught on one marketing hype issue with JBA. They claim 15hp and 21 extra tq @ 2100 rpms for the shorty version, and the same tq gain for their long tube version they just recently released, but with a 30hp gain. I want the 21 extra torque at that low rpm, as that is my highway cruising rpm, but I have read honest reviews of shorty headers on these trucks and they are very mixed. Some claim no gains and felt like they lost power down low, while others rave about them with no real world gains or fuel economy gain (if they keep their foot off the floor) to back it up. Are the JBA shorty header worth it??? You honest help with this mod is much appreciated. Good looks, an afternoon of wrenching, changing the exhaust sound, etc. are all good reasons to me, but this mod has to come with a true seat of the pants improvement in the rpms I use the most, which is 700 to 2300.
For what it's worth, the cutout is ridiculously fun to listen to, but my truck's ECO status on the dash tells me it takes less fuel to push this big truck when it is closed. That tells me the exhaust backpressure or velocity is being altered enough to notice a difference and I am looking for headers to be a step in the right direction and not be more like what the cutout does when opened.
Thanks for any feedback with these two mods that are high on my to-do list.
The previous owner literally did everything I was planning to do on the performance side of things to this truck. I like to not leave well enough alone and wrench in the driveway, but that sort of got old and I learned a few good lessons with the previous Chevy about what really works and what doesn't. However, there are a couple things that the previous owner didn't do that I see a potential leap forward in performance/fuel economy: V6 efan mod and headers
First, the V6 efan mod. So happy to see this is literally a direct swap and a quick install once the PITA clutch fan nut is loosened. I scratch my head as to why, with all the emphasis put on fuel economy numbers in full-size trucks these days, Dodge didn't upgrade to an electric fan setup with the launch of the Gen4's. Venting aside, here's the question: I don't want to mess with the whole 180 thermostat thing that I see so many do with this mod. I know it's cheap, but my truck is already custom tuned by Hemifever, so I don't want to lower engine temps and invite the need to data log and have things changed around all over again, blah blah blah. Just looking to do as I did on my previous Chevy and unlock that free power being robbed by the clutch fan and clean up the front of the engine bay for around 100 dollarsish. Can I simply swap the efan in and then use my Diablo intune 1000-dcx device that came with my truck to tell the new efan to turn on at the 195-200 temp range that folks seem to go with when using the 180 thermostat and will this keep the operating temps where they sit now? I read that the efan is able to keep up with the hemi cooling needs but just want to make sure that by doing this I don't start having to get nervous and monitor the temp gauge more than my speedometer, lol.
Second thing is headers: We have inspections here in Massachusetts and the fact that I love the exhaust cutout the previous owner installed, I wish to not ****** my y-pipe and I need the cats. I gained very little when I swapped the Chevy manifolds for shorty headers due to the stock manifolds flowing nearly as well as a shorty header. However, Dodge definitely used restrictive boat anchors on the 5.7 hemi. Only way I am going this time is stainless steel direct-fit (shorty) JBA headers. I have researched headers a ton recently and am caught on one marketing hype issue with JBA. They claim 15hp and 21 extra tq @ 2100 rpms for the shorty version, and the same tq gain for their long tube version they just recently released, but with a 30hp gain. I want the 21 extra torque at that low rpm, as that is my highway cruising rpm, but I have read honest reviews of shorty headers on these trucks and they are very mixed. Some claim no gains and felt like they lost power down low, while others rave about them with no real world gains or fuel economy gain (if they keep their foot off the floor) to back it up. Are the JBA shorty header worth it??? You honest help with this mod is much appreciated. Good looks, an afternoon of wrenching, changing the exhaust sound, etc. are all good reasons to me, but this mod has to come with a true seat of the pants improvement in the rpms I use the most, which is 700 to 2300.
For what it's worth, the cutout is ridiculously fun to listen to, but my truck's ECO status on the dash tells me it takes less fuel to push this big truck when it is closed. That tells me the exhaust backpressure or velocity is being altered enough to notice a difference and I am looking for headers to be a step in the right direction and not be more like what the cutout does when opened.
Thanks for any feedback with these two mods that are high on my to-do list.
