Bolt-on Performance Mods

[ThunderMug95]

Dont get me wrong, Pulsar is working for many members. Its just acts up on some trucks and/or glitchy units. I meticulously installed and set up mine. It was the next day that my smile faded....to me, not going to live with a piggyback unit, untraceable or not, that caused a legit shutdown.
Magnaflow has been my go to for many vehicles, never disappointed, but I am obviously biased.
Vararam is legit, tuned or non-tuner. Noticeable difference. My opinion, others may dispute, but thats why we are here.

 

[Tim Garceau]

The OG S&B intake is probably the best overall as it pulls from the stock fender as well as underneath the radiator as an option when you get into heavy modding. They’re tough to find however and require the 2013+ to move the A/C lines around, the latest revision is truly ‘bolt-on’ but doesn’t give the added flexibility for more cfm.

In Minnesota I would stay clear of the Vararam if you value a clean intake/throttle body and low maintenance/installation difficulty.

 

[Pull Ya]

The real performance difference as far as the Vararam is concerned is during WOT and highway driving. There is some increase around town, but it's really noticeable on the highway. There is also a pre filter that some of the members have been using on the Vararam to reduce the chance of problems with snow. Not many members have had problems but a few have. I second the idea of a Catch Can. They are not strictly a performance mod but I think they are necessary for our Hemi's. It sure will make a difference in the way your throttle body looks after some mileage.
Jay

 

[NorZeman]

I live in the sticks, so most of my driving is highway. Now you guys are making me want to give the vararam a try again.. I'll probably end up waiting for a little while on it.. and go with the magnaflow.

I'd love to try the Pulsar out, but at half the price its listed at..

Any recommendations on good catch cans?

 

[Pull Ya]

Billet Tech CC sold by Moe's. You might check the "For Sale" section on the forum. From time to time members sell some of their mod's because they have traded their truck or they are doing something different. You can save yourself some money that way. Here is what the Vararam looks like all gussied up---LOL
Jay

 

[H1Chester]

Plasti-Dip

 

[Ramm5.7]

Damn thats shur a purty engine bay!!!
Heres a vararam, pulsar, and a hidden catch can

 

[ThunderMug95]

2 good options on a catch can are the billet one from Moe’s mentioned by Jay or UPR from Nick at GotExhaust. Both come with a solid bracket mount, highly recommended. Here is my UPR installed. It mounts into a z bracket that bolts into an empty threaded hole in the front of the head.

 

[16RamHemi]

I live in the sticks, so most of my driving is highway. Now you guys are making me want to give the vararam a try again.. I'll probably end up waiting for a little while on it.. and go with the magnaflow.

I'd love to try the Pulsar out, but at half the price its listed at..

Any recommendations on good catch cans?

why not swap intakes in fall and spring? run the vararam apr/may through october/nov and put stock back on for the winter? also consider a ported throttle body. exhaust would be my #1 mod. i would also save up for custom tune for trans and engine

 

[meedom]

View attachment 167924 2 good options on a catch can are the billet one from Moe’s mentioned by Jay or UPR from Nick at GotExhaust. Both come with a solid bracket mount, highly recommended. Here is my UPR installed. It mounts into a z bracket that bolts into an empty threaded hole in the front of the head.

The nice thing about the UPR is it's almost an exact copy of the Billet tech one and it comes with that really convenient valve
on the bottom too! Hey Thunder where did you get those hoses and fittings? Mine just came with the cheap nylon braided looking
ones, although I haven't had any problems with them in over 2 years....

 

[Graygoose]

Plasti-Dip

winner!

 

[NorZeman]

Alright.. so impulse (is it really impulse with a bunch of research?) bought a Borla ProXS muffler today to get more of a truck tone out of my Hemi.

Just don't tell my wife

 

[ThunderMug95]

@meedom I had a bobo generic CC mounted on the side of my airbox and it came with crap hose. That CC worked fine, but I installed it with 1/2” heater hose I grabbed from O’Reilly’s. Very durable, thick walled so the motor vacuum cant compress it. I did use the nicer fittings that came with the UPR. The other ends are hose clamped. I had to go to the upgraded CC (w/ Z bracket) because my airbox and assoc plastics are in a box since I installed my Vararam.
That valve is way cool too. I just put an empty water bottle under it and drain it. No unscrewing it.

 

[meedom]

@meedom I had a bobo generic CC mounted on the side of my airbox and it came with crap hose. That CC worked fine, but I installed it with 1/2” heater hose I grabbed from O’Reilly’s. Very durable, thick walled so the motor vacuum cant compress it. I did use the nicer fittings that came with the UPR. The other ends are hose clamped. I had to go to the upgraded CC (w/ Z bracket) because my airbox and assoc plastics are in a box since I installed my Vararam.
That valve is way cool too. I just put an empty water bottle under it and drain it. No unscrewing it.

So the hose ends that are on the CC side now came with your UPR??

 

[ThunderMug95]

So the hose ends that are on the CC side now came with your UPR??

Yes. Came with 4 of them, plus black nylon braided Continental lines. Had issues and concerns on the plastic outlets on motor, too snug, thought I might break one, so I just used my orig lines clamps under the cover...much easier and satisfied my lazy streak that night.

 

[meedom]

Crap, all I got with mine was the cheap nylon continental ones. Lucky you!

 

[ram1500rsm]

Thanks ThunderMug!

Am pretty much debating (with myself) if the Magnaflow is worth the extra $ over the mufflex (which I thought was a Magnaflow muffler anyway?) at this point.

Was really wanting the Vararam for the looks and performance over 40mph. But I've read a few times on here now that the Vararam isn't good in the snow (I'm in Minnesnowta) and that it really isn't worth the money without a tune.

I won't be tuning for at least a few years (I don't want to chance that with powertrain warranty, like you), but thank you very much for the feedback on the Pulsar! Hard to find any info on it out there.

and will do on the oil catch can

If you really don't want to mess with your warranty, leave the thing alone.
At the most change the muffler so you can at least enjoy a change in exhust note.
When ready, unlocked PCM Hptuners and long tube headers will make a solid difference at the track or steet.

 

[Ohio5pt7]

Thanks ThunderMug!

Am pretty much debating (with myself) if the Magnaflow is worth the extra $ over the mufflex (which I thought was a Magnaflow muffler anyway?) at this point.

Was really wanting the Vararam for the looks and performance over 40mph. But I've read a few times on here now that the Vararam isn't good in the snow (I'm in Minnesnowta) and that it really isn't worth the money without a tune.

I won't be tuning for at least a few years (I don't want to chance that with powertrain warranty, like you), but thank you very much for the feedback on the Pulsar! Hard to find any info on it out there.

and will do on the oil catch can

I have a vararam and went through some pretty insane snow this year traveling. No issues just Food for thought

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Elevated 2013]

I'm with Ohio! It hasn't stopped raining here in days and i've driven it through some white out snow conditions and I have yet to have an issue with the Vararam. I live outside of Chicago. There's really no benefit in it other than opening up the engine compartment a little and some more power once the truck is moving as it won't suck air in any better at idle. I also have a Magnaflow muffler and I love the tone. It's not real loud but it has a nice rumble at idle and a nice growl when you get on the gas.

 

[gapi]

Forced induction