Driving experience/Performance mod reviews

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NWRQC

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This is my review of the mods that I have done to my truck, I would like to hear your's as well to get idea's for myself and others.

This post is kinda long so cliff notes are at the bottom, scroll down if you like.

2005 quad cab, short bed, 4wd, 1500, Ram Hemi. When I bought it the truck had 35x12.5.20 Toyo M/T's so that is my starting point.
Driving the truck stock I could feel that it had power, but IMO it lacked below 3k RPM, it just felt dead so I made some changes. The following is my mods in order with my review/impression.

Sprectre intake (part # 9932). The truck was louder under acceleration, created a deep intake growel.
Performance wise I didn't notice much (up to 12hp wouldn't be a night and day difference, hp gain reality alone meh). The mid-upper RPM range felt slightly smoother, but nothing to brag about. Fuel economy I noticed no change.

Diablosport preadator tuner (part # U7137). I opted for the 91 octane tune "modified". After my final adjustents with the trans shift points (upshift and downshift) and throttle sensitivity I was vary happy with the money spent. There was a noticable increase in power (which is a first for me with a tuner, Hypertech has let me down in the past) and drivabilty was improved a lot. Fuel economy in town was about the same (the slight increase I believe was due to the tire/speedo correction). On the highway I went from a best of 18mpg to just over 19 mpg, so a 1 MPG increase. Aside from their "quirks" I have no complaint about this product. Once it works properly the tunability is awesome.

Trans line pressure booster. This was a $5 mod (I had most the parts, otherwise $15 tops). The firmer shifts coupled with the above mods made for a better driving truck. Being better for the tranny, and so cheap, getting quicker and firmer shift is a must IMO. (2.2K resistor, 1ft of 14-16 gauge wire, a few connectors and shrink tube)

Lastly comes the exhaust. I purchased an 18" Magnaflow muffler (part # 12249). I had the muffler welded inplace of the stock muffler and the resonator removed. Start-up and idle it has a nice deep mellow tone. Driving off throttle it sounds no different than it stock, give it a little gas you get a nice deep growl with no rasp. Interior wise there is some resonance, but minor. Its a slight rumble in the background if anything. Power wise it's pretty noticable, similar to the gains from tuner. Fuel economy in city has improved more than I expected. I have a short commute to work, but there are a lot of turns, hills and stop lights. With the above mods (minus exhaust) I would average 9.8 MPG at best. I know it sucks, but two months+ of calculating I would end up with the same result. Now with the exhaust my average MPG is up over 1 MPG (11 MPG) and I feel that I have been driving a bit more "spirited" to hear the exhaust tone. I'm still skeptical, and will continue to test. I will have initial long range highway MPG tomorrow.

I have had a lot of vehicles, all have been modified (what can I say, I got bit by the mod bug before I got my first car), some mild and some ....well...not so much (I love F/I :waytogo:).

I know the results are cumulative and the gains are not represenative of each single modification. I just wanted to start this thread to outline my results and see other people's set-up and reviews. With the mods I have done, my truck drives awesome, I wish it drove like this from the factory. Best of all I still have some transmission "fine" tuning to do.
I look forward to seeing your set-ups.


Cliff notes. Ram hemi from factory ....cool. :sleepy:....few changes :big_banana_Dance:
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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Thank you.
I hope to read a bunch of other peoples experiences.
 

EJM05

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Well I have custom headlights and tinted tail lights from retroshop! Only mods so far. Best ones too.
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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Cool!
Were they for aesthetics or did you gain some light outut? I am contemplating if I should black out my headlight housings.. My truck is deep molten red and I think blacked out housings would look good. I have done it before (my prior vehicle, Obsidian Black G35) which turned out good minus the crappy UV protectant on the lenses, but thats another conversation.
The chrome contrast on the red drives me nuts....I might have to do it soon.
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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BTW your headlights flow great with the lines of the truck. I really like them.
 

EJM05

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Thanks man! These are not the ebay crap projectors. they are legit! the output of light is amazing and so is the paint inside of them!
 

EJM05

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Send a email to JJ at retroshop. click the link on the side of the webpage here to get his email.
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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Send a email to JJ at retroshop. click the link on the side of the webpage here to get his email.

JJ did the headlights?
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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Cool man, like the review. Don't get to hear this kind of stuff when people do mods sometimes.

Thanks :)
Ideally it would be cool to see other's setup and review for people to revert back to.
Seeing what others have done and experienced helped me a lot so I wanted to pass that on. This site is great!
 

truckin151

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Nice review

Pretty sure though that just swapping out the muffler, although will add power, will not add the same as a tuner. What you're feeling there is a combination of all your mods coming together. Better breathing and better exhaling engine that has a more aggressive tune is better than just one or two of the three. That's a fun thing about performance mods, you can get a few things and it doesn't feel like a lot of power is being added until you add a final piece that ties it all together and then BAM it feels amazing.
 

Kevlar55

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I've been working on my truck for 3 years, a little at a time, first a programer (superchips) then gears and lsd ( 4:56 DTT) a 180* thermostat, Duel exaust (Magnaflows) Edlebrock shorties.Now I'm going to put a cam in after the holidays. Then maybe in the near future I'll be able to swing some Big valve heads. Then who knows maybe a stroker 392.
Nice write up NWRQC,it made me think about the mod's put in my truck.
That is a sweet truck EJM05.

Kevin.
 

quietpeen

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i don't have much to review...my truck is pretty close to stock...LOL.

On my 2005 i had the spectre intake and superchips, but then i had mud tires so that negated some of the gains.
 
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TheSatinPumpkin

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That's a sweet review of your ride and what you have done. Wish i was creative in putting thoughts to words. I have had mine since 04 but only recently started modding since 08. I was actually happy with it stock but going to some local GTG really gave me some inspiration on what type of themes people have done with their rides......

Been downhill since then.
 

quietpeen

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That's a sweet review of your ride and what you have done. Wish i was creative in putting thoughts to words. I have had mine since 04 but only recently started modding since 08. I was actually happy with it stock but going to some local GTG really gave me some inspiration on what type of themes people have done with their rides......

Been downhill since then.

lol that is an understatement....you truck has changed drastically a lot....:roflsquared:
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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Nice review

Pretty sure though that just swapping out the muffler, although will add power, will not add the same as a tuner. What you're feeling there is a combination of all your mods coming together. Better breathing and better exhaling engine that has a more aggressive tune is better than just one or two of the three. That's a fun thing about performance mods, you can get a few things and it doesn't feel like a lot of power is being added until you add a final piece that ties it all together and then BAM it feels amazing.
I agree 100%

I've been working on my truck for 3 years, a little at a time, first a programer (superchips) then gears and lsd ( 4:56 DTT) a 180* thermostat, Duel exaust (Magnaflows) Edlebrock shorties.Now I'm going to put a cam in after the holidays. Then maybe in the near future I'll be able to swing some Big valve heads. Then who knows maybe a stroker 392.
Nice write up NWRQC,it made me think about the mod's put in my truck.
That is a sweet truck EJM05.

Kevin.

Thanks, Sound like a good plan. How do you like the 4:56's?
 
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NWRQC

NWRQC

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i don't have much to review...my truck is pretty close to stock...LOL.

On my 2005 i had the spectre intake and superchips, but then i had mud tires so that negated some of the gains.

My intent was to keep mine close to stock as well.....But that didn't work.

That's a sweet review of your ride and what you have done. Wish i was creative in putting thoughts to words. I have had mine since 04 but only recently started modding since 08. I was actually happy with it stock but going to some local GTG really gave me some inspiration on what type of themes people have done with their rides......

Been downhill since then.

Thanks. I always like to see what other people have done and how they like it. It gives me idea's

need pics... lol
Ill work on that.
 

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