Need some upgrade ideas

[dsurmanek]

Hey All!

Looking for some ideas on performance (or maybe gas mileage) upgrades.

I have an '08 1500 QC Hemi 2WD. Already did cat back exhaust, K&N Intake, tuner.

I've heard:

Electric fan(s) can be good, but I have no idea what to look for.

Both that pulleys can be good and that they can destroy your motor and aren't worth it.

That a throttle body can be good, but is the HP increase really worth ~$400?

Does an intake manifold do any good?

Thinking about converting to true dual exhaust with new headers, high flow cats, and 2 Flowmaster Super 10's. Any advice here?

Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance!

 

[WhiteExpress]

A lot of it depends on what you do with the truck.
If you're frequently at WOT, you'll enjoy most of the above listed modifications.

If you rarely see WOT, I think you'd be spending a lot of money and notice no real difference other than the truck being louder.

The notable exceptions are:
Electric Fan
Ported TB

Those will both net you a small increase without any ill effects.

Personally I would not run under-drive pulleys on a DD, especially not if you have a louder stereo (amplifiers n such).

 

[MegaMouseGW]

White express hit the nail on the head. As far as everything goes you must be careful. True dual exhaust will not be very good for a daily driver at all. You will lose MPG bottom end torque and it will just make your truck a lot louder. Instead of true dual exhaust get a MBRP exhaust that has dual outputs or even a Flowmaster cat back. Changing the cats on a hemi is a bad idea and there was a write-up here somewhere on that issue. A Hemi relies upon the backpressure that the cats provide to run properly and choosing the wrong ones can drastically impact performance. A new TB will help if you tune for it. You should see better bottom end from one. Electric fans can help out but not a lot. Racers use them to reduce paracitic drag on the motor, but with a daily driver it s unnecessary and the only thing they wil do is maybe lower the motors temp slightly. I cannot recommend under drive pullies at all. Had a bad experience with them on another truck and will never use them again. The possible problems outweigh the benefits.

 

[dsurmanek]

I already have a flowmaster dual out cat back.
What about just headers then?

What am I lookng for with electric fans? Size, brand, etc.
Is there a "how-to" anywhere for the 08?

What size/brand throttle body?

What are your thoughts on an intake manifold?

What else?

Basically I'm looking for louder, faster, and/or better gas mileage (definitely don't want less gas mileage)

 

[TheSatinPumpkin]

Mark VIII E-Fan or Flex-a-lite
Moes sells a ported 85mm TB
truck manifold is good for bolt ons.
lot of header options.
under drive is a complimenting mod, just be sure to its a harmonic damper and SFI rated.

I would just read and soak up the threads.

 

[ST-8]

Performance- tuner, gears, converter, longtubes

Gas mileage- leave the truck parked, my trucks gas mileage is the same as stock other than worse highway due to 4.56s but if I do 70-75 still gets ok mileage

 

[dsurmanek]

Performance- tuner, gears, converter, longtubes

Gas mileage- leave the truck parked, my trucks gas mileage is the same as stock other than worse highway due to 4.56s but if I do 70-75 still gets ok mileage

Gears?
Converter?

Can't seem to find long tubes for my truck... What about shorty's? Any big difference?

Mark VIII E-Fan or Flex-a-lite
Moes sells a ported 85mm TB
truck manifold is good for bolt ons.
lot of header options.
under drive is a complimenting mod, just be sure to its a harmonic damper and SFI rated.

I would just read and soak up the threads.

Is THIS any good? 85mm or 90mm?

 

[TheSatinPumpkin]

Not sure. Members threads i have read here seem to be running either Fastman, DIY or Moes. I run a 85mm ported TB from Modern Muscle Performance and its a nice complimenting mod but not one to be done until you did some of the big ones out the way.

 

[hemihustlin]

Gears?
Converter?

Can't seem to find long tubes for my truck... What about shorty's? Any big difference?



Is THIS any good? 85mm or 90mm?

You will find everything you need here haha

Moe's Performance

And everyone says long tubes or nothing, but quite a few people run shorties, its a personal choice, do you want the absolute most out of your motor?

 

[dsurmanek]

OK - what about that throttle body?
BBK Power-Plus Throttle Body
And 85mm or 90mm?


And how does that BBK compare to:
Moes Performance Ported Throttle Body 87MM 2005-2012 Dodge Ram
Moes Performance Ported Throttle Body 85MM 2005-2012 Dodge Ram

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

BBK didnt put as much time into looking at the Hemi TB as Moe's did. I have a ported Moe's 85mm on the wifes 05 that puts my ported 85mm from Fastman to shame from top to bottom. If your not going boosted then a 90mm is way to much. What tuner do you have? That will determine what you can and can not do with your current tuner without having to get another. Longtube wise best bang for the buck is the coated pacesetters. If you do not want to have to replace the Y pipe (stock Y pipe is a massive choke point) then you can do the drop in BBK's but would suggest getting them coated.

 

[dsurmanek]

Not going boosted
So for Moe's throttle bodies - 85mm or 87mm?
Have a Superchips Flashpaq


So if I did pacesetter long tubes, would the pacesetter or magnaflow y-pipe be better? (any difference really?)

Also - another user said that true dual exhaust wouldn't perform as well on my hemi as my single in-dual out flowmaster... is that true??

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Either on the tb, believe the 85 plays better with 3rd gens and 87 plays best on the 4th gens. If you go long tubes the pacesetter off road y kit is the easiest thing to make a d exhaust out of. I would suggest for your app to keep your cats and have them opened up and welded into the y pipe kit before you install it. The magnaflow y is just a small part and the rest of the exhaust has to be modifief to work. The pacesetter kit is also all mand bent so its not crushed and keeps a good flow. You will not see a gain doing true duals so if you want dual tips do the single in/dual out in your choice of muffler. If you do headers please also get a 180* t-stat to help richen your a/f since the headers will lean out the a/f. Its cheap insurance.

 

[dsurmanek]

Either on the tb, believe the 85 plays better with 3rd gens and 87 plays best on the 4th gens. If you go long tubes the pacesetter off road y kit is the easiest thing to make a d exhaust out of. I would suggest for your app to keep your cats and have them opened up and welded into the y pipe kit before you install it. The magnaflow y is just a small part and the rest of the exhaust has to be modifief to work. The pacesetter kit is also all mand bent so its not crushed and keeps a good flow. You will not see a gain doing true duals so if you want dual tips do the single in/dual out in your choice of muffler. If you do headers please also get a 180* t-stat to help richen your a/f since the headers will lean out the a/f. Its cheap insurance.

when you say have the cats opened up, what do you mean?
high flow cats be better? (if so, with or without O2 ports?)

I know you said 85 was better for 3rd gens, but is that still the case with:
K&N intake
Flowmaster dual exhaust (single in, dual out)
Superchips Tuner
Headers/Y-pipe

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just new to modding the truck, and I'm kinda **** anyways lol

 

[TheSatinPumpkin]

you will expand the cat(s) inlets/outlets to match the bigger ORY diameter. The 85mm ported TB will be good for your minor bolt ons. x2 on 180 t-stat.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Yes the 85 will work great with your list of planned mods. D is correct on you will have to have to inlet out outlet of the cats opened up to 3".

 

[dsurmanek]

Ok - planning on ordering from Moes

Pacesetter Longtube Headers 03-08 2WD/4WD 5.7L Hemi (Coated)

Pacesetter 3" Offroad Y-Pipe 2WD/4WD 5.7L Hemi

I'll still be able to use my stock cats?

Again, would it be better to go with high flow cats?
A little confused on high flow cats:

What is the difference in body (round, spun, oval)?

Different inlet/outlets - The only one on Moe's says 3" in and 3" out, but anywhere else I look they are all 2.25" or 2.5" in/out.

How long do I need?

Thanks again for all the help!!!

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Thats because the ORY kit is all 3". If you want to reuse your stock cats you will just have to have the ends opened up to 3". You will pick up a few more HP over the stock cats going with a set of high flows. If you decided to do the high flows just keep in the back of your mind you might need to do non foulers on the rear o2's if you get a cat code. Some trucks play nice others need the non foulers.

 

[dsurmanek]

gotcha - do the longtubes need 3"?

does the ORY normally not use cats?

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

The long tubes collect into a 3" section that the ory slips into. The ory does not have a spot for the cats so you will have to cut out a section and weld them in. For your mods I would suggest keeping the cats.