Newbie to upgrades. Looking for input.

[MiB0602]

Greetings,

I recently acquired a 2012 Ram 1500 SLT with the beloved 5.7L Hemi. It's a beautiful truck with the crew cab and only had 37,000 miles on it when I got it. Whoever had owned it originally had made some upgrades already. They did an upgraded exhaust system (not sure which one, too rusted to tell), a K&N cold air intake, and put a Diablosport tuner in it. So she sounds pretty mean already but I'm interested in taking her further. I put an MSD Blast Pack in, replacing the stock ignition coils, and put Iridium plugs while I was in there. Now, here is my question to all you out there who are far wiser, more experienced than me (please be gentle). What upgrades can I give her that isn't going to break the bank? Also, she's my daily driver so any upgrades she gets to have to be what you can bolt on in a few hours so I can take her to work the next day lol. I tried to install a BBK 90mm throttle body on her but the truck's computer wouldn't take it. I took it in to the dealer and even they were mystified. I eventually just had em put the stock one back on. Someone told me that I might need to flash my PCM or upgrade it completely. Not sure about that and that's wandering into areas I know basically nothing about. I do plan on putting upgraded shocks, aluminum driveshaft, performance exhaust headers on her eventually. Like I said, just looking for input gentlemen (and ladies). Love to hear your thoughts.

 

[MrSoloDolo]

A 90mm throttle body isnt necessary, if you really want a better one though the 87mm from moes performance is a popular choice. One modification that wont break the bank would be headers. Id stay away from BBK, but Jba and American racing make excellent headers. Upgrading rear and front control arms would also improve handling tremendously

 

[Burla]

If you have an rfe, it is likely a gear change will snap your neck nice and proper. Valve body upgrade also advisable. What trans/gears do you have? 4wd? You need to put more info to get best advice.

 

[Burla]

Go big or stay home, btw rumor is they are gonna put out another stimulus check, I just bet our gov't would love for a guy to buy new gears with that. Gonna need a tune with that for best result.

 

[MoParts]

First thing I would suggest is go through it and make sure it's all up to spec. Get it up on a rack at a place you trust and check/have them check all bushings and bearings. Make sure the brakes are in good shape, also it's probably due for a brake fluid bleed/flush. Same for coolant. Service the transmission. Inspect all belts and hoses. Check for hacks to the wiring harness and correct them.

Don't be that guy that spends on something shiny then finds he needs brakes he can't afford the following week.

 

[StickyLifter]

So it's a 65RFE truck with puke gear ratios compared to the 8HP70, so you might check the 0-60 times, gas mileage numbers, and torque capacity of that trans and decide correctly that the truck is mud without it. While you are in there add a converter with a 3000rpm stall. That and a 3.92:1 or even 4.10:1 final gear will wake the truck up BIG TIME. If you are sticking with 31" tires, probably go with 3.92, and if going to 33" or bigger tires, go to a 4.10 final. You won't need a computer tune because the vehicle speed sensor is at the wheels. If you are tearing the rear end down for gears, go ahead and have them install a Crush Sleeve Eliminator kit so you can ROCK THEM BURNOUTS SON.

Do remove the factory clutch fan and install an electric fan from a V6 model (it's cheap).

Hemi Fever tune is worth it, especially after long tubes and no cats. Don't even bother with shorties, they do nothing.

Little primer on American cars:
Even back in the day when Monte Carlos made 180hp, if you did gears, converter, and shift kit it made the car totally different. I mean like NIGHT AND DAY difference. You ALWAYS do that stuff first to get em ready for your big cam stroker nitrous build.

Alright, since I'm having fun with this build... None of this stuff will be easy or cheap. Not gonna do it over night, so join the carpool. Since you're driving an American made vehicle, and a Chrysler no less, you need man up and show the whole world just how egregiously impractical you can be, and here is how you do it:

Fuel system: drop that tank and let your favorite local rod shop weld a sump in the bottom rear of it with a couple of 1/2" threaded nipples on it so you can dual -8an fuel lines back two 250gph filters and into a couple monster billet external pumps. Go crazy here so you don't have to do it again. Run two more high flow canister filters into an adjustable pressure regulator with a nipple for boost reference just in case.

Next, go get you an intercooler off a giant diesel truck and mount that to the lower front bumper. Pick up a massive Chinacharger so you can whirlyderb bald eagles straight out the back of your 800hp mill with about 25psi on the cold side. Gap them rangs to about .030", cold plugs, and put on a Hellcat oil pump. Mount that hairdryer in place of the muffler and connect up all the tubes with silicone and t-bolt clamps. Don't tell anyone on the street that you did all this and use a quiet miffler so you can take their money. Heck yeah, now you are rockin hard, but we ain't done yet.

The icing on the cake is the big damned race cam that should be in every engine this side of Morocco. Make good and sure it bounces at a 1500rpm idle and tell anyone that asks that it has a real whopper of a vacuum leak.

When them kids show up in their 370Zs, it's your duty to crank up the Van Halen and bust a big wheelstand in front of the Dairy Dip while smiling back at them like a David Mann painting.

Are you evil? Yes, yes you f*ck*ng are!