Sorry if this a repeat but multiple questions

[Blatherbeard]

So heres the jist. Ive got a 2017 Tradesman 5.7l hemi. AFAIK nothing done to it yet. Standard 17inch wheels and single exhaust. I absolutely love the truck as is, but have some questions about certain upgrades.

1. Good cold air kit with k and n filter--does it actually provide a power boost? on my mustang it seemed to but i never measured it. (maybe in my head)
2. True Dual Exhaust-- ive read that it does nothing, ive read it helps overall power and fuel economy.
3. Will a cow catcher grille affect gas mileage much? ive got zero experience with them but i think they look cool and since i live rural could save my life hitting a cow/deer/animal.
4. Will 20 inch wheels/rims affect gas mileage or speedometer accuracy? never went from one size to another on my vehicles aside from my titan but the wife did that cause it was hers first LOL
5. Is there a tuner yall would recommend?


so my goal here is to get more power and/or better gas mileage. Its not lacking either per se(avg 19 mpg and its got power for days) but i wouldnt mind being able to say to friends--yeah its over 400 hp and still has decent gas mileage LOL also a concern is my wife having to drive it as an overweight woman who has trouble getting into a higher vehilce(her tahoe she mostly gets into fine and my truck isnt much higher if at all, but we bring dogs to the vet and dont want to make it harder on her. i specifically got the tradesman because its a working persons truck)

THANKS FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY QUESTIONS!

 

[Jeepwalker]

I would leave it as-is. None of those upgrades are likely to achieve much in the way of improved economy, and some items like the exhaust probably won't pay for themselves.

The Cold air kit ....a lot of fantastic claims are made. You're either going to get more airflow via a poorer filter, or another compromise. Plus the cost of the kit itself. If Chrysler could improve economy with a cheap and simple cold air system, they would have. But a lot of guys add them (and fuzzy dice too) lol.

Larger aluminum wheels may add a nice flair to your truck. What matters is the ultimate tire size. You can probably go a size larger w/o negatively affecting your MPG, but then it'll sit a little higher and might make it more difficult for your lady to get in/out.

Grille Guard - How much it might affect fuel economy depends on the type you install. You have two factors at play: Aerodynamics and Weight. Lighter is better, but then it's less strong too. Any which have grating (or expanded metal) in the center will be more likely to disrupt aerodynamic flow and affect fuel economy than those which are just a simple surround. If you drive a combination of city/highway, I doubt you'll notice much of a difference. If you put on mostly (or all) highway miles at interstate speeds, then the extra weight and subtle aerodynamic change might make a difference.

At the extreme, a home-made grille guard that consists of expanded wire mesh, made of heavy duty pipe, and sticks way out past the front fenders ....and weighs a ton (the kind that REALLY could stop a cow) ...yeah, that'll turn your truck into an aerodynamic 'brick' going down the road. The amature home-brew grille guards look kind of ugly IMO.

Most likely if you hit an animal at speed your truck is still going to sustain some damage. Sometimes the animal ya hit swings around and damages the side, pops up and screws up the hood, or bends stuff underneath ...or bends the grille guard anyway and busts up the headlight and front corner, even with a stout grille guard. I've hit several deer and never seem to hit them square. One time I hit two at once and there were dents down the side of my car and even on the trunk. How that happenned I have no idea! Sooo...the chances you're going to hit one 'square' while you're driving down the highway and not sustain any damage, is not always going to be the case. If it were me, I'd get something 'cool looking' that you like, that gives the truck a nice 'look' that you like, and keep your insurance up. If you hit a deer/cow/whatever, just take it in and get it repaired. The cost for 'Comprehensive' (that cover 'Acts of God') is pretty cheap.

Sounds like a nice truck. Enjoy

 

[kurek]

So heres the jist. Ive got a 2017 Tradesman 5.7l hemi. AFAIK nothing done to it yet. Standard 17inch wheels and single exhaust. I absolutely love the truck as is, but have some questions about certain upgrades.

1. Good cold air kit with k and n filter--does it actually provide a power boost? on my mustang it seemed to but i never measured it. (maybe in my head)
2. True Dual Exhaust-- ive read that it does nothing, ive read it helps overall power and fuel economy.
3. Will a cow catcher grille affect gas mileage much? ive got zero experience with them but i think they look cool and since i live rural could save my life hitting a cow/deer/animal.
4. Will 20 inch wheels/rims affect gas mileage or speedometer accuracy? never went from one size to another on my vehicles aside from my titan but the wife did that cause it was hers first LOL
5. Is there a tuner yall would recommend?

Your factory intake is a cold air intake. There isn't a better one. The only intake that makes any power is the Vararam. The rest are jewelry.

The single exhaust Rams are rated the same torque and horsepower as the dual exhaust ones from the factory. But you can probably uncork a couple horsepower by replacing the Y pipe with a 2-into-1 instead of a half+half-into-one. Just about any other exhaust change isn't going to give you any power just more noise.

Yes big bumpers and brush guards negatively affect fuel mileage, 5-10% in my experience.

20" wheels won't have a meaningful impact on fuel efficiency as long as you correct your speedometer for it. You can correct your speedometer by buying an OBD2 dongle compatible with Jscan or AlfaOBD ( I think Jscan is easier...) and using the app to update your truck's calibration.

I don't have any tuner recommendations, but keep in mind that your 2017 ECU is locked so you can't use a tuner that writes to the ECU. You can buy an unlocked ECU, or you could use a Pulsar tuner that piggybacks on your ECU.

 

[Blatherbeard]

thanks yall.

pretty much what i thought. love the truck as is. so yall find yourselves in bastop texas go to bbco and ill buy yall a beer and i mean real beer not but miller coors LOL

 

[JustaTradesman]

I bought a kn filter for the stock airbox.
Removed the fabric that was across the air intake.
Re-routed the PCV to atmosphere, and plugged hole in throttle body.

 

[kurek]

Re-routed the PCV to atmosphere

workin' on having oil leaks later I see!

 

[Jeepwalker]

You're going to pressurize your engine... force oil out of seals. Probably gunk it up too (burnt oil can't get sucked out). Just put it all back together and believe for a moment that Chrysler engineers who have millions of these trucks on the road ...know just a little bit about what they're doing (and the other billion cars on the road that follow the same arrangement). Mine's got 170k on it and runs great.

 

[Burla]

I bought a kn filter for the stock airbox.
Removed the fabric that was across the air intake.
Re-routed the PCV to atmosphere, and plugged hole in throttle body.

I like this kid, lol. Thought about doing this like a million times, drip drip drip. I have to say if everyone did this your local roads might be real slippery first rain.

 

[62Blazer]

So heres the jist. Ive got a 2017 Tradesman 5.7l hemi. AFAIK nothing done to it yet. Standard 17inch wheels and single exhaust. I absolutely love the truck as is, but have some questions about certain upgrades.

1. Good cold air kit with k and n filter--does it actually provide a power boost? on my mustang it seemed to but i never measured it. (maybe in my head)
2. True Dual Exhaust-- ive read that it does nothing, ive read it helps overall power and fuel economy.
3. Will a cow catcher grille affect gas mileage much? ive got zero experience with them but i think they look cool and since i live rural could save my life hitting a cow/deer/animal.
4. Will 20 inch wheels/rims affect gas mileage or speedometer accuracy? never went from one size to another on my vehicles aside from my titan but the wife did that cause it was hers first LOL
5. Is there a tuner yall would recommend?


so my goal here is to get more power and/or better gas mileage. Its not lacking either per se(avg 19 mpg and its got power for days) but i wouldnt mind being able to say to friends--yeah its over 400 hp and still has decent gas mileage LOL also a concern is my wife having to drive it as an overweight woman who has trouble getting into a higher vehilce(her tahoe she mostly gets into fine and my truck isnt much higher if at all, but we bring dogs to the vet and dont want to make it harder on her. i specifically got the tradesman because its a working persons truck)

THANKS FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY QUESTIONS!

1. Very unlikely any aftermarket air kit will actually add power. Usually make more sound and maybe look cooler under the hood. The engine can only use so much air and the manufacturer does not just randomly throw on an air intake and not verify it flows more than enough, and most factory systems are basically a cold air intake.
2. Same as above......99% is for the sound and/or look
3. Should have minimal affect of fuel mileage. Just keep in mind that most are more cosmetic and will not hold up if you actually hit anything substantial. There are some some out there and you can tell by the price as they are 2 - 3 times more expensive than the ones that are just for looks.
4. The size of the wheels (rims) themselves will not affect speedometer accuracy and should have minimal, if any, affect on fuel mileage. It's the size of the tires that cause this. If the 20" rims are a good bit heavier than the stock rims than they could decrease MPG some.
5. Can't really answer this question.

 

[RLJ10X]

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would do shorty headers. They were about $500 when I bought mine. It cost about $500 to have them installed. You may pick up 10 HP which would theoretically give you 400 HP bragging rights. Shortys could possibly help MPG. But what Shortlys. WILL DO, is not warp and snap manifold bolts.

they took all the fun out of re-gearing four wheel drives.

 

[MADDOG]

I'd not do any of those things to your truck. There won't be much if a performance improvement.

I would, however, suggest a Pedal Commander. It will improve throttle response and the truck will feel more powerful. It won't affect mileage at least once you stop flattening the pedal to the floor and giggling.

 

[hemihustlin]

Now Im not going to tell anyone they should change exhaust for fuel economy, thats silly!
But I never see this being discussed when it comes time for these threads.
The HEMI with a 3 inch single exhaust is not sufficient. I have used a few of the exhaust cfm calculators and each time it says for a 350 c.i 400 hp motor the minimum single exhaust is 3.5 to 4 inches, depends which calculator you use.
Between that and the terrible y pipe it seems to me that there absolutely is room for improvement.
Personally I quite like my true dual x pipe exhaust it was worth every penny to me but I understand some people would not see the point as it works fine in a single pipe and its way cheaper.

 

[RLJ10X]

Catch can for crank case blow by.

 

[GTyankee]

RLJ10X nailed it
Keep the oil out of the Gasoline System
OIL does not burn, it just builds up carbon
Racers polish the intake as much as is possible
The valves need to seat, carbon does not allow that

without a catch can, this goes through your fuel system & causes carbon build up

 

[Rado]

Do you have running boards on your RAM ?
If not I would look into adding them, it will be easier for your wife to get in and out of !
My 90 y/o MIL likes them
All the other things IMO are just candy and add very little if any !

 

[JustaTradesman]

OH yes, the tube that went from the vent just behind the oil fill opening to the air box, well that got eliminated. Plugged up hole in airbox, and fitted on a tiny kn filter knok-off to that vent.

 

[RedonkulousD]

1. I just went from factory 17’s with the factory tire size to Factory 20’s with factory (275 60 R20, I think). My Speedo is off by 2 mph which is not bad. I’m having it flashed in a few weeks once I get the factory tow controller delivered and I get it installed. If I gotta pay the dealer 150 to flash for tow controller might as well have them do tire reprogram at same time.
2. If you got extra cash laying around the Vararam is just plain cool looking if nothing else, lol. I plan to do that later, but it’s not on the priority upgrade list.
3. I second the notion of running boards of some type.
4. Consider maybe leveling the rear and bagging it. Will cost about 250 in parts but, again, to me it looks very nice and that’s an inch or two less for your wife to have to high step, lol. See how we justify mods, lol.

 

[Way1967]

I agree w/above but my Borla X sounds very nice (growl).

 

[John Schmidt]

You're going to pressurize your engine... force oil out of seals. Probably gunk it up too (burnt oil can't get sucked out). Just put it all back together and believe for a moment that Chrysler engineers who have millions of these trucks on the road ...know just a little bit about what they're doing (and the other billion cars on the road that follow the same arrangement). Mine's got 170k on it and runs great.

I like most of those engineers ... except for the one (or team of them) that decided where the oil filter would be mounted on the 5.7. Oh yes, and the one who decided how tight the factory filter would be torqued down. Other than that, probably a great bunch of people!

 

[MAC830203]

Take it like a grain of salt with my two cents…..
Leave it alone. A Dodge ain’t cheap.
Cold air waste of money. Just get a great air cleaner. Stick it in the spot where it belongs.
Slap on any gizmo that fits… and looks good.
Tires? Rims? Tires and rims can be combined to just about same diameter. The big difference is the ride. Just go wider.
Tuner? That’s about $400. These new trucks already have torque management turned off unless you push the tow/haul button. So why stress a drivetrain? And buy 93 octane fuel.
My 96 has changed so many times and my wallet with it. Wait for your truck to need rebuilding. Then start at the Transmission. From there, you can do anything on either end with a 2800 stall billet converter.