Tuning Advice Needed: 2021 Ram 5.7Hemi Mods

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Marine4Lyf

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Nov 1, 2025
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Location
Johns Island, SC
Ram Year
2021
Engine
Hemi 5.7
I recently installed a couple of common performance upgrades on my 2021 Ram 1500 with the 5.7L HEMI:
*S&B Cold Air Intake (CAI)
*Borla ATAK Cat-Back Exhaust

My question is: Do I need a custom tune (like an HP Tuners or Diablosport tune) to see a difference?
I know the CAI and exhaust change the airflow significantly. Will running the stock ECU mapping cause any issues, or am I just leaving a lot of horsepower and torque on the table?
I'm looking for advice on:
*Necessity: Will it actually make a noticeable difference in performance, throttle response, and shift points?
*Recommendations: What tuning platform (Diablosport, HP Tuners, etc.) and specific custom tune/tuner do you recommend for this combination?
Thanks in advance for the help! I appreciate any insight from those who have tuned their late-model HEMIs
 

Wild one

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Ram Year
14 Sport
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5.7
Neither of those mods add any significant power,and don't require tuning,they also don't add any signficant airflow to the engine,you've fallen for their advertising hype.If you'd thrown a set of long tube headers into the mix,then you do add more airflow,and should tune for them
But a good custom HP tune will gain you a bit of power if you tune for 91 or 93 octane fuel,and have the transmission tuned as well.
There's lots of tuners,pick one you like.
FRP has a pretty decent rep,Andrew Seagraves has a really good rep in the truck world ,Mario Commetti is another decent tuner,all are relatively cheap,then you have the high end guys,that you'll need to rob banks for a living to afford,lol.
Just be forewarned tuning your truck is gonna peel your eyeballs open on cost,as it's not cheap.
You need an unlocked PCM / bypass cable to even access your trucks pcm,then you have to pay for credits and custom tuning on top of that.
 
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