Diesel
Member
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2019
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 3
- Age
- 57
5th Gen Ram Fans,
I wanted to take some time to report the good, the bad, and maybe the ugly with the latest mod adventure I have pursued over the last 30 days since owning the truck. Currently, I have 2002 miles on the ODO and started with bed liner, Tonneau cover, and tinted windows. I needed to get my exterior aesthetics out of the way first. Then it was onto the drivetrain i.e. the wonderful and bullet proof 5.7L Hemi, a motor that has been tested time and time again since its inception in 2003. After having a 2006 Dodge Ram SLT with a Hemi, I knew a good intake (AEM Brute Force), a Magnaflow Catback, and MSD Superchip, would give me an amazing performance boost which is exactly what happened. Back then, the motor produced 340hp@360tq but the trucks were a lot smaller and lighter compared to todays variants. In either case, those three mods put the performance into the truck the factory could never do. It was a great truck and I loved it and even miss it because I made it mine the way I wanted it. Check it out...
Fast forward 11 years and the Ram lives larger than ever, the best yet, refined, luxurious, and raw, if you want it to be. I took a lesser aggressive route this time around and focused on comfort and utility versus off-road prowess; I live north of Austin so no off-roading or quading or 4-wheeling for me. This allowed me to focus more on performance and exterior mods for a hell of lot less. Read my intro and the few posts I have here on this forum and you'll see I have some experience and love sharing my modding knowledge and experience.
With that said, enough with the background and history, lets move onto the good stuff or perhaps the stuff you need to know about if you mod your Ram. Firstly, I have a Laramie Sport edition which has everything the upper two models due minus the E-Torque, cargo bed storage system and air suspension. I paid $46,880 for it, an excellent deal I must say. After the exterior mods, I immediately researched and decided a simple resonator delete would be more than enough to open up the restriction the factor resonator had but more importantly, giving the Hemi the deep rumbling sound it so deservingly needed. B2 Fabrication answered the beck and call and is just the right balance between calm and aggressive. Cruise and you can still hear the rumble slightly, get into it to redline, banging off the great 8-Speed's shift points and the reward is very satisfying. The factory exhaust and CATs are actually very well made with decent mandrel bends and minimal restriction. This is why I decided against a full catback--no need! Most folks want cool exhaust tips, well go buy them and have them welded in for a fraction of the cost.
Anyway, after installing and the restriction being removed, I drove and allowed the ECU to learn the new mod and driving style (Yes I disconnected the negative side of the battery) for 500 miles. Once completed, I took a conservative well-disciplined 120 mile trip on flat and hilly terrain at 55-70 mph. Temps outside was 85 degrees w/60% humidity. 90% of that was in cruise control and about 50% MDS. I put in a blend of 93 Shell and 89 Valero Top Tier Fuels prior to the trip which appears to be the best mix, a 91 octane ****tail. I was very pleased and extremely satisfied with the results. Mind you this was mostly highway and interstate driving. I saw high as 20.6 MPG. I then ramped up those speeds from 70-80 mph. I was seeing 19.9 MPG Average which was more than I could ever ask for. Again I emphasize "Conservative!" Two weeks later, I decided to buy the Edge Pulsar and S&B CAI, both are manufactured extremely well with perfect fitment, easy installation, looks, and performance.
Of course there the bads and ugly installing these mods. Not so much with the CAI, but with the Pulsar tuner. If you have U-Connect and you install the Pulsar tuner, you will more than likely loose much of your display apps and functionality i.e. no back up camera, climate control, light control, U-Connect service, access to Sirus/XM, and temp control for AC, it will either be cold or raging hot. Talk about frustrating but I already seen similar issues with others on the forum and called Edge right away. They were very attentive, made sure I had the latest software update (I did, I bought the USB to OBDII data cable and checked), and went to work to resolve the issues. So if you disconnect your negative side of the battery to do this and other mods, you may lose what I mentioned. Fear not, Edge came through and suggested 5 on/off power cycles to return functionality and operability. It worked and my truck was full up mission ready for test and tune.
I went right to performance mode like others here and they are right, what a major difference. I then drove all day in Tow w/MDS and was so smooth and linear; shift logic was the most notable here. Throttle response, shift points, downshifts were all conclusively unique and beneficially designed for those who tow. It is nice for regular and spirited driving as well. A lot of fun. I have yet to try economy mode but I will surely, the same trip I took with same conservative style previously mentioned. Then it was back to performance mode, no MDS. Man oh man, it just gets better and better the more the ECU relearns. Fricken thing launches hard and shift points are very crisp. The roar of the Hemi and the performance is exactly the way Edge claims it to be. I would say 30hp/30+tq is being conservative here, but I do have the other supporting mods...Wow! What a Difference! Diesel's Report! Happy Modding...
I wanted to take some time to report the good, the bad, and maybe the ugly with the latest mod adventure I have pursued over the last 30 days since owning the truck. Currently, I have 2002 miles on the ODO and started with bed liner, Tonneau cover, and tinted windows. I needed to get my exterior aesthetics out of the way first. Then it was onto the drivetrain i.e. the wonderful and bullet proof 5.7L Hemi, a motor that has been tested time and time again since its inception in 2003. After having a 2006 Dodge Ram SLT with a Hemi, I knew a good intake (AEM Brute Force), a Magnaflow Catback, and MSD Superchip, would give me an amazing performance boost which is exactly what happened. Back then, the motor produced 340hp@360tq but the trucks were a lot smaller and lighter compared to todays variants. In either case, those three mods put the performance into the truck the factory could never do. It was a great truck and I loved it and even miss it because I made it mine the way I wanted it. Check it out...
Fast forward 11 years and the Ram lives larger than ever, the best yet, refined, luxurious, and raw, if you want it to be. I took a lesser aggressive route this time around and focused on comfort and utility versus off-road prowess; I live north of Austin so no off-roading or quading or 4-wheeling for me. This allowed me to focus more on performance and exterior mods for a hell of lot less. Read my intro and the few posts I have here on this forum and you'll see I have some experience and love sharing my modding knowledge and experience.
With that said, enough with the background and history, lets move onto the good stuff or perhaps the stuff you need to know about if you mod your Ram. Firstly, I have a Laramie Sport edition which has everything the upper two models due minus the E-Torque, cargo bed storage system and air suspension. I paid $46,880 for it, an excellent deal I must say. After the exterior mods, I immediately researched and decided a simple resonator delete would be more than enough to open up the restriction the factor resonator had but more importantly, giving the Hemi the deep rumbling sound it so deservingly needed. B2 Fabrication answered the beck and call and is just the right balance between calm and aggressive. Cruise and you can still hear the rumble slightly, get into it to redline, banging off the great 8-Speed's shift points and the reward is very satisfying. The factory exhaust and CATs are actually very well made with decent mandrel bends and minimal restriction. This is why I decided against a full catback--no need! Most folks want cool exhaust tips, well go buy them and have them welded in for a fraction of the cost.
Anyway, after installing and the restriction being removed, I drove and allowed the ECU to learn the new mod and driving style (Yes I disconnected the negative side of the battery) for 500 miles. Once completed, I took a conservative well-disciplined 120 mile trip on flat and hilly terrain at 55-70 mph. Temps outside was 85 degrees w/60% humidity. 90% of that was in cruise control and about 50% MDS. I put in a blend of 93 Shell and 89 Valero Top Tier Fuels prior to the trip which appears to be the best mix, a 91 octane ****tail. I was very pleased and extremely satisfied with the results. Mind you this was mostly highway and interstate driving. I saw high as 20.6 MPG. I then ramped up those speeds from 70-80 mph. I was seeing 19.9 MPG Average which was more than I could ever ask for. Again I emphasize "Conservative!" Two weeks later, I decided to buy the Edge Pulsar and S&B CAI, both are manufactured extremely well with perfect fitment, easy installation, looks, and performance.
Of course there the bads and ugly installing these mods. Not so much with the CAI, but with the Pulsar tuner. If you have U-Connect and you install the Pulsar tuner, you will more than likely loose much of your display apps and functionality i.e. no back up camera, climate control, light control, U-Connect service, access to Sirus/XM, and temp control for AC, it will either be cold or raging hot. Talk about frustrating but I already seen similar issues with others on the forum and called Edge right away. They were very attentive, made sure I had the latest software update (I did, I bought the USB to OBDII data cable and checked), and went to work to resolve the issues. So if you disconnect your negative side of the battery to do this and other mods, you may lose what I mentioned. Fear not, Edge came through and suggested 5 on/off power cycles to return functionality and operability. It worked and my truck was full up mission ready for test and tune.
I went right to performance mode like others here and they are right, what a major difference. I then drove all day in Tow w/MDS and was so smooth and linear; shift logic was the most notable here. Throttle response, shift points, downshifts were all conclusively unique and beneficially designed for those who tow. It is nice for regular and spirited driving as well. A lot of fun. I have yet to try economy mode but I will surely, the same trip I took with same conservative style previously mentioned. Then it was back to performance mode, no MDS. Man oh man, it just gets better and better the more the ECU relearns. Fricken thing launches hard and shift points are very crisp. The roar of the Hemi and the performance is exactly the way Edge claims it to be. I would say 30hp/30+tq is being conservative here, but I do have the other supporting mods...Wow! What a Difference! Diesel's Report! Happy Modding...
Last edited:
