Towing performance

[itsjoebaker]

Looking to upgrade intake, headers, and exhaust on my 2023 Ram 1500 5.7. Any recommendations that would improve torque and towing power with the deep rumble?

 

[jws1982]

Intake already has plenty of extra capacity. Any set of shorties, exhaust, and a tune will net you a bit of power. Towing would improve slightly. If I was towing a lot with my truck though, I’d definitely keep it stock.

 

[John Kloehr]

Not sure if any canned tunes will play well with a truck, think most are marketed for cars. Would also have to switch to premium gas. And any tune is an instant void of the drivetrain warranty. Without a tune, no mod will increase power. And if there are other mods, no canned tune will take advantage of them; custom tuning then required.

Pick any catback exhaust you like the sound of. No power add, but might enjoy it.

Are you RWD or 4WD? And what final axle ratio? My 5.7 4WD Rebel has 3.92 axles, there is no shortage of torque. Depending on what gear you have, this might be the best way to increase torque. Obviously a more expensive conversion if you need to do two axles.

If your final drive ratio is 3.21:1, a swap to 3.92:1 is an instant 22% increase in torque. That is huge. And it will tow fine with 89 octane and otherwise stock. If you have 3.55:1, then the swap is still a 10% increase.

 

[RAM REAPER MAN]

Not sure if any canned tunes will play well with a truck, think most are marketed for cars. Would also have to switch to premium gas. And any tune is an instant void of the drivetrain warranty. Without a tune, no mod will increase power. And if there are other mods, no canned tune will take advantage of them; custom tuning then required.

Pick any catback exhaust you like the sound of. No power add, but might enjoy it.

Are you RWD or 4WD? And what final axle ratio? My 5.7 4WD Rebel has 3.92 axles, there is no shortage of torque. Depending on what gear you have, this might be the best way to increase torque. Obviously a more expensive conversion if you need to do two axles.

If your final drive ratio is 3.21:1, a swap to 3.92:1 is an instant 22% increase in torque. That is huge. And it will tow fine with 89 octane and otherwise stock. If you have 3.55:1, then the swap is still a 10% increase.

Who is the member that just did headers and a limited slip diff?
He has a airplane pic in his signature area.
He may want to follow his build.
I cant remember much anymore

 

[silver billet]

If your final drive ratio is 3.21:1, a swap to 3.92:1 is an instant 22% increase in torque. That is huge. And it will tow fine with 89 octane and otherwise stock. If you have 3.55:1, then the swap is still a 10% increase.

You only get increase in torque from first and part of second. You can't separate the rear axle from the transmission gear, and if you do the math both trucks have very similar final gear ratios to choose from outside of 1st in the 3.92 and 8th in the 3.21.

Speaking for myself, towing off the line (first) is never an issue with my truck (3.21). If I want more power, it's when I'm on an on ramp getting up to highway speed (3rd or 4th gear), or passing a semi up a hill (4th/5th/6th). So a 3.92 would never give any usable towing power; the 3.21 has gobs of torque in first gear (the most it will ever have), and where I want it most it will never improve with a rear axle swap because the transmission can just downshift instead.

The 3.21 makes so much torque in first that it beats the 6 speed tundra in first with a 4.30 rear end. That's how steep the ZF 1st gear is, kinda pointless trying to improve that unless you're also running really big tires or doing hard core offroading.

So my personal opinion is that an axle swap is a waste of money. Better improvements can be made with a cam and tune.

 

[silver billet]

Looking to upgrade intake, headers, and exhaust on my 2023 Ram 1500 5.7. Any recommendations that would improve torque and towing power with the deep rumble?

I second @John Kloehr 's comment about running premium gas. Yes the manual says 87 is acceptable, but I tow with 91 and the difference is noticable, not only in power but in far less ping from the engine when running above 3000 RPMs. Night and day for me.

 

[John Kloehr]

... You can't separate the rear axle from the transmission gear, and if you do the math both trucks have very similar final gear ratios to choose from outside of 1st in the 3.92 and 8th in the 3.21.

The A8 is an amazing transmission. I have not towed with mine yet, have hauled *** a few times getting up to highway speed and my Rebel just pulls and pulls. I did test drive the other gears and I feel a difference which is why my search focused on a Rebel or a truck with similar equipment.

As far as the math, you are correct. There is basically a gear which is the same except for what happens in 1st or 8th. How the programming makes a selection, or how much tow/haul changes selection points and gear holding, or how much the driver can limit top gear (cumbersome steering wheel buttons), these can make some difference.

For a cam, I have read some good things an about the Truck Norris cam, it is a popular choice in the Charger and Challenger groups. The name suggests truck but it seems to help in the heavy sedans. I still lean towards gears before cams as a general philosophy but happy to move the conversation to alternatives and how they might improve the towing (and general driving) experience. I lean towards gears before cams in part because I have seen many builds (not Ram or even Mopar specific) which simply do not "wake up" until the final gear gets set to take advantage of engine mods.

 

[silver billet]

The A8 is an amazing transmission. I have not towed with mine yet, have hauled *** a few times getting up to highway speed and my Rebel just pulls and pulls. I did test drive the other gears and I feel a difference which is why my search focused on a Rebel or a truck with similar equipment.

As far as the math, you are correct. There is basically a gear which is the same except for what happens in 1st or 8th. How the programming makes a selection, or how much tow/haul changes selection points and gear holding, or how much the driver can limit top gear (cumbersome steering wheel buttons), these can make some difference.

For a cam, I have read some good things an about the Truck Norris cam, it is a popular choice in the Charger and Challenger groups. The name suggests truck but it seems to help in the heavy sedans. I still lean towards gears before cams as a general philosophy but happy to move the conversation to alternatives and how they might improve the towing (and general driving) experience. I lean towards gears before cams in part because I have seen many builds (not Ram or even Mopar specific) which simply do not "wake up" until the final gear gets set to take advantage of engine mods.

In the days of 3 to 6 speeds the rear axle was far more important, so many people do still favour high rear axles but with todays 8 and 10 speeds its much less of an issue.

Ram with the 8 speed in the new 2500 cummins doesn't even shift to first gear anymore, and it only comes with one rear axle option (like a 3.42 or something like that). If you start from a stop, you're always in second, unless you're in TH mode and then it drops to first. That cummins pulls so hard that first gear is just wasted, and its more like a granny gear of old.

I test drove a 3.92 before getting my truck and found it more busy and less smooth in first. It is too much for my tastes, you hit like what feels like 5mph and then you're already shifting, I don't see the point. When I come to a rolling stop with my 3.21, it downshifts until 4th, and then unlocks torque converter and lets the MPH drop; if I keep rolling and almost come to a stop, but then turn the corner and get on the gas, it drops to second, not first. I have to actually "stop stop" in order to finally drop to first.

Our 8HP75 has a first gear ratio of 5:1. Super deep!