Performance Chips - Are they worth it, and which ones?

From : ms networking dude

Q: on thu 07 jul 2005 011646 gmt geekboy nobody@spamcop.net wrote i have a 2003 1500 quad cab with the 5.7 lite hemi. it has been the worst truck i have ever had on fuel. i get if im lucky about 12 miles per gallon i wont buy another dodge after this one. the hemi is a joke i mean i can see using alot of gas if it hadpower but i dont see any diffrence between the hemi or the standard v8 thats your fault. shoulda did your research before buying and shoulda gone 600 ft lb diesel lol. i got an 03 ho 2500 diesel. when i brought it home i was getting 19 mpg. fuel around here is sucking because im only getting 12.5 to 13 now. everyone i talk to even with older models indicate they get about 20 mpg. better get yours checked .

Replies:

From : ms networking dude

why such a big deal with the 610 ft lbs it seems the only people who brag up the hemi are people who have the hemi and those who brag up the diesel are those who have the diesel. now i was at that crossroad last month. my choice was for a 2500 but what would i choose for the fuel here were my pros and cons for the purchase choice diesel pros; 1. better gas mileage 2. higher torque than the hemi 3. better for highway use cons; 1. diesel not much cheaper 2. $7000 more cdn for truck 3. higher maintenance cost 4. seemed sluggish for in town driving and not a good stop and go vehicle hemi pros; 1. higher horsepower than diesel 2. better for in town use 3. felt more attraction to the hemi seemed like a more exciting option. 4. cost was $6000 cdn less for truck 5. power wagon was only available in hemi 6. cheaper maint cost cons; 1. gas cost more 2. worse gas mileage 3. less torque 4. not as good as diesel as a highway runner result i chose the power wagon with the hemi. i did like the diesel but the price and the fact that i wanted the freedom of stop and go driving as well as highway driving. i also wanted the pulling power which i could have got with the diesel but the pw has plenty. i also wanted the fun of being able to haul ass right off the line. i realize that the diesel can be driven in town and the hemi is just fine on the highway but it has been my experience that gas hi-perf vehicles really show their stuff off the line and diesels really show their stuf on the hwy. you must have driven the wrong truck i took out a 05 3500 with 6 speed and 3.55 rear end for a test drive. bet that one could take you in the starting line. not to mention i was on the highway and went from 60 to 80 in mere 2 seconds while still in sixth gear. this post was just to show my opinion in the course of my purchase i have a 2003 1500 quad cab with the 5.7 lite hemi. it has been the worst truck i have ever had on fuel. i get if im lucky about 12 miles per gallon i wont buy another dodge after this one. the hemi is a joke i mean i can see using alot of gas if it hadpower but i dont see any diffrence between the hemi or the standard v8 thats your fault. shoulda did your research before buying and shoulda gone 600 ft lb diesel -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ .

From : jay

late-model 05 engines had their torque rating bumped to 610ft.lbs. makes me just wanna grunt. - -- nathan w. collier http//inlinediesel.com http//7slotgrille.com http//utilityoffroad.com .

From : bob

on wed 06 jul 2005 214744 gmt tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net wrote my uneducated guess is that the truck was built with front disk rear drums because it works well.. after 75k miles weve been through a few sets of pads and still dont need rear shoes or drums so my guess is that the front disks stop the beast the rear drums keep the rear end from locking up and coming around.. *g* no - thats because the shitty self-adjusters dont work worth a crap on most drum brakes so within a few thousand miles the rear shoes have worn enough that youre not getting much action from them - relying more on your front brakes to do the job. an unused brake pad/shoe can last an eternity mine are adjusted pretty often tom... the guy across the street is a wheel and tire guy and takes it in several times a year for checkups.. lifetime alignment etc. id be afraid not to keep them adjusted with the rear-wheels-only abs.. and if it was such a good setup then one needs to wonder why virtually all vehicles now have 4-wheel disc brakes again medium and heavy-duty vehicles notwithstanding. this is mostly the reason why i used to go through front brake pads on my 95 3500/v10 at about 20000 mile intervals rear drums yet my 03 3500/isb is coming up on 50k with plenty of meat still left on the front and rear pads. oh yeah - it stops a hell of a lot better too. some of that is due to the larger brake components larger rotors bigger pads twin-piston calipers but a lot of it is due to proper proportional braking from the rear discs and a fully electronic abs system that performs threshold braking on the rear doesnt hurt matters either ive never liked the way our ram stops but otoh i drove the 01 dakota for 2 years before we got the ram and that sucker stops really well... when were towing the ram stops as well or better than the dak though.. gotta love the trailer brakes and prodigy.. mac please remove splinters before emailing .

From : ms networking dude

ms networking dude wrote i see a whole bunch of them at www.autoanything.com. the specific list is here i shortened the url http//tinyurl.com/7sjou not sure if they are worth it or if they are which one to get. has anyone had any experience with these chips any other ways to get some more punch out of a 5.7 hemi in a 2005 dodge quad 1500 with a 3.92 rear thanks ace x-posted to alt.autos.dodge.truck i used a hypertech tuner on my truck. best investment i ever made for this truck. huge improvement slightly better gas mileage about 2-3mpg and better transmission control. i should have done this as soon as i bought the truck. hypertech offers two levels of tune. i tried the max power tune. didnt notice any difference fuel mileage went down and it really pinged - bad on mid grade fuel slightly on premium fuel. so i use the mid grade tune. even with the mid grade tune i would get some pinging when i did moderate towing 3500# unless i had premium fuel. so i installed a 180* thermostat and some water wetter. now it runs even better. last time i towed i beat it hard on a moderately hot day trying to make it ping on mid grade fuel. didnt happen. go to the factory web site and see exactly what the tuner will do for your truck. ads in most catalogs and