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97 ram 230hp upgrade

2K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  HemiLonestar 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a 97 5.9 Ram 1500 and have been told its 230hp, what makes the 98 245hp? Can the 97 be made up to 98 spec?. I have a cat back system but would like to upgrade to around 275hp, any ideas on how to get there? Finally there doesn't seem to be a flashpack for the 97, just from 98 onwards, why? Thanks
 
#2 ·
I believe they changed the computer setup starting in '98. Probably not enough market to develop tuners for both. Also, I don't believe Pre-98 even have the port to plug a tuner into, but I could be wrong.

In 98 they also introduced the sport which had a more aggressive cam.

Significant HP gains on the magnums are difficult without going into the guts of the thing as they spent a lot of time and money designing them to get the most out of them that they could. You're probably looking at a new more aggressive cam and a Hughes or Mopar intake. Port and polish your heads, and possibly some higher flow injectors. If you wanted to go cheap, you might be able to swap in a used cam from post-98 sport, but I'd talk with Gen1dak, WarlockIII, or someone else with some more practical experience on the matter.

If you simply want more hp than what you currently have, consider doing a rebuild without mods. I just rebuilt my '94 with ~240k on it. Brought it up an estimated 50 hp. Cut ~2 seconds off of my 0-60. It's noticeably zippier than it was before. I like to have more HP, but I believe there is at some point a trade off between reliability and power unless the engine was engineered throughout for it. I tend to lean more on the reliability side. But if you specifically want that 275 figure, see above.
 
#4 ·
Mine is 4wd with a 3.52/3.55 (can't remember which it is) rear end. After the rebuild, I timed myself out on a backroad at night a few times and they averaged out to around 8 seconds 20-60. A 2wd would be lighter and lower and therefore slightly faster. So you're looking around 10 seconds 0-60. Not sure about 1/4 mile.

Also, I've got 33" M/T's on. If you had low profile/slicks on, you'd probably be looking and a wholly different time.

Any which way you look at it, not super fast. Although I suppose comparing it to my R6 is unfair. My concept of speed has changed slightly over the last couple of years.
 
#8 ·
If you can get an SCT tuner and take it to a speed shop with a dyno, that would probably be the best bang for your buck. If that's not enough, cam, intake, and tune.

Big question would be whether you'd still need to pass your MOT. Trucks over 8000 gvwr here in the states are generally exempt from EPA testing, so the tuners are fine. If you want to drive it on the road, you might check to see what you're allowed to do and still pass the MOT.
 
#10 · (Edited)
While the 5.9 cam specs were changed in 1998, they were not what I'd call sporty. It was an all-inclusive change, not just for the "Sport" package. They did, in effect, retard the cam timing, which tends to shift the power curve up the rpm range a bit, widened and in effect flattened the torque curve a bit. A better move would've been to start using the 5.2 cam, but that probably didn't fit some corporate bean counter plan. You can also see where the same engine, in different models will be rated at different levels based on the size of the muffler and straightness of the exhaust path. Pull three 5.9's from the same model year, from a Dakota, Durango, and a Ram, on the dyno they'll all read the same, but ratings in different vehicles will usually be different. Also have to factor things like electric cooling fans into the equation.
 
#11 ·
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