When it came time for our next project truck to build, a considerable amount of deliberation went into it. Which brand, what should we do to it, that sort of thing. For recent builds, we'd focused on ... read more
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When it came time for our next project truck to build, a considerable amount of deliberation went into it. Which brand, what should we do to it, that sort of thing. For recent builds, we'd focused on new applications but realized that some of our favorite builds were the slightly older trucks, notably 5.9L Cummins, and the ones we've missed the most were 2006 or 2007 model years. About this same time, all the rage was going on about the Ram TRX beating out the Ford Raptors in terms of their massive 700 horsepower powerplant. So we thought, why don't we build a 700 horsepower Cummins that'll slap the smile right off the face of any TRX owner with even better suspension, more wheel travel, and the ability to actually tow a considerable amount still? It was settled, that's the direction we would go.
Unfortunately, all at this time, the pandemic was underway and part shortages were becoming a real thorn in our sides, but we were anxious to get rolling on the build since we'd found the perfect, low mileage silver 2007 Cummins Quad Cab Short Box with a 48RE automatic transmission. No problem, we'll do this build in a few different iterations and call the truck "COVID CUMMINS" that reminds us of the hurdles in attaining the parts on our wish list and the reality that we'd need to be patient. When we acquired the truck, it had a basic front end leveling kit, 35" tires, and some nice wheels to give the truck a modestly aggressive stance, at least compared to a bone stock rig. In terms of performance upgrades, it had been outfitted with a Banks Monster-Ram Intake Manifold and an open style air intake system, both tasteful upgrades for a modest increase to power and fuel efficiency. While we waited on our wish list, we decided to go through our inventory of on-hand items and pick out some well-rounded upgrades that are proven to deliver performance and ones we frequently recommend to our customers. This would allow us to build this truck in phases, plus test the horsepower and torque output in these phases, and give real-world driving impressions from these upgrades.
PHASE 1 BUILD
For this phase one, we selected the below components, accompanied by the reasoning we chose them (besides the fact they were on our shelf, ready to install!):
S&B Cold Air Intake
WHY? We've said it a million times (at least), a diesel engine is essentially an air pump, and the more air it can ingest, the more efficiently it can burn the existing fuel. This nets more power, quicker throttle response, lower exhaust gas temperatures (EGT's), and better fuel economy. While the truck was setup with a cold air intake already, it was an open air box style, which in our experience, allows excessive engine bay heat to be absorbed into the filter, not delivering as many of the benefits as a closed system, such as the S&B.
Smarty S06 Programmer by MADS Electronics
WHY? Have you heard the saying "old school is new cool"? Maybe not, but either way, the Smarty line of programmers has been a trusted source of amazing performance tuning for years. Well before custom EFILive tuning existed for these trucks, Smarty delivered you numerous options where you could fine tune the programming for optimum results that deliver.
WHY? While Smarty's tuning is notorious for adding a significant increase in throttle sensitivtiy, well, we wanted even more. The PedalMonster ties directly to the throttle position switch under the pedal, allowing for even more sensitivity control than what the S06 can tune via the ECM. Further, we knew that 007 would be getting a sizable increase in the size of the turbo(s), and the addition of a PedalMonster would help alleviate some of the turbo lag we may experience from this upgrade. I will say, though, fi you crank up the Smarty and the PedalMonster, that is one touchy throttle!
Edge Insight CTS3 Digital Touch Screen Gauge Monitor
WHY? The Insight is our go-to for instrumentation on most of our builds, and this one was no different. The CTS3 (which stands for Color Touch Screen, and the third iteration) monitor is easy to read, easy to install, and with their EAS (Expandable Accessory System), you can literally monitor any temperature, pressure, or speed you want.
BD-Power Pressure Transducer Upgrade Kit
WHY? For some reason, someone decided it was a good idea to install a plastic transmission transducer from the factory. As age and miles accummulate, it fails and will leave you stranded. BD makes a metal replacement that alleviates this issue. Its inexpensive and simple to install, so why not?
WHY?The governor pressure solenoid found in the 47RE and 48RE transmissions is known to fail. When it does, typically the transmission will be stuck in second gear until you shut the truck off, restart, and then it comes back shortly after. ATS made this neat conversion kit that allows you to install one of the much more robust GM solenoids. Its also an easy upgrade to install and a relatively inexpensive fix.
BD-Power Deep Sump Transmission
WHY? Dodge transmissions fail, but if you can keep them running cool, they won't, and BD's pan adds more fluid, has heat sinks, and is built from aluminum instead of stamped steel, all of which aid in heat dissipation. Plus, they feature a magnetic drain plug and just look a lot better.
What did the above upgrades get us? From the factory, these trucks are rated for 325 horsepower at the flywheel, which will typically net around 290 or so to the rear wheels. These very simple to install upgrades when tested on a rear wheel dyno delivered 435 horsepower to the ground, and that was only on power leve five (out of nine) on the Smarty. Beyond just the increase in overall power, the truck was substantially more enjoyable to drive, had more precise shifts between gears and fed our need for power before the longer list of upgrades began.
PHASE 2 BUILD
As parts from our "master list" began to pile in, we got to work installing all of the below in order to create what we would consider to be the ultimate 3rd Gen 5.9 Cummins. Its capable of wearing every hat that a truck of this power and size could wear, towing, daily driving, offroad, or just beating every Corvette off the light, this truck can do it all!
SUSPENSION | STEERING:
Carli 3" Unchained Suspension System
WHY? When it comes to the ultimate suspension system offered for these trucks, this is it, at least for this particular build. The Unchained kit from Carli utilizes massive 3.5" diameter remote reservoir shocks out front, 3" diameter 4-tube King shocks out back, fabricated long arms, and a host of other goodies to deliver optimum wheel travel and performance characteristics when traveling at break neck speeds through the rough stuff.That said, what's great about really all of Carli kits, is that while they are tailored for offroad use, they truly don't take away much of the utilitarian aspect of these trucks. Even with this gnarly system, you can still tow a considerable weighted trailer, drive it daily, or about anything, just have a lot more fun doing it!
Carli Long Travel Leaf Springs with Long Travel Shackles
WHY? In order to support the wheel travel of the quad tube rear shocks, its absolutely necessary to ditch the factory leaf springs. In fact, most of Carli's replacement springs or add-a-packs won't support the 12" of rear travel these shocks are capable o. Beyond wheel travel, these leaf springs deliver a very noticeable improvemnt in ride quality, both on and offroad.
Carli Torsion Sway Bar
WHY? The factory front sway bar is basically a bent piece of tube that bolts to the underside of your frame and attaches to the front axle via sway bar end links. Its sole purpose is to prevent side-to-side sway of the truck when cornering or with a slide-in camper in the bed. Due to its design, though, it severely limits independent wheel travel as it relies on sprung steel to allow the up and down movement of the axle if one side moves opposite the other. Due to this, it actually creates a surprisingly noticeable degradation of ride quality. While its tempting to completely remove the sway bar, this does induce excessive body roll that is felt right in the cockpit. So whats the fix? Carli engineered what they call their "Torsion Sway Bar" that allows the axle to move independent of one another. In short, imagine a solid bar that runs laterally across the front frame spars that has an arm attached to each end with a pinch bolt and Teflon sleeve, which then ataches to heavy duty end links. The area at the pinch bolts on each arm is capable of rotating independent of the otherside, giving more freedom (not all) of each side to rise and droop all on its own.
Carli Front Hydro-Pneumatic Bump Stops
WHY? Bumpstops ensure that your axle cannot come into direct contact with your frame. While these trucks have factory installed bumpstops, they are built from an extremely rigid rubber, and in the off chance you do cycle the suspension enough that the axle smacks this bumpstop, you'll be fortunate if you have any teeth left. Carli builds these hydro-pheumatic bump stops that are basically like a really stiff shock, capable of absorbing an enormous amount of energy, such as what would be experienced if your Ram goes airborn. While we may not jump this truck, it surely will be making some passes through rough terrain, so better safe than sorry.
Synergy Manufacturing Heavy Duty Steering Kit
WHY? The original design of the steering linkage, specifically the drag link and tie rod/center link, were so bad originally that Ram updated and superseded the design in mid 2008. While the newer version, called a "T-Style Steering," is hands down a better option compared to the previous "Y-Style," especially as larger tires are installed, the linkage is less than satisfactory. Synergy Manufacturing makes an exteme duty version of the T-Style linkage featuring a 1-1/2" solid steel drag link, 1-1/2" chromoly tie rod, and greasable tie rod ends. When you just lay a stock steering next to the Synergy, the choice is pretty obvious.
Synergy Manufacturing Steering Box Brace
WHY? Rams have always been plagued with sloppy steering, and while there are numerous causes, one major factor is slop in the shaft coming out of the gearbox, called the sector shaft. The simplest way to alleviate any wandering associated with this is to install a steering box brace. This brace works by running a lateral bar across the front of the frame and running an extension nut off of the sector shaft that passes through a bearing bolted to the cross member. The result is zero movement.
Red-Head Steering Gear Box
WHY? As mentioned above, we installed a steering box brace, so why would we need a heavy duty gear box? Easy, Red-Head does a LOT mroe than just remanufacture gearboxes to stock specifications. These guys go way above and beyond to improve how responsive the steering is, as well as the strength of the steering. By having the brace installed, it merely will add life expectancy to the gear box after the thrashing we will be giving this truck.
ENGINE COMPONENTS:
Hamilton 103 Pound Valve Spring Set
WHY? When running extra boost combined with an aftermarket cam shaft, the factory valve springs may not be able to overcome the additional cylinder pressure, causing the valves to not fully close. Hamilton is a trusted name in camshafts and springs and we've used their 103 pound valve spring set on numerous builds with great results.
Hamilton 188/220 Street and Race Cast Camshaft
WHY? Just about any Cummins running a larger than stock turbo can benefit from Hamilton's 188/220 cam. Due to the lobe design, you'll gain better bottom end spool up coupled with a broader peak RPM range, vastly opening up the power band. For those that think upgrading your camshaft is only for race trucks.....think again.
Hamilton 24 Valve Retainers
WHY? This is called cheap insurance, especially for anyone running higher than stock RPM.
Hamilton Bronze Cam Thrust Retainer
WHY? When you're replacing the camshaft, its highly recommended to replace the cam thrust retainer, so why not upgrade while you're at it?
ARP Head Stud Kit
WHY? Okay, this is probably pretty obvious. This truck will have substantially more turbo boost pressure compared to stock, and at the levels our compound turbos will be producing, the factory head bolts can easily stretch, allowing the head to lift, blowing a head gasket. Replacing the head bolts with a set of high quality head studs, such as those from ARP, you can nearly forget any concerns over a blown head gasket.
Carli Chromoly Engine Mounts
WHY? Did you know that the factory engine mounts will crack, and break in half, when the truck is used for offroad purposes, such as high speed runs through rough terrain, or even jumping? Agreed, 99% of people will never use their trucks like this, but for those of us who do, Carli's Chromoly Engine Mounts make sure our engine doesn't drop to the lower cross member when you're in the middle of nowhere having fun.
Cummins Factory Replacement Tappets
WHY? When you replace the camshaft, its crucial to also replace the existing tappets, as any uneven wear on the old tappets will transfer to the new cam.
Fleece Performance Billet Rocker Arm Bridges
WHY? Since we were under the valve cover and the fact the Fleece billet bridges look great, plus are stronger than stock.
Fluidampr Harmonic Damper
WHY? The factory damper is pretty basic. Fluidampr's takes it a step further by containing a viscous material that actually absorbs torsional vibration from the crankshaft. What does this equate to? You'll get a smoother running engine and in most cases, a slightly broader power band.
Beans Diesel Custom Valve Cover with Diesel Power Products Logo
WHY? The main reason is we wanted to get rid of the cheap plastic shroud that the factory valve cover has, and this great looking piece from Beans features billet construction and we even had them custom engrave the Diesel Power Products logo. In terms of any performance gains, it features an interally baffled design for the crank case vent, which we then fabricated our own catch can to eliminate any of those annoying CCV drips on your shop floor.
Schaeffer's Fluids
WHY? Traditional "dinosaur" oil is extracted from the Earth and must be refined in order to remove any unwanted components. Synthetic is the exact opposite in that it is purpose built with only what you want to go in. If that's not enough evidence, a high quality synthetic oil can better withstand high temperatures, protecting your vital powertrain components. And if that's not enough, because synthetic doesn't break down at the rate of traditional oil, you can typically vastly extend your service intervals. Not sure if you need to change your oil? Have an oil analysis done; they're pretty inexpensive and must more scientific than the guy at the service department that wants you to come back every 3,000 miles to take more of your money.
TURBO | INTERCOOLER | INTAKE
BD-Power Cobra Twin Turbo Kit S361SX-E/S476SX-E
WHY? The horsepower goal of our 2007 Cummins is 700 to the rear tires. While its possible to get this with a big single, the fact of the matter is that it would spool incredibly slow, and we want this truck to have lightning fast responsiveness for obvious reasons. BD-Power has been building compound turbo kits for years and offer a wide selection of options depending on your vehicle application and power goals. This particular kit is built around the latest and greatest SX-E line of turbos from BorgWarner, and let me tell you, these babies SCREAM!
BD-Power Competition Intake Manifold
WHY? On the drivers side of any 5.9L or 6.7L Cummins engine, there's a protrusion that runs the length of the head, called an intake plenum. The plenum is where condensed air thats left the intercooler enters the engine in order to start the combustion process. The factory intake plenum and intake manifold is offset of the head, towards the front of the engine, meaning that the rear cylinders aren't going to get as much air as the front. Some aftermarket companies have developed other "competition" intake manifolds that require you to machine off this protrustion from the head and drill and tap holes into the side, which then allows for fitment of a side draft style inlet. These are great, but obviously costly and requires the head to be removed and machined. BD-Power took a different approach and deveped their Competition Intake Manifold that has you basically remove everything from the top of the intake protrusion, including the intake plenum plate, fuel rail, etc. and bolt on their system that drops right onto the bulge, but utilizes the entire opening. We were fortunate enough to get BD's first production unit, and fitment was perfect. Plus, it looks pretty darned impressive when you pop the hood.
Banks Techni-Cooler Intercooler
WHY? The intercooler, often overlooked, plays a major role in the overall health and performance of your engine. The job of the intercooler is to cool the hot, charged air leaving the turbo and cool, thus compress it, before entering the engine. Factory intercoolers are engineered to work optimally with stock boost levels. So what happens if you've increased boost? Easy, your intercooler becomes a bottleneck, which in turn inhibits performance, but also will increase the temperature of the incoming air. Banks' line of Techni-Coolers are vastly superior to the stock design, featuring a larger core, inlet, and outlet, its designed to easily handle the additional boost without being a bottleneck. You'll gain more power, lower temperatures, and quicker turbo spool up.
Fleece Exhaust Manifold Stud Kit (7mm Hex Head)
WHY? There's a couple of issues with the stock manifold bolts. First, they're bolts and they can stretch when you're creating extra pressure, such as what is being created with our compound turbos. When they stretch, you get an exhaust leak which is not only unsightly, but also causes an air velocity drop since some of that exhaust is now going into the atmosphere, instead of spooling your turbo(s). Secondly, the stock bolts are absolutely notorious for breaking off. By having studs, all you need to do is remove the nuts holding the manifold, not the entire bolt that's threaded into your engine head.
FUEL RELATED:
Dynomite Diesel 120 Horsepower Injector Set
WHY? Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire! Any Metallica fans out there? But in all seriousness, stock injectors can only take you so far in your quest for more power. Dynomite Diesel is one of the premier performance injector building company in the industry, and just so happens they're located less than half an hour from us. The crew at DDP are passionate about building the best product they can, using the most advanced machinery available. We can absolutely, positively say that the reason our 700 horsepower Cummins has less particulate matter (smoke) out the tailpipe compared to a bone stock truck, is due to the injectors, coupled with the right tuning the compliment those injectors. And yes, we even ran an opacity test, and the truck is indeed cleaner than a stock truck. Pretty cool, huh?
Bosch 6.7L Cummins Fuel Rail
WHY?After fuel leaves the CP3 injection pump, it passes through a feed line and enters into whats called the fuel rail that is responsible for dispensing fuel into each individual injector lines and into the cylinders. The 6.7L rail is larger than the 5.9 that both pairs well with larger displacement injectors such as the 120HP Dynomite units we're running, plus this change is necessary as part of the BD Competition Intake Manifold.
Bosch 6.7L Connector Tubes
WHY? First and foremost, lets explain what a connector tube is. Once fuel hits the fuel rail, it then passes through injector lines that screw onto the outside of the engine's head. What those lines are actually connecting to are the connector tubes that pass through the head and connect to the injector itself. The connector tubes basically look like a metal pencil. Now, lets explain why we replaced them! The tubes originally found on the 2003-2007 5.9L Cummins when compared to what came factory on the 6.7L's is built of a softer metal and have a smaller inside diameter. Especially on the 5.9L tubes, they are prone to having an indentation at the end where it meets the injector, which when you swap injectors can cause an internal fuel leak. The newer tubes are built from a stronger material that is not as prone to this, plus since they have a larger inside diameter will flow more fuel, and since Ram themselves superseded 5.9L's to even using the 6.7L version, its a pretty obvious choice which is the right one to go with. We've been using the 6.7 tubes in 5.9's for years and its always a good upgrade.
WHY? There are obviously a lot of options when choosing an aftermarket lift pump that is better capable of supporting our horsepower goals, since the factory pump would obviously not be capable of doing so. The majority of systems on the market mount to the outside fo the frame rail and feature external filters for added filtration capability. Because this truck is intended to see a lot of off road miles, we opted for Fleece's version of a higher volume lift pump that literally takes the place of the stock pump inside of the tank, where it won't be susceptible to damage. The PowerFlo features two gerotor pumps that flow 170 gallons per hour, capable of supporting over 800 rear wheel horsepower.
Fleece Fuel Filter Delete
WHY? As part of our fuel system upgrade, we utilized an aftermarket spin-on style fuel filter and water separator that is tucked up and out of the way in front of the fuel tank, because of this, we no longer needed the stock engine bay mounted fuel filter. By using Fleece's fuel filter delete, we freed up a substantial amount of space in the engine bay around the intake manifold. One neat feature of Fleece's version is they have provisions to install your factory WIF (Water In Fuel) sensor so you have peace of mind knowing the light on your dash will still work in the event you pick up a bad batch of fuel.
WHY? When you're looking to make over 500 horsepower, upgrading the injection pump is necessary. Sure, we've seen trucks making 600 on a stock pump, but ultimately, its going to be shortlived. Fleece's 750 Stroker takes the old school principle of a "stroker motor" and applies it to a CP3 featuring their own proprietary pump shaft that can easily support 750+ horsepower out of a single pump. Its a simple bolt-in upgrade that delivers.
EXHAUST:
MBRP 5" Cat Back Aluminized Exhaust System with Muffler
WHY? The factory exhaust on our 2007 Cummins came outfitted with a 4" turbo back exhaust with a catalytic converter and a massive muffler to keep exhaust decibals down. Our freshly installed BD compound turbos feature a 5" downpipe that would need provisions to help get all of that hot exhaust out, and get it out quick. MBRP makes a great sounding kit that would allow us to keep it a complete 5" exhaust without bottlenecking back down to the factory 4" system.
Magnaflow 5" Catalytic Converter
WHY? As mentioned above, the turbo kit included a 5" downpipe and the rest of the exhaust would also be 5". Fortunately, Magnaflow builds a high flowing 5" catalytic converter we were able to integrate into the rest of the system to avoid having to bottleneck down to the factory 4" cat.
PROGRAMMING:
Calibrated Power Custom EFILive Tuning with 5 Position Switch
WHY? Traditional "out-of-the-box" tuning works great in most situations. However, once you start altering a vehicle as much as we did to 007, there's a lot of added performance and drivability that can be had with custom calibrations to fine tune everything. We've worked with Calibrated Power numerous times to develop custom tunes, so it only made sense to do the same for this truck. As part of this process, its a constant stream of information between the tuner and us, starting with the obvious, what the truck is and what we've done to it that deviates from stock. From there, they can use historical data and some solid estimates as to how they should change from their default settings. In most instances, this is where custom tuning stops. That said, we were looking for absolute perfection and were fortunate enough to not only have Dynomite Diesel's hub dyno available, but also Calibrated Power ready and willing to supply us with numerous tune revisions based on the data we were getting back from the dyno. We lost count at how many tweaks were done over the course of several days, but can attest that this truck would not run as good as it does without the attention to detail and persaverence that Calibrated Power gave us.
WHY? There's something to be said about driving an 8000 lbs truck with over 700 horsepower and having the throttle response be instant. For any of us that were into diesel performance in the 1990's through early 2000's, you know that if you had a truck of this power level, it was doggy off the line. Sure, once everything lit you'd take off like a rocket, but it took a hot minute. Fast forward to now and with our recipe put into this truck plus the Banks PedalMonster, the response is more like a supercharged Camaro. Turbo lag? What's that?!
RADIATOR | COOLANT:
DieselSite Cast Iron Water Pump with Gasket Kit
WHY? While the stock water pump was intact and seeminly functional, while we had everything off the front of the engine installing the camshaft, its a good idea to replace the water pump. This unit from DieselSite is completely cast iron, unlike many of the units coming out lately with a plastic impeller, and includes a gasket kit.
Mishimoto Silicone Radiator Hose Kit
WHY? The factory radiator hoses are built from rubber and sooner or later, they're known to crack and leak. Since we had everything torn apart on this truck, it was a good opportunity to replace and upgrade with silicone. Mishimoto makes a nice kit that includes everything you'll need plus it looks great instead of the chalky rubber hoses that we removed.
GAUGES | MONITORING:
Edge Products Insight CTS3 Digital Touch Screen Gauge Monitor
WHY? Its hard to argue that Edge's Insight is the undisputed reigning champion of digital monitors. Beyond the easy-to-read layout and simple OBDII connectivity, they've built their EAS (Expandable Accessory System) that allows you to monitor any parameter that either the OBDII port doesn't monitor, or that you don't trust.
Edge Products Universal Gauge Pillar Adapter with Mopar SRT-10 Pillar
WHY? Do you remember the Viper engine powered Ram 1500's from back in the day, called an SRT-10? It was the only 3rd Generation Ram that had an auxiliary gauge and it was mounted on a custom pillar under the grab handle. The cool part is this pillar fits any 3rd Gen Ram, including a 2500 or 3500 and we've used these for years as a clean way to mount a single gauge and keep a grab handle. Further, if you pair this with Edge's universal pillar adapter and you can mount the Insight monitor right below the grab handle for easy viewing.
Edge EAS Expandable EGT Probe Kit with Lead
WHY? As previously mentioned, the Insight can monitor anything that the OBDII reads, but for those things that it doesn't read, such as exhaust gas temperature, you'll need to use their EAS sensors in order to read those parameters on the monitor. The most popular in the diesel world is of course EGT. The EAS plugs in-line daisy chain style for a clean install without having to use butt connectors or Scotch-Loks.
Edge Universal Sensor Input
WHY? Need the ability to monitor anything with a 0-5 volt signal? We did, so Edge's universal sensor input allows you to do so and then create a custom label on the Insight for what it is you're keeping an eye on.
Edge Universal Pressure Sensor
WHY?Since the OBDII doens't accurately monitor fuel pressure, their universal pressure sensor allows us to keep an eye on the low pressure side of the fuel system before it reaches the CP3 injection pump.
Edge Products EAS OBDII Pass Through Splitter
WHY? OBD Splitters can be finicky. We've found that Edge's version hasn't given us any issues compared to some of the other brands we've used, so we keep using it.
ISSPRO Exhaust Back Pressure Installation Kit
WHY? Exhaust Back Pressure is kind of like boost, but on the exhaust side instead of the cold air side. While monitoring exhaust back pressure in of itself doesn't give you that much information, when paired with monitoring boost, it allows you to determine your drive pressure ratio. If you have substantially more air coming in than coming out, or the other way around, your engine isn't operating as efficiently as it could be, leaving some performance on the table. Because you're monitoring on the hot side of the engine, ISSPRO builds a kit featuring metal tubing that will withstand the heat compared to plastic tubing traditionally used for boost gauges.
TRANSMISSION:
BD-Power Billet Proforce 3D Transmission with TapShifter and Torque Converter
WHY? For anyone that's ever been a Cummins owner, you know the stock transmission will barely hold 150 horsepower over stock, let alone 400, so going into this, we knew it would be mandatory and might as well get it done before it fails. We've been selling BD transmissions for years, but one of their slightly newer versions piqued our interest. The Billet ProForce is similar to what we've used for years, but with the addition of a BD TapShifter, allowing you to either let the truck shift on its own, or giving you up and down control of each gear with a simple rocker switch integrated into the included replacement shift lever.
BD-Power Billet Intermediate Shaft
WHY? While the intermediate shaft is typically the least likely to fail compared to the input or output shaft, why leave it up to chance while everything is apart? Especially once the shafts on opposing end have been replaced with heavy duty billet, the weak link is now buried in the transmission.
BD-Power Billet Output Shaft
WHY? We're not necessarily planning to be nice to this truck, so any weak links would need to be addressed, and the factory output shaft is one of those weak links.
BD-Power Black Flexplate
WHY? The torque converter is bolted to the flex plate. As you build a stronger, tighter transmission, a lot of the "give" goes away to produce those nice, firm, positive shifts, and that includes meaning the torque converter has less give between shifts. This creates more shock load to anything surrounding the torque converter, including the flimsy stock flex plate. BD's Black Flexplate is twice the thickness of the stock unit and even 29.3 SFI approved.
BD-Power Diamond Bite Flexplate Shims
WHY? We keep harping on the weakest link thing, but its true. Years ago, BD began to see numerous failures due to a slight movement of the flex plate under high stress situations that allowed the bolts to back themselves out ever so slightly. Once the flex plate could oscillate, it could end up taking out the entire transmission. The Diamond Bite Shim Kit keeps everything locked together.
ARP Flex Plate Bolts
WHY? Last one, I promise. Stock bolts are weak and ARP is known for making the strongest hardware in the industry. Why would we install stock bolts back into everything when ARP makes an affordable kit that will provide peace fo mind.
WHEELS | TIRES:
Fuel Off-Road Zephyr D633 Matte Black Wheels (17x9)
WHY? The Zephyr by Fuel Wheels is one of our favorites. Featuring a one piece design means its strong, plus we've found the backspacing to be ideal in giving us the right amount of offset to clear the suspension, but not too much where they stick out way past the fenders.
Nitto Trail Grapplers 38x13.50R17
WHY? We're big fans of Nitto tires and the Trail Grappler has found it way onto a lot of our in-house truck builds due to its aggressive tread pattern that helps us when we're offroad, but also their impeccable street manners and high load rating. Oh yeah, they look pretty great too!
AXLES | DIFFERENTIAL:
Carli Front Axle Truss
WHY? Most people have probably never heard of an axle truss let alone honestly need one. For starters, an axle truss is just as the name implies, a "truss" that is welded to the bottom of the axle to ensure it can't bend. The AAM 9.25" axle found under these trucks is known to develop a smile when its put through the paces of offroad use. Carli has developed a kit that is welded to the bottom that provides a substantial amount of reinforcement to keep your axle nice and straight.
Carli Front Differential Guard
WHY? This serves a couple of purposes. First, this differential guard is very different than most of the aftermarket differential covers. The guard actually installs right over the top of the stock differential cover to protect the thin, stamped steel from getting damaged when you're offroad. Secondly, the cover has provisions to install a Carli opposing steering stabilizer. A what?! You read that right, an opposing steering stabilizer. Lets explain: Carli has a traditional "Low Mount" steering stabilizer option that mounts in the factory location. They also offer a "High Mount" that mounts on the drag link and then over to the frame at the sway bar. Both of these "push" in the same direction and provide a substantial improvement in steering control. That said, because both of them push in the same direction, some trucks can actually experience an unwanted push to the left because the stabilizers are so strong. In order to rectify this, Carli built a conversion kit that flips the orientation of the Low Mount stabilizer to compensate for the High Mount's left hand push. This diff guard has three holes drilled into it that allow a bracket to bolt onto it, that the normal Low Mount then attaches to.
Dynatrac Free Spin Heavy Duty Hub Conversion with Dynaloc Hubs
WHY? The factory unit bearings that make up the components which allow for engagement of four wheel drive are weak and in a constant state of rotation, even when you're in two wheel drive. This constant rotation creates drag, in turn reducing power, efficiency, ease of steering, and excessive wear that can be avoided. Dynatrac's Free Spin Kits convert the front axle to an old school manual locking hub. Even better, their "Dynaloc" hubs are built to take a beating and are even rebuildable. We've ran this same setup on trucks with 42" tires and 1000 horsepower, and never had an issue. That's a win in our book!
Dynatrac ProSteer Heavy Duty Upper and Lower Ball Joints
WHY? Stock Dodge Ram ball joints suck, and Dynatrac makes ones that are stronger, rebuildable, and greasable. Pretty easy decision, right?
BD-Power Rear Differential Cover
WHY? The factory differential cover is built from a thin stamped steel that is both prone to getting dented when you find yourself backing into an obstacle, as well as not able to dissipate heat very well. BD's cover is manufactured from cast aluminum and is designed to keep oil on the ring gear, prolonging the life of the ring and pinion.
Nitro Gear & Axle Ring and Pinion with 4.56 Gear Ratio
WHY? It’s amazing what a difference a ring and pinion ratio change can make to how a vehicle drives, especially once tire size has been changed. With the majority of truck manufacturers making 3.30 ratios the norm, increased tire sizes can have a dramatic degradation on the drivability of these vehicles. By changing the ring and pinion to match the new tire size, you'll regain any lost power and many times fuel economy, that came along with the increased tire size. Not sure what gear ratio is right for you? Well, that's simple, its merely cross multiplication. If your stock tire size was 33" and your factory gear ratio is 3.30, but your new tire size is 37", just do this: new gear ratio/new tire size=old gear ratio/old tire size (x/37=3.30/33), which in this scenario would mean that the proper gear ratio to make everything "the same" would be 3.70, and then just round to the closest available gear ratio, such as 3.73. On 007, the truck came with 3.73’s and 265-70R-17 tires, which have a diameter of about 31.6", so using cross multiplication, spits out a ratio of 4.49, but of course that's not an available gear ratio, but 4.56 sure is!
Front and Rear ARB Air Lockers
WHY? When you're off road, lockers are awesome for gaining maximum traction; but when you're on road, traditional lockers are a nightmare because the tire are constantly ratcheting as you try to turn the wheels. ARB has solved this issue with their line of ARB Air Lockers that allow you to easily turn on and off the lockers depending on what kind of terrain you're on. Further, their systems are completely pheumatic, ran off an auxiliary air compressor that can also be used for other purposes, like inflating your tires.
LIGHTING:
Baja Designs LP9 Driving Combo Amber LED Offroad Lights on Front Bumper
WHY? While the XL80's put out 9500 lumens per, the LP9's offer up 11,025 per housing. For those that are counting, thats a total of 44,000+ lumens from four lights, obviously not including the factory headlights or any of the other auxiliary lighting we've added. We don't only want to SEE Sasquatch, we want to impress him with our lights and chat with him about them.
Baja Designs S2 Pro Driving Combo Amber LED Lights on A-Pillar Mounting Brackets
WHY? Many would argue that with the amount of lighting already on the front bumper, that there simply is no "need" for any more lights. Sure, we may not "need" additional lighting, but having lighting that is situated at a taller point on the vehicle will provide a different projection. In this case, a single S2 is mounted at the base of each a-pillar and angled outwards, terms a "ditch light" to illuminate just that....the ditches. The Driving/Combo lens is equipped with both a 42 degree driving and 9 degree spot pattern, each producing 2,450 lumens. When combined with the bumper lights, you have a new appreciation for night time driving.
Baja Designs S2 Pro Flush Mount LED Lights in Rear Bumper
WHY? These have the same specifications as the lights mounted at the pillars, but instead of a post-style mount, these are a flush mount. With this flush mount, we can build the lights right into the rear bumper instead of bolting to the bottom where they're sure to get knocked off, plus it just looks cleaner.
sPOD with BantamX
WHY? We've probably all been there. You install a set of lights on the front bumper and mount the supplied switch to your dash somewhere. Then, you add a set of back up lights and mount that switch next to the first. But wait, those don't match. Okay, now you add an onboard air compressor. Shoot, that's a lot of wires and fuses coming off of the battery, and wait, where will you mount that switch? This is where the sPOD comes into play. This system allows you to run a single lead to the battery and the sPOD becomes the "command center" where any auxiliary 12 volt accessories go to, all controlled from a single interface you mount inside of the cab.
SDHQ A-Pillar Light Mounts
WHY? As mentioned above, we wanted a set of Baja Designs S2s mounted up high and SDHQ makes a vehicle specific mounting kit that uses the hood hinge brackets giving the appearance of the "Jeep Pillar Lights" but actually mounted to the hood. This kit requires zero drilling and also allows you to run the wiring right down the hood hinges and into the engine bay.
MSD Waterproof Relays and Harness
WHY? MSD knows 12 volt power and they make a great waterproof kit for all of our relays and harness. As the saying goes: "Cleanliness is godliness" and no form of cleanliness is better than a clean wiring job.
Diode Dynamics LED Bulbs
WHY? The stock exterior bulbs on our truck were halogen. When paired side by side, LED will outshine halogen any day of the week. Sure, we've got auxiliary lighting for days on this truck, but we can't exactly run all of our Baja Designs lights cruising down the highway. The Diode Dynamics LED bulb replacements gave us a noticeable improvement in light quality for these exact instances.
BUMPERS | WINCH:
Mercenary Offroad A-Bomb Front and Rear Aluminum Bumpers
WHY? Mercenary Offroad makes arguably the coolest looking, high profile off road oriented bumper on the market for 3rd Gen Rams. For our 007 build, we asked them to take it a step further by making them out of aluminum in order to save weight and eliminate any chance of rust. We were able to maintain all of the cool lines and angles we've always appreciated about their bumpers, but saved gobs of weight. The front bumper of the Mercenary bumpers are so high profile, you even have to cut a 45 degree angle out of the front frame spar to keep everything tucked up as tight as it can.
WARN Zeon Platinum 12K-S Winch
WHY? The name "Warn" is synonymous with winches and their line of Zeon Platinums are hailed in the offroad community as the benchmark in terms of speed and reliability. We've come to favor their synthetic winch lines which comes standard on any of their "S" models. The Zeon feature a high-speed motor, stronger gears than previous models, and a heat treated ring gear taht delivers 20% faster line speed without sacrificing durability.
Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead
WHY? What's the point of having a cool winch that's hidden behind a bumper if you can't have a cool fairlead? Kidding! Factor 55 is the king in winch accessories and their line of fairleads are a very popular upgrade for any winch, including Warn. We swapped out the Warn fairlead for the Factor 55 because the thicker, Factor 55 aluminum bar results in a larger outer fillet radius for the synthetic rope to slide against. This results in less stress on the rope fibers during high angular pulls, increasing the life of our expensive synthetic rope.
Factor 55 UltraHook
WHY? Well, yeah, it looks really cool, but honestly, the UltraHook is actually a very functional piece of equipment compared to a standard winch hook. First, its stronger than a normal hook. Secondly, there's a machined hole that allows you to install a d-ring for when a ring is needed. Factor 55 even built in a locking pin that must be activated in order to open the hook. For these guys, its all about safety, and doing it in a way that it looks GOOD.
EXTERIOR ACCESSORIES:
Highway Products Gull Wing Tool Box with Smooth Black Base and Gladiator Lids
WHY? We like storage, and lots of it. When we are headed offroad, its done in a way that we ensure we have enough gear to get out there and have some fun, but also with enough tools that if something unexpected were to happen, we'd have the tools to get it fixed and have us back on the trail again without calling for help. In case you've never heard of Highway Products, they build some of the highest quality tool boxes, headache racks, flat beds, and more out of heavy duty aluminum. These guys are so precise they even have a sister company where they build custom aluminum boats! Speaking of storage and being able to get out of a bad situation, we're advocates for always keeping a full sized spare with you, and because our 38" tire wouldn't fit in the stock location under the bed, we had to get creative. This required notching out and building a new floor to the toolbox, so that we could position a spare on the floor of the bed, all the way to the bulkhead, and then a set of Mac's Tie Downs to keep the spare in place.
Truxedo Lo-Pro Tonneau Cover
WHY? If you've never heard of a Truxedo, you're sure to have at least seen them. Basically, these are a vinyl roll-up tonneau cover that allows you to keep your bed space mostly dry when its covered, but then roll it up out of the way when you need to haul something. Truxedo products are all vehicle specific which is great, but in our case, we had a big toolbox in the way. Fortunately, they offer a program that allows you to make a handful of measurements and they will build one specific to your needs. Our cover butts right up to the toolbox and fits perfect.
Painted Grill
WHY? We're just not a fan of chrome, that's about it! We went for silver on the perimeter to match the rest of the truck's paint and a matte black for the cross hairs. It was all finished off with a custom "Diesel Power Products" badge in the center by Billet Badges. These folks do great work by the way!
ONBOARD AIR:
ARB High Performance 12 Volt Twin Air On Board Air Compressor
WHY? If you've never had onboard air, you really don't know what you're missing. There are so many uses for having a hardwired and mounted air compressor on your truck that we've found to be useful in nearly any situation. Sure, some are familiar with having it plumbed into your airbags for automated rear suspension leveling when you're towing. How about filling up your tires, especially useful for offroading or adding air when you're hooking up to an extra heavy trailer? Or helping someone out with a flat on the side of the road? Or maybe its just filling up your inflatable raft to go fishing. Whatever the reason(s), again, trust us, you want one, and the Twin Air is the most compact, heaviest duty compressor we've found. We also tied the compressor into our ARB Air Lockers to provide the necessary actuation to engage and disengage the lockers depending on our driving environment.
ARB Pump-Up Tire Inflation Kit
WHY? Why have an onboard air compressor if you don't have a cool tool to inflate your tires?
ARB Locker Manifold
WHY? If you're trying to run two air lockers plus a pump-up kit off of a single air compressor, you'll need this manifold to deliver enough resources for all of those connection.
TOWING:
Tekonsha Prodigy iD Brake Controller
WHY? The line of Tekonsha Prodigy brake controllers have been the trusted line of controllers for basically anyone that has ever ran a Prodigy. While Tekonsha has gone through a few iterations of this line, the iD interested us so we thought we should give it a shot. Instead of a traditional brick hanging off of the bottom of your dash, most of the iD is discretely mounted behind the dash, leaving only a rotary knob to be mounted for user selection. Of course, we got creative there and gutted out the cigarette lighter and were able to get it mounted right in the dash where there is a factory bezel framing it. The brake controller now looks completely factory with nothing hanging down for us to bang our knee on every time we get in and out of the truck.
Weigh Safe 8" Drop Hitch
WHY? You've probably heard the principle that ideally you should have 10% of your trailer weight on the tongue. Okay, but how many of us have actually weighed the tongue of our trailer? Any hands? Didn't think so. Weigh Safe is really handy because it has a built in scale on the hitch itself, so if you're over or under 10%, just adjust the height up or down until you're close enough.
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