Magnum 318 power tips

[RAM MAN]

Ok - I have the K&N air filter and (in the very near future) opening up things with a new cat back exhaust.

What are other ideas to get some more power out of the 318 (5.2L) ? I'm looking for power off the line (RE:Speed) instead of torque pulling kinda power.

What's the next best mod ?

Headers ? (Instead of stock ?)

Cam ? (Like the Mopar R/T performance cam)

Gears ? (Go from the 3.55 to 4.10 ??)

[mopar29]

I recently traded a 95 318 5 speed with 3.21 axle for a 99 QC 360 automatic with 3.55 sure grip. The 95 was a standard cab short bed w/sport package.

I added the following to the 95:
1.K&N drop in filter.
2.Borla cat back rear exit exhaust. (great sounding exhaust, low pitched like thunder).
3.Jacobs ultra team ignition system.
4.JBA stainless steel headers.
5. Indexed spark plugs (for more equal flame propagation in each cylinder.)
6.Mopar high performance engine controller.

The 318 was very quick even with the 3.21 axle, I am sure a 3.91 or 3.55 would be even quicker but I wanted an interstate cruiser and it worked well.
I never raced it so can't really tell how much gain each addition added, but the three things that gave the best "seat of the pants" performance were the Borla, the K&N, and the Mopar HP engine controller.
They all seemed to enhance the low end performance. The other items probably helped but they probably also came on at the high end (above 3000 PRM).
I don't believe any high lift or long duration cam will do any better for low end performance than the stock cam.
After all that the new 99 360 seems to outperform the modified 318. I just added a K&N Gen II and the old Borla cat back I had on the 95. Now its comming alive.
Hope this helps you decide.
Have fun.
Don.

[400Magnum]

Well, I can only repeat what I've read on some of the other sites devoted to the new Rams. One of the things that they all seem to agree on is a reworked/modified throttle body. While a bit pricey for me, the people that have bought them swear it was the best thing they ever did.

Here are a few throttle body sites to check out, there are more, I just don't have the addresses handy at the moment.
http://www.fastdodge.com/
http://www.quickd.com/throttlebody.htm/

Ignition is another area to look at. It seems that MSD has just come out with a box that literally plugs into the wiring harness for Magnum engines. High Performance Mopar magazine just had an article where they installed the unit in a 93 Dakota 5.2L 5 spd. Quarter mile performance improved by a few tenths and gained 1 mph, plus gas mileage increased as well. Talk about having it all!

I've also heard that replacing the stock spark plug wires will help a little. Seems the wires that they're using now aren't a whole lot different than they were using in the 60's. The popular choices are MSD, Jacobs, and Magnecor. You may be real interested in contacting Straightline Performance Ram Man, since they are located really close to you. Here's their web sites:
http://www.straightline-perf.com/
http://www.magnecor.com/

As soon as I find the other throttle body sites I'll post them here.

Hope this helps some.

[This message has been edited by 400Magnum (edited November 11, 1999).]

[400Magnum]

Okay, here's the other site for modified throttle bodies.
http://www.flometrics.com/TBhomepage.html

I also thought I'd just throw in the site for the forum board that is mostly for the new Rams with Magnum engines. A lot of discussion goes on there concerning all aspects of the new Rams.
http://www.abhunter.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html