Time for mods, tires, headers, intake

[PbF00T]

Time for some mods, I want to do them before christmas. I have a 2001 R/T, it is the family truckster, so it has to be reliable.

First, a safety thing, tires. I'm in Vermont and I tow all winter, so I need good tires. I also put on about 500 highway miles a week, so I don't want loud offroad tires. From reading posts, I get the "no" message on the yoko's, but what tires work, fit and look right on an R/T. I don't care much about cost, I don't care much about the stock rims in the snow/salt. I'll probably get new rims for "summer" tires next spring.

Second, performance, I guess I need to look at the intake side first, IP, K&N, etc. In this area, all I care about is hassle and performance. What goes in easy on a 2k1, which company is available if I have problems? Do they all perform about the same?

Third, Exhaust. I was thinking of headers, but from reading, it appears there are underhood heat issues, is this common? I also read something about issues with the O2 sensors. Are headers going to be a PITA? How much louder are they? Will it take until I do some engine mods to realize any real gain from headers?

[NightBandit]

PbF00T,

I also have a 2001 R/T, and I just bought myself a new set of tires about a month ago (after 44,000 miles on my original Wrangler HPs). Our R/Ts have a very odd tire size (275/60R17) and if you want to keep the stock tire size, you are very limited to tire choices. I went with a set of Michelin Cross Terrain SUVs. I've only had them for 3,000 miles, but so far I am happy with them. We've had only a couple of inches of snow so far, but I haven't done any slipping or sliding yet. They have a lot of sipes on them, so I'm not too worried about more snow. Plus with a 65,000 mile warrenty, I couldn't pass them up.
As far as mods go, I've got a few of them too. Personally (and everyone will have their own opinions here), I'd start on the intake side. Start with a cold air intake system. I'm not sure what will get you the most horsepower (K&N FIPK, Intense Performance, Mopar, etc.), but as long as it pulls in the cooler outside air, I think that you'll be happy. I went with Intense Performance because K&N had nothing for 2001s when I bought mine. Next (also on the intake side) I'd get a ported throttle body (lots of choices, lots of opinions again), followed by the M-1 (2bbl). I'd do them in that order (cold air intake, TB, M-1), but you don't have to do them all. You can stop anywhere along the way and still get a nice little performance gain. Then you can always do your heads, cam and roller rockers, but these aren't simple bolt ons and are a little more pricey.
My single best mod was my B&G flashed PCM. With the 2001s, you are VERY limited on flashes. B&G, Kenne Bell, Hypertech (and it sounds like soon Mike Leach). When I got mine flashed, B&G was the ONLY option. I am extreamly happy with the B&G flash! It is the most aggessive flash out there. I haven't heard of a single person who has been unhappy with the B&G flash. I have heard mixed opinions about the Kenne Bell and the Hypertech Power Programmer III. Oh, I just remembered, you said that you tow. If you do a lot of towing, you probably don't want to get your PCM flashed. You'll have major pinging issues.
As far as exhaust, that's my next mod. I hope to have mine done by the end of the year. I know that some people have mentioned underhood heat issues, but I think that if you get a coated set of headers, heat WON'T be an issue. Of course, there are many opinions on header choices too. From what I can tell, most people who race their trucks (mostly Dakotas), go with the Mopar headers. However, John Mercedes (SouthEast R/T) has just designed and produced a new header that outperforms the Mopar header and is cheaper (it comes coated). He is currently testng it and hopes to have them ready for sale very soon. This is what I am waiting for. Once they are ready, I will be getting these (they come with a new y-pipe), a new high flow cat and a Flowmaster serries 70 muffler. It will be a 3" single exhaust set-up.
Sorry for rambling on so much, but this is my two cents worth. Good luck with your truck.

NightBandit

[PbF00T]

I think I'm going to take a chance on the tires. Or should I say Tyres, and go with something it seems nobody else has.

Nokian makes a 275/60/17 all season tire, as well as a full-on snow tire.

Because I drive 500+ highway miles a week, and I have a 3000 mile trip to Iowa planned for x-mas. I'm leaning towards the All-Season Nokian WR. I don't dare drive to Iowa in the winter with the stock Goodyears.

The tires are here: http://www.nokiantires.com/html/WR.html

They run $165.00 each including mount and balance in sales tax free New Hampshire.

Opinions?

[BambooMan]

I've been happy with all the mods listed below. If I don't like it, off it goes! The Hypertech programmer is a good option if you tow (as I do.) Personally I think it is the best performance mod I've done for the money (HP per dollar.) The B&G flash is a custom flash that's dialed into your exact engine configuration. You can't get any better than that but it is expensive ($600+.) They tell you upfront not to tow with it.

Start with a good cold air intake and ported throttle body.

Purchased my tri-Y headers and Y-pipe from http://www.stans-headers.com. Have not had any under hood heat problems with them (what are they talking about anyway?)

Good luck and enjoy!

[NightBandit]

PbF00T,

I obviously have no comment on the Nokians (since I've never used or even heard of them), but they sure do make it sound like a good tire. It looks like they have quite a few sipes (almost as many as an all out snow tire), so you should be fine.
I agree with BambooMan about the Hypertech Power Programmer III. If you tow, it will be your only option (so far) since it's not actually a flash and you can turn it off and on. I think that Jet also makes a chip for our trucks, but I haven't heard a single good thing about the Jet chip (a least not in Dodge trucks).
Where in Iowa are you heading? I went to school in Iowa (Luther) and still have quite a few friends there.
Good luck with your tires and mods and have a safe trip.

NightBandit

[Kevin_Rants]

I have a 4000 mile trip to Colorado, let's compare mileage etc. Only drawback to those tires I saw was tread depth was only 11/32s. Most Michelin, etc will net you at 14-16/32s.

[BambooMan]

NightBandit,

Hypertech's programmer III is a flash to your PCM. You plug it in to your OBDII port (underneath the steering column) and it reads your current VIN and software, then down loads it to a memory chip inside. Then it downloads a customized high performance software program that you choose from the programmer either 87 octane or 93 octane. They've done all the advanced timing curves, adjusted the air/fuel mixtures and tuned the software to get the highest best performance through ALL rpm ranges.

The programmer ROCKS! I run the 93 octane set up all the time until towing season comes around again this summer. Then all you do is reverse the download and put the stock program back in. The biggest change that I've noticed is the bottom end is back, which co-incidentally is where most of my driving is......

In March when the track opens again I'll do some runs stock and programmer tuned to show the difference. My time below was done in May, 2002 before the programmer.

[white98club]

Originally posted by BambooMan
....The B&G flash is a custom flash that's dialed into your exact engine configuration. You can't get any better than that but it is expensive ($600+.) They tell you upfront not to tow with it.

For the price you would think the B&G is custom, but it's actually a generic flash. Custom only comes with flashing while dyno tuning so that the A/F curve can be tweaked for your particular set of mods.

[BambooMan]

You're right white98club. If you call B&G they want to know your set up over the phone and than supposedly get you the right software configuration loaded on your PCM. Unless it's dyno'd how could they really do that? I would guess that they have the exact same process that Hypertech does.

Any how, I love my programmer!

[Ugg]

Hello PbFoot:

You've been given alot of good advice. Keep your stock muffler, since you have a R/T, it's a DynoMax Flothru. Nobody mentioned skid plates. If you got em already from the factory, they are plastic and are crap. Get a good set of steel ones. I've got the Yoko's and am very unhappy with them. Next time out, it's the Micheys'

I also did some suspension stuff since I tow a bit too. I added an extra leaf per side in the back and got rid of the stock shocks. There's allot more you can do to your D, depending on the $$$$$ ya want to spend. But what ever ya do, whoever ya talk to, remind them that ya tow.

Later
Ugg

[PbF00T]

The Nokian WR tires are on the D, I did a 200 mile highway drive the night they were installed. First thing I noticed, the ride is much smoother. I always suspected those goodyears as the source of my minor vibrations (made the unoccoupied seats shake a little).

The noise level is about the same, perhaps a little quieter. Really hard to tell. Most of the noise I hear is exhaust and wind on the highway.

The really big difference is that the truck now feels "stuck" to the road. With the stock tires, it would always get kinda loose going over things like expansion joints on the highway around a curve. That problem is pretty much gone now.

Soon as we get some snow, I'll post the snow performance results. Hopefully, unlike the stock tires, turning the wheel will result in turning the vehicle.

I also ordered an Intense Performance Stage III with whatever the largest filter is. Should have that in a few days.

[Ugg]

Foot:

Keep us posted on the tires. Some of us have little choice, so it's good to know if there's another option out there.

Thanks
Ugg

[PbF00T]

Well, winter is supposed to be over, except for that 8" of snow we got yesterday. I had the bike out Friday night, and the snowblower back out Monday morning.

I said I'd post a followup on the Nokain tires and here it is after 8000 miles.

They work awsome. There was no negative effect on gas mileage, they are quieter than stock, the twitchy back end over bumps is gone.

Snow traction was outstanding, stopping, steering and going.

I hate the idea of going back to those Goodyears for the summer.

-JeffR