K&N Performance Air Filter Kits

I was wondering what the difference between the FIPK eries 57) kit and the "Performance" Series 77 kit was, other than the 77 kit being chrome instead of plastic. My assumption was the new 77 was supposed to be higher performance as well, but I was wrong.

According to the K&N website, the series 57 kits gives an extra 10.49 horsepower for the 5.7L HEMI, while the 77 only gives 8.34 HP (dyno chart), and the 57 seems to be more consistent boost across the RPM range.

FIPK Installation Instructions for 5.7L HEMI V8.

A Big Day

We had a big day yesterday. I came home from work and Paula had a pan of homemade macaroni and cheese in the oven.

And my new tonneau cover was on the porch, freshly delivered from Amazon.com. I got the Lund Genesis Tri-Fold and it really was about a 5 minute install, no exaggeration. Line it up at front of bed, clamp down the front, unbuckle the mid section and unfold. Clamp down two rear clamps. Done. Took longer to pull into the barn (all the while tearing up my very wet lawn with my very big and heavy truck tires).

Then we packed up the kids and went out to look at some puppies. We ended up putting down a deposit on a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier female. They are 3 weeks old right now, so we have wait until May. We played with the mom, "Claire", and watched the puppies for about an hour before we finally left. Marion Morse is the breeder, and she is in Webster, NY. website link

Lights Mod For Ram

On the Dodge Ram, the grill is attached to the hood, and the whole kit and kaboodle lifts as one piece. Here's an ingenius method for mounting driving lights so they sit behind the grill, mounted on the cross bar in front of the radiator. When I get around to mounting my driving lights, I'll be a lame ass and copy these guys. http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141886

"Peterbilt" Dodge Ram

This thing is sweet. He must have spent a lot of cash and time on this custom project. I only looked at the pictures so far, but I plan on going back to read it later. He started with a Ram 3500 and put a Peterbilt cab on it, truck bed off an old Chevy, 40" Mickey Thompson's, etc. Must be seen to be believed....

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/13/when-a-dodge-ram-just-isnt-sufficiently-truck-like

Ram HEMI: First Shock

I ended up buying that Ram last week (http://redneckprogrammer.blogspot.com/2007/02/is-this-truck.html
), and I have to say it's awesome. It's a 2003 Ram 1500 SLT Quad Cab 4x4 with short bed and the 5.7 liter 345 HEMI V8. It hauls lots of serious ass. It's kind of hard to open her up with all the snow and ice we've had, but you can feel it growling under that big bulging RAM hood. The kids love and and always aks to ride in Daddy's truck.

I filled it up late last week to the tune of $50, then filled it up again last night. I did a little basic math and found that I got a little (very little) over 13 miles per gallon mileage. It was a little bit of a shock to fill that 26 gallon tank, and a bit of a shock to get 13 mpg, but it really can't be too much worse than the Jeep with 4.11 gears, 33" tires, and the aerodynamic qualities of a brick. I don't know for sure because I never actually calculated what the Jeep got. I figured I just didn't care enough to run the numbers. Anyone who drives a lifted and modified Jeep is not in it for the economic benefits. Same goes for driving a full size truck with a big V8.

The truck has all the goodies, towing package with the hidden hitch, trailer wiring, trailer brake controller, leather seats, overhead console, bed liner, "Infinity premium sound" system with the CD and cassette, fold out flat cargo deck in back seats, with storage under that, heated side mirrors, power locks/windows/driver's seat, auto transmission, etc.

Tonneau Covers

I'm looking to get a tonneau cover for the new Dodge Ram this spring. My father has one for his Dakota that attached very similar to the soft top on a Jeep. The problem is when it gets cold the material gets stiff and shrinks a bit. If you get it off, you'll never get it back on, as we found out when we were packing for our bear hunting trip last November. Lund and a couple other companies make a cover with the bows and frame built right in, so you just clamp it down to the bed rails. It folds up in 3 sections, and installs in minutes no matter what the weather.

The Lund is the Lund Genesis Tri Fold, and it's amazing how much of a range exists in pricing. At the cheapest, I have found Amazon.com has it for $282.74 with free shipping, and as high was 423.95 at Auto Parts Warehouse, with free shipping (gee, thanks, charge me and extra $140 but give me free shipping).

I was kind of amazed Amazon.com had it at all, let alone them being the cheapest by far. Remember when they sold books? And maybe CD's and movies? Now they are like the Super Walmart of the internet world.

Price list for Lund Genesis Tri Fold model 95064 for Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab short bed (6'3")

• Summit Racing - $329.95
• JEGS - didn't have it
• Truck Addons.com - $330.99, free shipping
• Truck Stuff USA - 369.99
• JC Whitney - $359.99
• Auto Parts Warehouse - $423.95, free shipping
• Amazon.com - $282.74, free shipping