yeah i agree. i made a chart for gear ratios for a (optimal for gas mileage) 3.23 and the (factory) 4.22 ratio. i will attatch it. but there is hella RPM drop on these trucks. and they can turn some low RPM's. i know a guy who had his at 120 but it took 2 and a half minutes to get there. he had a 4.08 in it (best for performance)Gear Ratios 4_22 and 3_23 KM145.jpgOriginally Posted by MrPaco
the x variable is in speed incriments of 5 and the y variable is in RPM incriments of 250
@MrPaco where can i find that cluster??? i would love one with a RPM guage, what does it take to install?
Sorry, don't know where you can get one, other than a JY or CL. There's a guy near Seattle who has lots of gen 1 and 2 parts and is always posting them on CL (his prices tend to be high), you can easily find him with google.
As far as I know, from stuff I've read here in the forum, the clusters are plug and play, at least for the RPMs. You might need an oil pressure sensor, but someone more knowledgeable will correct me if I'm wrong on that.
The full cluster came in the Sports trim in '87, you can see that, and other interesting things in this brochure.
1987 Ram 50 Brochure.pdf
Last edited by MrPaco; 01-16-2020 at 06:50 AM.
intresting, i will go to u pull it or a local junkyard sometime and try to find a cluster
Thats pretty quick for the 4cyl. Would be interesting what GPS is. The spedo's on these trucks arent entirely accurate. Only at 3,500 rpm too.
Part of me wants to see how fast i can get the Mad Max (3.8L Mivec), but I really dont trust these light little trucks above 80MPH. Lol.
Have you got a front dam on your truck? It will make a world of difference when you're beating on it. Last thing you'd want is to experience is that magical hovercraft phenomenon...
Good point. I dont know how accurate it is, but I'll do a test. I dont have a fancy GPS unit, would a phone app be accurate enough?
i would say so, as long as you have a good connection
Cant say ive come close to lift off, but as it is the light truck just feels twitchy at times at speeds. No air dam. Honestly dont know what I could even put up front that would be a bolt on affair. Also, it wouldnt need to take a beating to get going that fast. I imagine I could get up to 100 mph pretty quick with the 3.8.
I think most of those apps are pretty accurate.
the AW372 has a pretty deep overdrive. I've done over an hour of a steady 85mph at least a hundred times in my truck. 3200rpm puts you right around peak torque. I checked my speedo with a speedometer app on my phone, and it was within a few miles an hour. I've towed a few thousand pounds about 120 miles a number of times. Out of overdrive, 32-3300 rpm puts you right around 60-62mph. I've never been afraid to let an engine rev. Lugging an engine causes way more stress than light throttle cruise at higher rpm's.
.....
Last edited by claych; 01-17-2020 at 09:47 AM. Reason: wrong thread
^^^ bad for brave !!
The phone apps use GPS. The maps app is looking at your GPS speed and the GPS speed of other motorists to determine how long it will take you to arrive at your destination. I have found them to be pretty accurate, but I agree with Salteen, you don't want to do it where you have a really poor signal.
There won't be much in the options of bolting on an air dam, you're gonna have to get creative. I've only experienced hovercrafting once and it was in my canoe-like Galant wagon (Dodge Colt). I 'may' have been performing the Kessel run manoeuvre at the time... the steering wheel felt like a feather.
what would a skid plate do? if i took it off would it help any???
i remember when i first got my permit me and dad took his 78 f150 (dad driving) to 135 on the freeway and it hovered and shifted 2 lanes over. how that old 351 paired to a 3 speed got that fast idk but the speedo wound back up to the 30. like i said a freind had his at 120 with a 4.08 rear end
ok so a bit of digging has told me that these motors peak at around 2500 for torque, 5 to 55 for hp. they CAN go to about 7-8 rpm but its reccomended to stay at around 6. shift at 30,55,80,and 105 is what i was told (for racing and shit) but i actually have a 3.91 with an LSD, so i will get about 2.1k, which they say is best for cruising at 55. my freind has a 82 D50 with a 2.4L swapped in with an aftermarket tach (i am opting for the aftermarket tach, prolly mount it on the dash or something) and it turned like 4000 at 105 mph, he was just normal driving 5th gear. that thing ran really good, he got a 4.08 in it later and man that was a strong truck, he had it up to 120 once. just a factory 2.4L KM132 and all that. i would happily trade my 87 for it, slap some 17's or 18's on it and take it to maggie valley again!
the 2.4 peaks at 4500
Removing the skid plate will create turbulence but should improve air flow from the engine bay (it'll dump heat faster, not that you'd need it at highway speeds...) I personally don't think it's a great idea though. The idea is to redirect the air from going straight under the truck - you could use a rubber extruded strip attached to the underside of the front valance/skirt. It's an old school way of doing it but it helps.
ok, i have a custom design plate that is supposed to be the best of both worlds, aka a batter flowing skid plate while still doing its job. its not that heavy as it is made out of 1/2" aluminum. my uncle had it built at a fab shop. its basically a factory plate with more slots in it. its in his shop rn, as well as a custom grind cam that i prolly wont use and a 2.6L block/crank that sat outside for 10 or 15 years
Ive got the stock skid plate and its staying. Dont want turbulent air down there.
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