2019 Ram 1500 Classic 5.7 Hemi: We Dyno Tested 3 Popular Mods — Here’s What Actually Made Power
What actually adds horsepower to a 5.7L Hemi?
Rather than relying on advertised horsepower claims, we put a nearly new 2019 Ram 1500 Classic 5.7L Hemi on the DynoJet at Dynomite Performance and tested several popular modifications.
We tested:
- K&N cold air intake
- Muffler delete
- Edge Pulsar performance tune
Some of the results were impressive. One modification, however, didn’t produce the horsepower improvement you might expect.
Here’s what happened.
The Test Truck
Our test vehicle was a 2019 Ram 1500 Classic equipped with the 5.7L Hemi.
At the beginning of our testing, the truck was completely stock and had fewer than 30,000 kilometres on it.
The truck was running 87-octane gasoline.
All horsepower and torque figures in this article are wheel horsepower and wheel torque measured on our DynoJet, using an SAE correction factor.
That distinction is important. These are not estimated engine horsepower numbers or manufacturer crank horsepower ratings. They are measurements taken at the wheels.
Baseline: Completely Stock 5.7 Hemi
Before modifying anything, we established a baseline.
The completely stock Ram produced:
304 wheel horsepower
331 lb-ft of wheel torque
This gave us our reference point for evaluating each modification.
| Configuration | Wheel HP | Wheel Torque |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | 304 HP | 331 lb-ft |
Now we could start changing things.
Modification #1: K&N Cold Air Intake
The first modification was a K&N cold air intake.
Cold air intakes are one of the most common bolt-on modifications for the 5.7 Hemi. They’re relatively simple to install and are often advertised as improving airflow and engine performance.
But we wanted to see what happened on the dyno.
After installing the K&N intake, the Ram produced:
325 wheel horsepower
342 lb-ft of torque
Compared with our completely stock baseline, that’s:
+21 wheel horsepower
+11 lb-ft of torque
That’s approximately a 6.9% increase in peak wheel horsepower over our stock baseline.
For a bolt-on intake, that’s a result worth paying attention to.
K&N Results
| Stock | K&N | Difference | |
| Wheel HP | 304 | 325 | +21 HP |
| Wheel Torque | 331 | 342 | +11 lb-ft |
On this particular 5.7 Hemi, the K&N intake produced a measurable improvement.
Modification #2: Muffler Delete
Next came something a lot of Hemi owners consider: removing the factory muffler.
A muffler delete certainly changes the way a 5.7 Hemi sounds.
But does it make more horsepower?
After the muffler delete, our peak numbers were:
323 wheel horsepower
348 lb-ft of torque
That produced an interesting result.
Peak torque increased compared with the previous K&N test, but peak horsepower did not.
In fact, peak horsepower was 2 HP lower than our previous 325 HP result.
Because a difference this small can fall within normal testing variation, we wouldn’t describe this as the muffler delete “losing horsepower.”
The more useful conclusion is:
We did not measure an additional peak horsepower gain from the muffler delete during this test.
Muffler Delete Results
| K&N | K&N + Muffler Delete | Difference | |
| Wheel HP | 325 | 323 | −2 HP |
| Wheel Torque | 342 | 348 | +6 lb-ft |
Compared with the original stock baseline, the truck was still up 19 peak wheel horsepower and 17 lb-ft of peak torque.
But based on our testing, the muffler delete didn’t add additional peak horsepower beyond what we had already measured after installing the intake.
It definitely changed the sound.
The dyno, however, didn’t show an additional peak horsepower improvement.
Modification #3: Edge Pulsar Performance Tune
Next we tested an Edge Pulsar performance tune.
This produced our highest numbers of the test.
With the performance tune, the Ram made:
335 wheel horsepower
356 lb-ft of torque
Compared with the original stock baseline:
+31 wheel horsepower
+25 lb-ft of torque
That’s approximately a 10.2% increase in peak wheel horsepower compared with where the completely stock truck started.
Pulsar Results
| Stock | Performance Tune | Difference | |
| Wheel HP | 304 | 335 | +31 HP |
| Wheel Torque | 331 | 356 | +25 lb-ft |
Of the configurations we tested, the performance tune produced the highest peak horsepower and torque numbers.
All Three Modifications Compared
Here’s the complete progression:
| Configuration | Wheel HP | Wheel Torque | HP vs. Stock | Torque vs. Stock |
| Completely Stock | 304 | 331 | — | — |
| K&N Cold Air Intake | 325 | 342 | +21 | +11 |
| Muffler Delete | 323 | 348 | +19 | +17 |
| Pulsar Performance Tune | 335 | 356 | +31 | +25 |
The truck started at 304 wheel horsepower and ultimately reached 335 wheel horsepower in our performance-tune test.
That’s a difference of 31 wheel horsepower from our original baseline.
Which Modification Was Most Impressive?
There are two results that stand out to us.
The K&N Intake
The K&N intake produced a surprisingly strong result on this particular truck.
We measured 21 additional peak wheel horsepower compared with our stock baseline.
For a relatively straightforward bolt-on modification, that’s significant.
The Performance Tune
The performance tune ultimately produced our highest peak numbers:
335 wheel horsepower and 356 lb-ft of torque.
That’s 31 HP and 25 lb-ft above our completely stock baseline.
And What About the Muffler Delete?
This is probably the most interesting part of the test.
If you’re doing a muffler delete because you want your Hemi to sound more aggressive, that’s one thing.
If you’re doing it specifically because you’re expecting a significant peak horsepower increase, our test didn’t show one.
We measured 325 HP before the muffler delete and 323 HP afterward.
Again, we’re not claiming that every muffler delete on every 5.7 Hemi will produce the same result.
We’re simply reporting what happened on this truck, on our dyno, during this test.
That’s why we test.
Does This Mean Your 5.7 Hemi Will Gain the Same Horsepower?
No.
These results shouldn’t be interpreted as a guarantee that another Ram will gain exactly 21 HP from an intake or exactly 31 HP from this combination of modifications and tuning.
Dyno results can be affected by many variables, including:
- Vehicle condition
- Existing modifications
- Fuel
- Engine temperature
- Intake-air temperature
- ECU behaviour
- Testing conditions
- Correction method
Our truck had fewer than 30,000 km, started completely stock, was running 87-octane fuel, and our reported figures use SAE correction.
Your results may be different.
That’s one of the reasons we believe actual before-and-after testing is so valuable.
Watch the Dyno Testing
Want to see the actual testing rather than just read the numbers?
Watch our 2019 Ram 1500 Classic 5.7 Hemi dyno test:
We document the testing so you can see what we changed and what happened on the dyno.
Final Results
So, what did we learn from modifying this 2019 Ram 1500 Classic 5.7 Hemi?
Stock: 304 HP / 331 lb-ft
K&N Intake: 325 HP / 342 lb-ft
Muffler Delete: 323 HP / 348 lb-ft
Pulsar Performance Tune: 335 HP / 356 lb-ft
The cold air intake produced a measurable horsepower improvement.
The muffler delete didn’t produce additional peak horsepower in our test.
And the performance tune produced the highest peak horsepower and torque numbers of the configurations tested.
Most importantly, these aren’t advertised horsepower claims.
They’re numbers we measured on the dyno.
That’s what we’re interested in at Dynomite Performance: testing modifications and finding out what actually works.
Dynomite Performance — Real Parts. Real Dyno Tests. Real Results.
