Making power relies on one main ingredient-ok, maybe more than one, but unless you have this one, the others are a moot point. Giving an engine more cool air is essential in making more power. Making sure that air isn't contaminated with dirt, debris, or any other foreign matter is the Achilles heel that auto manufacturers have been dealing with since the invention of the automobile. The task of an OE filter is to remove as much foreign matter as possible from the air before it reaches the engine. The problem this presents for performance-minded enthusiasts is that the OE air filters are overly restricted from a performance standpoint.
There are plenty of aftermarket manufacturers that make performance-oriented air filters for a stock application, but by virtue of using a stock OE filter housing, air flow is still restricted to an extent. You can find aftermarket filter assemblies that will free-up some air flow, but the one drawback to that style of filter is it usually draws air from a location under the hood, and thus the warm air from the engine's heat is what your engine is breathing. It's kind of like a catch-22-you get more air, but it's heated and not as dense.
There is an alternative, and we found it at AutoTruckToys.com. In order to get the best air for your engine, you have to think outside the box-or in this case, the hood. Mopar muscle cars have long been known for the brash, functioning hoodscoops that they left the factory with. Be it a Hemi Dart or Barracuda, an A12 package car with its "Six Pack"-style scoop, or a T/A Challenger with its T/A-style scoop, they all had one purpose-getting fresh air to the engine. Even the factory still realizes that hoodscoops mean performance-think SRT.
But one scoop stands out as the most ingenious, and that's the Shaker-style scoop. It can't really be called a hoodscoop because it didn't mount to the hood, but you guys reading this know what we're talking about. It's the way the scoop mounted to the engine and "shook" with the cam lope, or the driver playing with the throttle pedal.
We got to surfing the Internet one day and found that there are a myriad of hoodscoops-functioning and decorative for many late-model performance vehicles as well. We checked out the www.autotrucktoys.com website and found that they even carry a Shaker-style scoop for our Project Ram that we've been modifying over the last couple of years. They also sell performance hoods for your Magnum, 300, or Charger vehicle as well. The hood we got, made by Goodhood, is a fiberglass replacement that not only looks good, but is also a functioning setup that will direct cooler air from outside of the vehicle to the engine-that's a good thing.
We're sure you guys want to know how it fit and how much work it took to install, so here it is. It's a fiberglass hood that needed minimal work to get ready for paint, and the actual install of the Shaker portion is so simple that anyone can do it with a few wrenches. So there you have it. We gave our Ram a boost in the cool factor, and performance just by adding a new hood. How much easier can it get?
Simple and clean, the Dodge...
Simple and clean, the Dodge Ram hood is ok in stock form, but it can get better.
If you're making your shaker...
If you're making your shaker functional by ordering the appropriate air-intake kit, with the hood removed, get rid of the factory air box. If you're going to keep the factory box, leave it in place.
The first thing we need to...
The first thing we need to do is remove the factory hood, so we can make sure everything fits before we start to paint. We used a permanent marker to mark the hinge locations so we could replace the factory hood and make aligning easy.
On the front of the box that...
On the front of the box that attaches to the throttle body is the IAC (Inlet Air temperature) sensor. If you're using the optional intake kit, you'll have to remove it from the factory box and place it in the new air tube. Again, if you're using the factory air box, this can stay in place.
Next we bolted the fiberglass...
Next we bolted the fiberglass hood to the hinges to check the fit.
If you need to adjust the...
If you need to adjust the hood's height, do that by loosening the bolts going to the body, and adjust.
The only bodywork we needed...
The only bodywork we needed to do to the hood was on the driver side. We sanded the corner down (Mark shows area trimmed), and that was it.
Next we installed the factory...
Next we installed the factory grille to make sure it fit. Remember, if you don't check this stuff before you paint, you could be sorry.
We needed to enlarge the alignment-pin...
We needed to enlarge the alignment-pin holes just a little to get the grille correctly placed on the hood.
With the hood gaps aligned,...
With the hood gaps aligned, we focused on mounting the Shaker. The Shaker mounts directly to the engine (like you would expect) by using two brackets.
The base of the Shaker then...
The base of the Shaker then mounts to the brackets.
The base's height is adjustable...
The base's height is adjustable so you can get it peeking through the hood at just the right height.
Once the base is in place,...
Once the base is in place, the Shaker's top is installed with screws and fender clips.
Once the Shaker is properly...
Once the Shaker is properly fitted, you have to take it all apart for painting.
By drilling small 1/8-inch...
By drilling small 1/8-inch holes through the hinge and into the hood, realigning the hood after painting it is easy.
After a good coating of primer,...
After a good coating of primer, get out the 600-grit sandpaper and get it smooth.
If you plan to make the Shaker...
If you plan to make the Shaker functional, you need to install the optional intake kit: PN GH-RB1083 ('02-'05 Hemi), or PN GH-RB1086 ('06 Hemi)
With the hood painted, put...
With the hood painted, put the grille back on it and install it on the truck.
Reinstall the brackets......
Reinstall the brackets...
...and Shaker base.
Next, we installed the Shaker...
Next, we installed the Shaker top...
but before you mount the Shaker...
but before you mount the Shaker top to the base, you need to install the hood-to-Shaker seal.
Guess how we found out that...
Guess how we found out that the seal goes on before the top?
There you have it-one cool...
There you have it-one cool new hood for a Ram, that can even boost performance. That's a good deal in anybody's book.