Finally, came the microtuner from Superchips. We were a little skeptical about a hand-held tuner that could increase the horsepower and torque of our Ram. Let's just say when the wheels stopped, we were smacked in the face by reality when the computer screen showed we had jumped to 196.8 hp at 4,400 rpm, and 260.1 lb-ft. of torque at 3,200 rpm. At the beginning of this test, our Ram's A/F reading was between 10.2 and 11.4. When we installed the programmer, our A/F reading was in the 13.5-14 area, definitely the reason for premium-octane fuel. Not only did horsepower and torque improve, but so did our fuel mileage by roughly 2 mpg. The increase in gas mileage is a definite plus since the performance program we chose to upload requires a minimum of 91-octane fuel. The programmer has other settings, but if you wish to use less than 91-octane, your new settings are limited.
We spent roughly a day in the garage and bolted on 35.9 hp and 23.5 lb-ft of torque. Definitely time well spent.
Dyno Run 1
Baseline '98 Dodge ram 5.2 liter
2/18/2004
Barometric Pressure 30.27
Air intake temperature 57.3
| RPM | Power | Torque | A/F |
| 3,000 | 93.2 | 163.1 | 14.6 |
| 3,100 | 134.9 | 228.6 | 14.2 |
| 3,200 | 143.2 | 235.0 | 13.7 |
| 3,300 | 148.6 | 236.6 | 13.0 |
| 3,400 | 147.1 | 227.3 | 12.3 |
| 3,500 | 150.9 | 226.4 | 12.3 |
| 3,600 | 152.7 | 222.8 | 12.2 |
| 3,700 | 160.9 | 228.4 | 11.9 |
| 3,800 | 160.1 | 221.3 | 11.9 |
| 3,900 | 159.6 | 214.9 | 11.7 |
| 4,000 | 156.3 | 205.2 | 11.6 |
| 4,100 | 155.2 | 198.8 | 11.4 |
| 4,200 | 155.5 | 194.4 | 11.4 |
| 4,300 | 154.8 | 189.1 | 11.3 |
| 4,400 | 149.8 | 178.8 | 11.2 |
| 4,500 | 144.0 | 168.1 | 11.1 |
| 4,600 | 134.2 | 153.2 | 10.8 |
Dyno Run 11
'98 Dodge ram 5.2 liter
Barometric Pressure 30.13
Intake air temperature 72.8
| RPM | Power | Torque | A/F |
| 3,000 | 147.5 | 258.2 | 13.8 |
| 3,100 | 152.0 | 257.5 | 13.5 |
| 3,200 | 158.5 | 260.1 | 13.2 |
| 3,300 | 162.7 | 258.9 | 13.2 |
| 3,400 | 168.2 | 259.8 | 13.2 |
| 3,500 | 171.8 | 257.8 | 13.2 |
| 3,600 | 175.5 | 256.1 | 13.2 |
| 3,700 | 180.7 | 256.5 | 13.2 |
| 3,800 | 183.1 | 253.0 | 13.2 |
| 3,900 | 185.9 | 250.3 | 13.3 |
| 4,000 | 185.7 | 243.8 | 13.3 |
| 4,100 | 188.2 | 241.1 | 13.3 |
| 4,200 | 189.7 | 237.2 | 13.3 |
| 4,300 | 191.7 | 234.1 | 13.3 |
| 4,400 | 196.8 | 234.9 | 13.3 |
| 4,500 | 192.8 | 225.0 | 13.4 |
| 4,600 | 192.6 | 219.9 | 13.0 |