5.7 HEMI Mods – Which Are The Best Mods For Your 5.7 HEMI?

So, you bought yourself a new Mopar with a 5.7-liter HEMI engine and you are asking yourself what are the best 5.7 HEMI mods? Well, let me tell you that there are plenty of mods out there for these engines and we are going to cover the most common mods in this article.

• History Of The 5.7 HEMI
• 5.7 HEMI Mods
• Cold Air Intake
• Intake Manifold
• Aftermarket Headers
• Ported Aftermarket Heads
• High Performance Camshaft
• 5.7 HEMI Supercharger
• High Performance Exhaust
• PCM Upgrade
• Conclusion

Improving the performance is important because with the performance you will get a better driving experience. We all want to enjoy our mopars. The 5.7 HEMI is a good engine but with 5.7 HEMI mods, it can be a lot better.

The 5.7 is a pretty much bulletproof engine and it can deliver a lot of performance for the price. This engine is one of the best Chrysler engines ever produced and has a good reputation for its ability of modding and making a big amount of power.

With good mods, the 5.7 HEMI horsepower increase can be tremendous and then you will truly enjoy your HEMI as you supposed to. There are some builds out there that are pushing these engines up to 600 hp and that tells a lot for this engine.

In this article, we are going to cover the 5.7-liter HEMI in detail, we are going to learn more about its history. Then we will see what are the best 5.7 HEMI mods out there. We will see that there are some simple mods that can make a huge difference when it comes to power.

Brief History Of The 5.7 liter HEMI

The third generation HEMI engines were released in 2003. First in the third-generation lineup was the 5.7-liter HEMI which debuted with the Dodge Ram. And since then, it was included in many Chrysler products like the Chrysler 300.

But the popularity that this engine made was with the Dodge Charger and the Dodge Challenger. These mopars made the new generation of HEMI known for its performance.

The 5.7 is a naturally aspirated engine built on that good old pushrod design. And also, the hemispherical heads that most people associate HEMI with. Even though this engine was far more advanced than anything before it.

The first 5.7 HEMI produced 345 hp and 375lb-ft of torque which was plenty at the time. This engine was in the top 10 engines list for three years. Until the 2009 refresh came out.

The 2009 version came with a variable valve timing. The cylinder heads were also revised in order to increase the airflow. The engine also got a new intake manifold. This engine has also included the multi-displacement system or MDS as it is called. The MDS allowed the engine to shut off cylinders when the engine didn’t need the full power. This new system improved the fuel economy by a big margin.

The 2009 model year also saw an improvement in performance and the Charger R/T was producing 370 hp and 395 lb-ft of torque. And in recent years these numbers were bumped to 392 horsepower and 404 lb-ft of torque which is absolutely incredible how much power this engine can make.

5.7 HEMI Mods

The list for 5.7 HEMI mods is extremely long because the aftermarket offers plenty of upgrades for this engine. This makes the 5.7 HEMI a good application and you can play with it in any way you want. You can add a new cam, new ported heads, better intake manifolds, and cold air intakes. Even some bolt-on superchargers are available for purchase.

This engine offers more than many other engines combined. And all this for a fraction of the price. You can find these engines everywhere because they were manufactured in big numbers.

But now let’s see which are the most popular 5.7 HEMI mods out there, which should be your first mod?

Cold Air Intake

If you have a first car that came with the 5.7 HEMI, then a cold air intake will be a perfect first mod for your new car. With this mod, you will make your HEMI feel alive and will wake up the beast inside of it.

The cold air intake works in a way that it drives cold air inside of the engine and this cold air is denser. More density means more oxygen inside of the combustion process and more power. You can expect to bump your horsepower output by 30 hp with a good cold air intake.

Besides the performance advantages, there are also sound advantages. The sound that the cold air intake makes is amazing and will make your HEMI sound even better and this will make a huge difference. Also, cold air intakes are pretty affordable mods and you can find them for a few hundred dollars.

5.7 HEMI Intake Manifold

Upgrading your stock intake manifold is one of the better 5.7 HEMI mods that you can do to your engine. With a new and upgraded intake manifold, you will gain a lot of performance. Since aftermarket manifolds are created for the specific purpose of delivering power.

This new aftermarket manifold is going to be lighter and will also make your car lighter. It is also ported which means that it will deliver a lot more air into the combustion chambers.

This is a good mod if you are planning to add an improved throttle body and a cold air intake. With all three mods, you can bump your horsepower by a lot.

Intake manifolds are not that expensive and will cost you around $300 to $400.

Aftermarket Headers

High-performance headers are one of the hottest upgrades to any Mopar or muscle car on the market and they are one of the best 5.7 HEMI mods available. With these aftermarket headers, you will get a lot more horsepower.

Aftermarket headers are built for performance. They work in that way that they increase the flow of the exhaust gasses and improve the combustion.

The easier the release and flow of exhaust gasses the better the performance these engines make. The stock manifolds create a lot of backpressure that slows down the engine.

With aftermarket headers, you will feel a good increase in power. Power numbers will bump to 60+ horsepower with these aftermarket headers and you will feel that power when you apply the foot on the throttle.

In my opinion, this is one of the best mods out there that will instantly deliver power to the engine.

Also, the sound improvements over the stock intake manifolds are immense and you will feel that rumble that a good old V8 produces.

A good set of Hooker headers will make your car sound extra amazing and will also deliver a great amount of power.

5.7 HEMI Aftermarket Ported Heads

Another cool mod that you can have on your 5.7 HEMI mods are the aftermarket heads. There are plenty of companies that make heads for the 5.7. And these heads deliver a lot of performance. Especially if they are combined with a high-performance camshaft.

These heads incorporate bigger intake and exhaust chambers that increase the flow of gasses. All this extra flow increases your performance from the straight line.

You want a car that is punchy and fast, not a car that is sluggish and low-powered. With these performance heads, you can boost your horsepower to more than 100 horses.

And for a third-generation 5.7 HEMI that is plenty of power, to be honest. Plus, the aftermarket engine heads are manufactured from aluminum. Making them extra lightweight and they will reduce the overall weight of your engine by roughly 50 pounds or even more in some cases.

5.7 HEMI Performance Cam

A performance camshaft is probably the thing you want the most. A high-performance camshaft is going to give you that extra edge and deliver you a lot of power. 60 to 70 horsepower more to be more exact.

This horsepower will make your ordinary 5.7 HEMI into a stroker. With some aftermarket pistons and heads, you will be pushing more than 150 horses more than stock.

Plus, if you add some aftermarket headers, it will be a killer. Imagine putting this horsepower on a regular SXT Charger, this will be the perfect sleeper. You will burn some mustangs on the straight line with ease.

Aftermarket camshafts can be pricey, but it’s worth it, to be honest. With an aftermarket camshaft, you open space for future upgrades like new pistons and heads. In the end, you may create a real drag monster that will slay everything on the track, even hellcats.

5.7 HEMI Procharger

A supercharger is also a good addition if you are planning to run some 5.7 HEMI mods. There are a lot of supercharger options. But I think nothing delivers a performance like Procharger.

They are a company that offers bolt-on supercharger kits for most of the Mopar engines. These kits are plug and play as they claim. Everything bolts onto your Challenger or Charger chassis without any issue. And with a simple tune that comes with the kit, you can tune the Procharger to work with your engine in perfect harmony.

This supercharger brings a lot of power to the table, and that is around 160 hp at 7psi of boost as they claim. And this is enough to boost your stock 5.7 HEMI to 520 horsepower. At the end of the day, you are going to have the same power as a 392 HEMI under the hood.

But this performance also comes with a high price tag. So, if you have the funds and you like to improve the engine it’s a no-brainer to get one of these Procharger superchargers.

There isn’t anything sweeter than that supercharge whine. It’s like a melody for my ears when I listen to it.

Performance Exhaust

Performance exhaust is another great idea and one of the best 5.7 HEMI mods. This mod will bring you an extremely good sound and will increase your performance by 50 horsepower.

This performance is due to the better flow of the exhaust gasses inside of these aftermarket exhaust systems. Better flow means the engine works better and doesn’t have a lot backpressure that ruins its performance.

This performance difference is most noticeable if you install an aftermarket exhaust system from a reputable company. A system that is tested and approved.

Even though simple straight piping will also give you performance. But you will lose all of your catalytic converters and mufflers. The car will sound fantastic, but as soon as you cross the street you probably going to be fined for disturbing the peace. And also, you won’t be able to pass the emissions with this mod.

Another good idea is to add an aftermarket muffler if you can’t afford a whole performance exhaust system. This performance muffler will bring some good sound to the table and will improve your horsepower ratings for the fraction of the price.

Do I Need A Tune With A Performance Upgrade?

Of course, that you need a tune, especially if you are running aftermarket parts. Everything that is concerned with performance has to be tuned in order to get the result that you need.

There are also some aftermarket PCMs that you can adjust in any way you want. So, if you plan to do some upgrades an aftermarket PCM is a must before you do anything.

These PCMs are not that expensive and are pretty affordable. They will gonna help you unlock that power that is hiding in your 5.7 liter HEMI.

Conclusion

In this article, we have covered the 5.7 HEMI mods and we hope that we helped you out by making your mind on which is going to be your first performance mod.

The 5.7 engine is a great platform and a lot of power can be unlocked from it with the right upgrades. The aftermarket is full of performance parts for this engine that are bolt-on and your only job is to know how to connect these pieces to complete the puzzle.

If you are a beginner the best thing to do is to start from something small like a cold air intake or performance headers, and then move on as you gain more experience with the 5.7 HEMI.

If you want to learn more about car mods you can check out our articles. We covered a lot when it comes to mods. We wrote about the cold air intake pros and cons, we also wrote about strut bar vs sway bar, and the Dodge Charger best mods for all of you Mopar enthusiasts.