I was asked by a forum member this question... I figured I would post it in our forum as it is a common question I get from time to time.
Over the years I have just become impressed with its ability to make power... at the same time I was having fun picking on HEMI RAMS at the track with it. In my Quad Cab Ram I was running 9.91 to the HEMI Quad Cabs running 10.2's/10.3's... So it was fun popping all the HEMI egos at the track with my little 4.7L engine that's NOT supposed to be able to beat a HEMI. Back then it was un heard of and even the words where asking for a flame on the forums by un believing HEMI owners... today its accepted and HEMI owners take it in stride. I have always been a fan of the smaller underrated engines beating the bigger ones at the track... and the 4.7L filled that need. To date I have gotten my 5,000lb+ Quad Cab Ram down the track in 9.49 with Gutless cams... With a custom grind Comp Cam we will be knocking on the door of high Low 9's/ High 8's!
It all started when I purchased my 2002 Ram. I only had two choices for engines... either a 5.9L or the 4.7L... I drove both and honestly felt the 4.7L was more responsive then the 5.9L... So I went with the 4.7L.
As time went on, we have learned more and more about the 4.7L... It is known to be one of the most reliable engines Chrysler has ever built. I know I have 120,000 Wide Open throttle miles on mine... Not one issue. Sure you hear of issues but most of them are from customers who did not take care of them, over heating them, running them out of oil... both will bring any engine to their dome. Also, the 4.7L was a very popular engine found in many fleet vehicles... and we all know fleet vehicles get the crap beat out of them and are not maintained.... Then sold off to the public. In many cases you can trace an issue to it once being a fleet vehicle.
If you ever take a 4.7L apart, the first thing you will notice is it has a 28-bolt bed plate holding the crank in place... Bed plates are normally found on exotic racing engines. We are able to get LARGER pistons into the 4.7L then the ford 4.6L can & our ported heads have the ability to flow more then the best ported 4.6L heads... We have SCT available for most 4.7L engines and for those who just do basic bolt on's Superchips has them covered. Bottom line, the 4.6L Ford makes GREAT HP... The 4.7L has more potential and can be made to handle and make more HP then a 4.6L.
Its a great engine and has a ton of potential with the right aftermarket support. I beleive the aftermarket wrote it off since its not found in any cars. All the vehicles its in are HEAVY trucks or SUVs... so I feel they did not think the aftermarket was there... But it is, and the more people who mod the 4.7L the more there are who are just impressed with what this engine can do... Nobody has really ever found the limits of this engine. Yes we know the Factory Rods and Pistons are not the best for performance... but with a good set of ROSS pistons and SCAT rods you would have a nearly bullet proof bottom end... I have NEVER heard of a cast crank coming apart but I feel it will be find up to 400-450HP... After that I would start looking into a Forged Crank.
So in a nut shell, the 4.7L is a great engine to build up for High Performance. It makes decent N/A HP and with its short stroke, bed-plate and heads... It would make an outstanding engine to boost. Many customers have already learned this fact.
SPEED SAFE, AIR RAM
Over the years I have just become impressed with its ability to make power... at the same time I was having fun picking on HEMI RAMS at the track with it. In my Quad Cab Ram I was running 9.91 to the HEMI Quad Cabs running 10.2's/10.3's... So it was fun popping all the HEMI egos at the track with my little 4.7L engine that's NOT supposed to be able to beat a HEMI. Back then it was un heard of and even the words where asking for a flame on the forums by un believing HEMI owners... today its accepted and HEMI owners take it in stride. I have always been a fan of the smaller underrated engines beating the bigger ones at the track... and the 4.7L filled that need. To date I have gotten my 5,000lb+ Quad Cab Ram down the track in 9.49 with Gutless cams... With a custom grind Comp Cam we will be knocking on the door of high Low 9's/ High 8's!
It all started when I purchased my 2002 Ram. I only had two choices for engines... either a 5.9L or the 4.7L... I drove both and honestly felt the 4.7L was more responsive then the 5.9L... So I went with the 4.7L.
As time went on, we have learned more and more about the 4.7L... It is known to be one of the most reliable engines Chrysler has ever built. I know I have 120,000 Wide Open throttle miles on mine... Not one issue. Sure you hear of issues but most of them are from customers who did not take care of them, over heating them, running them out of oil... both will bring any engine to their dome. Also, the 4.7L was a very popular engine found in many fleet vehicles... and we all know fleet vehicles get the crap beat out of them and are not maintained.... Then sold off to the public. In many cases you can trace an issue to it once being a fleet vehicle.
If you ever take a 4.7L apart, the first thing you will notice is it has a 28-bolt bed plate holding the crank in place... Bed plates are normally found on exotic racing engines. We are able to get LARGER pistons into the 4.7L then the ford 4.6L can & our ported heads have the ability to flow more then the best ported 4.6L heads... We have SCT available for most 4.7L engines and for those who just do basic bolt on's Superchips has them covered. Bottom line, the 4.6L Ford makes GREAT HP... The 4.7L has more potential and can be made to handle and make more HP then a 4.6L.
Its a great engine and has a ton of potential with the right aftermarket support. I beleive the aftermarket wrote it off since its not found in any cars. All the vehicles its in are HEAVY trucks or SUVs... so I feel they did not think the aftermarket was there... But it is, and the more people who mod the 4.7L the more there are who are just impressed with what this engine can do... Nobody has really ever found the limits of this engine. Yes we know the Factory Rods and Pistons are not the best for performance... but with a good set of ROSS pistons and SCAT rods you would have a nearly bullet proof bottom end... I have NEVER heard of a cast crank coming apart but I feel it will be find up to 400-450HP... After that I would start looking into a Forged Crank.
So in a nut shell, the 4.7L is a great engine to build up for High Performance. It makes decent N/A HP and with its short stroke, bed-plate and heads... It would make an outstanding engine to boost. Many customers have already learned this fact.
SPEED SAFE, AIR RAM
