The Dodge Ram SRT-10 is a great example of the era of powerful muscle trucks. Dodge took the aluminum 8.3-liter 500 hp / 525 lb-ft V10 from the Viper and stuck it into the Ram 1500. This crazy truck first arrived as a 2004 model in a regular cab configuration and the manual 6-speed transmission. By the time the last SRT-10 Rams were built for 2006 model year, there were a total of 5,533 regular cabs made. However, the more rare animal is actually the Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab. Owners and enthusiasts wanted a SRT-10 truck that can tow a respectable amount. Perhaps, towing a Viper race car to the track. The answer was the Quad Cab with a 4-speed automatic. There are only 3,994 Quad Cabs ever built.
What you see here is a 2006 Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab ‘Night Runner’ edition. This specific truck is #50 from a total of 400 Night Runner examples. TFLtruck crew had an opportunity to witness the first series of dyno runs for a freshly rebuilt and modified V10 in this truck. This motor threw a valve a while ago, and then undergone a full and complete rebuild with some special parts added in. This one does not have forced induction. It relies on modified ECU tuning, heads, camshaft, and intake/exhaust system.
Being in Colorado, this engine is being challenged in several ways. The mile-high elevation means that the air is less dense (about 17% less density than at sea level). The highest octane fuel is 91. And that 4-speed automatic transmission can rob a good chunk of power. How does this Night Runner cope with all the challenges? It uses high performance engine hardware and modified ECU software to make the best of it. And it surprised us with the final results! We saw 523.46 hp and 545.70 lb-ft of torque delivered to the large rollers at the dyno-pro.com shop. If you do the math, this freshly built V10 is capable of nearly 700 horsepower at the crank when at sea-level!
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply ‘going for a drive’.
