OUCH!! I guess that might help...lower piston weight.
The Dodge 4.7L is supposed to be a sludge engine, but when I pulled the valve covers off, everything was clean as a whistle (whew). No extra parts either! I am a little anal, as I've only run synthetic oil in it since 1500 miles, and I keep a FilterMag on the oil filter.
Thanks for the kudos. It has taken me a few years to get to this point. I was not convinced aerodynamics really helped until I moved back to North Texas from northern Utah. There I could get 24 mpg on I-80 from Salt Lake to Wendover. But the air is thinner at 5,000 feet. Once I realized the drag reduction was a key element, I got really serious about researching drag and reducing it. Ecomodder has been a great site for learning!
@Blu3Z3rg, I heard it will help Dodges to get rid of the OEM muffler. Guess I'll find out soon enough, as I bought a couple 3" pieces from AutoZone to replace my muffler with. Wonder if the wife will notice?
[edit] It's 4 hours later, straight pipe installed, muffler removed. WOW, is it LOUD! That small resonator after the muffler seems to do nothing. I guess I'll be putting the muffler back on... Glad I didn't damage anything during removal.
[edit 2] Oh was that loud! Around town it was not too bad. It did have a nice loud crackle when I cranked it up for cold starts. On the highway, as long as I was at 60 mph or less it was okay. Above that and the resonation in the cab was not tolerable for me. I had to turn up the radio just to hear it. OEM muffler is back on now, until I can figure out what high-flow muffler combo will keep it quiet enough to maintain my hearing.