The smartphone. It's literally changed the way we live, from communication to business, so it should come as no surprise that yep, you can now tune your truck with one! This technology comes from Edge Performance Products, a company that has been a leader in the diesel industry for decades. Not one to rest on its laurels, Edge has evolved into one of the leaders of emissions compliant tuning, that can still add a good amount of power to your diesel pickup.

Better Than Factory

Ram trucks definitely have quite the following, but in the horsepower race right now, they're dead last. The 2023 Ford clocks in at 500hp, GM offerings at 445hp, and Ram at a 370hp rating. Ouch. There is a sunny side to all of this though, as the current trend of under-rating horsepower on new vehicles is alive and well on the '21 Ram. During dyno testing, the Ram made 360hp at the wheels (not flywheel) along with a mammoth 820lb-ft of torque. Ok, maybe things aren't so bad.

It gets better though, as there is still some room in the factory tuning to push things further. Edge saw this, and was able to extract another 60hp out of the Ram, cranking out 421rwhp along with more than 1,000 lb-ft of torque. This means that the Ram now cranks out more power than a stock GM, and catches a good way up to the Ford. Power is only part of what the EZX does however, as many of its features are the most-requested items of diesel truck owners. There's a tire-pressure monitoring adjustment, speedometer correction, turbo timer, customized throttle response, and much more. Oh yeah, and you can adjust it all through your phone.

Installation

The EZX has a number of components that need to be installed before you can start swiping around with your phone. A main module is secured to the truck before a piggyback harness is installed onto a number of sensors on the truck including MAP, rail pressure, and more. The installation took us a little over an hour (and will be detailed in the photos) and was fairly simple. Probably the trickiest part was running the wiring through the firewall to connect to the pedal, but even this was made as easy as possible with small pull-apart connectors that came with the harness. A shop should be able to install the EZX easily, but it's also something you shouldn't be afraid to tackle if your skills are at the "backyard mechanic" level.

Driving Impressions

Once the Edge was installed, we immediately noticed a difference in the overall feel of the truck. In stock form the Ram barley went anywhere below 50-percent throttle, and we found ourselves having to nearly floor it to perform everyday maneuvers like left-hand turns. With the Edge installed the throttle is loads more responsive, and power is linear, like it should be. Of course we noticed the extra power too, and it was particularly welcome when passing a vehicle or towing a trailer. Finally, two features we found ourselves immediately using are the tire correction to correct our speedometer, and the TPMS feature to lower our minimum pressure settings. Overall the truck still drove pretty much like stock—only better.

Our testing would be centered around basic acceleration: 0-60mph times, and quarter-mile times and speed, but that's only part of the story. In stock form, we couldn't build hardly any boost on the line—only a couple of pounds. With the EZX on level 5 we were able to build a lot more—8psi—and actually sort of launch the truck (perform at your transmission's own risk). This cut a huge amount out of our 0-60mph time, from 8.4 seconds to 7.7 seconds. This same advantage extended out through the quarter mile, as the Ram's stock 16.4 at 84mph time and speed was eclipsed by a good margin. The truck kept pulling as speed increased, and it ended up with a time of 15.6 seconds at 89mph. Ok, so it's not a rocket ship, but that's still a pretty big difference.

Conclusion

Since diesel pickups first were introduced, owners have always been looking for "a little more," that boost in power and performance that was improved over the factory, but still probably won't require extensive engine and transmission modifications. In that respect, the EZX delivers exactly that, with just a finger-touch away on your smart phone. There's no messy smoke or pollution, and the Edge is 49-state legal (California certification is pending) and yet is still able to add a meaningful amount of power. In our book, the new EZX is a solid win.