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_Gear_
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2008
00:28:04
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 Subject: gotta tuff choice
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ok idk whether to waste money moddin my truck out or not...lol when i first got my RT i was so psyched, its my dream truck, and it made everything else i ever had seem realllly slow. and i loved it! and the torqueyness and power
but anyways i've been havin second thoughts for sure. first of all it just seems like so much money to get this thing to even smoke a GT in a full 1/4. i've been runnin around with a hemi and a 5.3 chevy and they arent much slower at ALL
in fact my buddys hemi kept up with me from 60-90 like nothin, i was only 3/4 of a length on him.
MY TRUCK:
03' dakota RC RT w/ 3" flowmaster exhaust, twin ram air hoodscoop and old school breather with K&N filter
MY BUDDIES HEMI:
03' quad cab 4x4 w/ gutted exhaust, and that damn $600 hemi underglass intake which supposedly takes a full second off ur 0-60
im sayin WTF?! i know i could spank him from 10-60 but still
ok....after all my BS paragraphs.....bottom line, i love this truck and i want it to kick ass, but i dont wanna waste money if i cant even make this thing MOVE...what should i do
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Byron
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2008
07:41:15
|  RE: gotta tuff choice
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It's a pickup, not a sports car.
If you wanted a sports car, you should have bought a sports car.
Speed costs...how fast do you want to go?
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dakownr
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2008
09:44:18
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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Byron has a point that it is a truck, but that doesn't mean that it cannot be a mean performer. There are lots of speed parts out there that will drastically improve your truck's performance. About the cost aspect of speed-it costs alot of money to make any vehicle go fast. Now, if you decide to keep your truck and make it faster, you must remember that you will also still have a truck that is much much more practical than any sports car on the planet. I would keep the truck, do ALOT of research on this site and others like it, and be happy in the fact that you can safely drive the truck year-round and haul or pull stuff with it.
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TexasTodd
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2008
11:12:34
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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_Gear_,
You posted "MY TRUCK:
03' dakota RC RT w/ 3" flowmaster exhaust, twin ram air hoodscoop and old school breather with K&N filter"
With all due respect, you have spent hundreds of dollars, on things that basically net zero, or close to zero gains on a dyno.
Todd,
01 SLT QC, two tone paint,
OEM fender flares
Cab high Leer cap w/ double slider window,
Infinity sound,
Tire and handling pack,
Trailer towing pack,
4.7 manual,
HO cams,
HO intake,
Ported the stock 68mm TB,
Homebrew 'true' CAI, w/ K&N
No belt driven clutch or cooling fan
No third cat.
SuperChips Tuner
Max dyno, NO short belts, etc.
227 RW HP
300 RW TQ
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2008
12:39:15
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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You present a good example of how your smaller, lighter truck can get off the line quicker, but the heavier trucks run you down once they overcome their inertia and their power advantage comes into play.
Comparing the stock block of the 5.9 and the Hemi is way off. The stock Hemi heads easily outflow the 5.9 heads. Couple that with the stock Hemi cam, which provides something like .460-.480" lift...I'm seeing that the stock specs aren't so easy to find. The 360 has only .410". I read the specs once on the 5.7 Hemi...can't remember exactly what the cam specs were, but remember thinking, "Well I guess it does make more power with that much of a cam boost!"
That'd also do a number on a 360, huh? The Hemi is the ultimate head for flow, but you can get close with the wedge head, and with a better cam, you can make huge inroads on your situation. You have to get into the engine, and no, just bumping up the rocker ratio will not be enough. Port the heads. Get a real cam.
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2008
20:54:16
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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Yeah, they're right. You spent money on parts that don't help you.
To make a significant improvement in power, you're going to have to make some significant changes.
Bite the bullet and install a blower. You'll get more power when you need it. And get better gas mileage when you want to. If you don't run into any problems, you can get it done in a week end. In the end, a blower will cost the same as enough NA mods to get the same power.
But, if you're really shy about a blower, go to the old stand bys. They always work. Better heads, intake, exhaust and cam. Buy them as a package, so they work together.
Collecting and installing the correct parts won't get you anywhere without a good tune. It's been that way forever, and always will be. Once you get your parts installed, spend the bux on a dyno tune.
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miltonwaddums
Dodge Dakota
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2/08/2008
08:32:28
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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.boB said it.
I wouldnt be suprised if your LOSING power with that old school intake. Theres a bunch of hot air up there with nowhere to go and theres not much filtration area with those old filters.
I think a blower may be a bit overkill, especially if budget is a concern.
I disagree with gen1dak about the rocker ratios though. Of course a cam and heads are much better, but Viper rockers, full exhaust, intake and DYNO TUNE will spank almost anything out there, especially a ram hemi (even with a $600 intake). Hell a good dyno tune alone is probably worth 30hp on a stock motor. Dont forget to put in a shift kit - get rid of that school bus shift and start slamming gears.
Also dont forget F=MA. You can always put your truck on a diet, 10% mass reduction = 10% increase in acceleration. Mathematical fact. Also, a good set of rims and tires (reducing rotating mass and inertia and increasing traction) will net better acceleration.
Good luck and KEEP YOUR TRUCK!
Jay
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Gear
Dodge Dakota
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2/26/2008
00:25:41
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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totally appreciate the help you guys, im def. keeping my baby!
and to answer ur questions i havent done anything to the truck that wasnt on there when i bought it, except for the old school intake which IMO works pretty good and sounds badass
anyways yeah a blower is way to expensive for me. i just HOPEFULLY stole me a pair of edlebrock headers for 250 bucks so that'll be nice
but i have a big question....i want a mopar intake manifold because people have been saying there a great mod for starting out, but my question is why are people saying there buying them for 400, 500, even 600 bucks when SUMMITRACING has single and dual plane mani's for $300?
is there a difference?
thnx guys
Gear
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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2/26/2008
16:25:11
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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Yes, there's a big differance. You're comparing a dual plane carb manifold to a single plane EFI manifold. Unfortunatly, the EFI manifold is considerably more expensive.
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Gear
Dodge Dakota
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2/26/2008
21:25:34
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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well even the single EFI manifold is only 360 at summit(i think its close to that), why so expensive everywhere else?
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dakownr
Dodge Dakota
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2/28/2008
20:08:18
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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hmm...perhaps a stupid question, but here goes. The intake manifold that gear is talking about is 354.39 (pn DCC-5007790). Summit also has two other intake manifolds for 5.2/5.9 magnums that are in the $600 range (pn DCC-5007852 and DCC-5007398AB). Now, what is the difference between the three of these? The one that's $355 looks like it would take a 4-barrel throttle body, and looks a little different, but other than that, it seems that the specs are the same for all of them. Anybody know the difference?
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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2/29/2008
11:55:46
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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The expensive one is an air gap designs, and made to fit with all the stock parts - like throttle body.
The cheap one is a low rise single plane, designed to fit aftermarket parts. That will end up being more expensive in the long run.
Why charge so much? because they can.
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dakownr
Dodge Dakota
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2/29/2008
12:42:20
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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thanks, .boB...so you're saying that the cheap one can't "bolt-up" to an otherwise stock 5.2/5.9? Also, what (if any) difference is there between the two more expensive ones? different finishes perhaps?
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miltonwaddums
Dodge Dakota
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2/29/2008
13:45:01
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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I do appreciate intakes as a good starting mod, but a better cost effective starting place is cam or rockers. 1.7 rockers can work well in a stock motor and free up 25 hp or more across most of the engine operating range.
Never forget that aftermarket intakes typically reduce low-end torque. As a general rule of thumb, longer intake runners increase torque, while shorter intake runners increase top-end HP. (FWIW, Toyota implements a trick in the tundra 5.7 by having butterfly valves switch runners from a long set for low-end torque to a short set for top end hp.) An aftermarket intake will kill low-end torque, and thus you should setup your drivetrain to compensate. For example, you may want a more aggressive gear or a high-stall converter. I personally prefer a motor that can "pick itself up" for everyday driving. If racing is your only concern, then top-end HP should be what you're going for. Thats up to you.
If I were you, I would get a good, streetable cam, full exhaust, and port and polish heads. Then, and this is the biggie, is an aftermarket ecu with a full dyno tune. If top-end is what you are going for, then an aftermarket intake should go in there as well (before the dyno tune). After all that, who needs a hemi?
On a budget? Then viper rockers, superchips, throttle body, full exhaust. I think I go over this in every post, lol. I also agree with gen1dak about porting the heads. That may be a good cost-effective route to go.
I should have re-read your original post. If you have hood scoops, then a round old school intake may be decent (and I don't doubt the sound factor). The only possible issue with that may be water in the intake from rain, etc.
Good luck with your project.
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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2/29/2008
20:13:55
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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"(FWIW, Toyota implements a trick in the tundra 5.7 by having butterfly valves switch runners from a long set for low-end torque to a short set for top end hp.)"
this technology has been in use for a while now. my wifes Mazda 1.8 liter Protege' has it. Honda and a few others also.
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bentnail
GenI
2/29/2008
21:01:11
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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Stage 3 universal kit from sts 2995.00
You need to fabricate charge pipes from the
compressor and change your injectors, but all the
rest of the hardware is there.
The turbo will spool up 5psi and will add 110 RW HP.
2003 QC 4.7 (287 powertech)
Airaid CIT plus throttle body spacer
Flowmaster 40 custom Exhaust
3.55 rear end
MaxMicroTuner by Superchips
NGK G-Power Platinums
2x MSD Dis 4 Ignition System
Slide A Link C2092
STS Stage 3
Looking at a Dyno Tuning Plus dynotesting
But I figure I can run 12s with small
change all day.
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Gear
Dodge Dakota
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3/12/2008
18:05:18
| RE: gotta tuff choice
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sts for a 5.9 dakota??? has anyone else heard of this turbo?
all ive seen is superchargers for RT's and there all $5000, why would no one buy THIS one if its so cheap?
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TexasTodd
Dodge Dakota
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3/12/2008
18:32:07
|  RE: gotta tuff choice
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And I would know about doing stupid things.
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5.2 with sts
Dodge Dakota
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5/19/2008
05:08:17
|  RE: gotta tuff choice
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Hay gear
I just wanted to let you know, I purchesed a 97 slt with a 9" lift 33" tires and is chiped with hypertech, to say the least I havent found one other truck that has been able to keep up with me on I-70. the only problem is I have some major issues now that I have fixed all the intake and exaughst leaks it came with, (from a poor install!) good luck later from the colomtnmn
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