i was getting 16 before that. (not really sure actually, my speedo is more accurate with 31" tires than it is with 235/75s) i actually just put my Winter tires on the other day. brand new Cooper Discover M+S's (235/75)

i wish my truck would get 17-18 around town and 22 on the highway, that would be awesome..... it could also be that his is a 94-96 and the lower HP/ect help. I got my truck from my uncle and he said it always got 15-17.

 

Oh wow. I definitely didn't look into it that way. No wonder everybody goes to a 5.2. Would it be worth it to turbo a 5.2? I know I would have to make sure there is room for it first of all and I would have to beef up a lot of other stuff for it to handle the turbo. I read about this one guy that put a 408 in his dakota and I think that would be amazing. It would take alot more work and money thats for sure.

Thanks for all the info. Its really helpful

 

His is a 96 and has like 215/75s.
Internally, the motor is pretty sound for a decent amount of boost.

 

A V8 is a much MUCH easier swap then you think. especially if you can find a donor truck with a V8. 5.2 is a little simpler due to being internally balanced like the 3.9 and the pcm's are alot more common. It only comes down to swapping the v6 trans out for the v8 trans with its driveshaft since the length is different, pcm, harness if you dont want to run your own 2 wires for the extra injectors, fan shroud and exhuast manifolds and thats it.

Far as turbo on a 5.2, Hahns5.2 up there has the most detailed write-up about doing that than anyone for our Gen1 trucks.
Not to mention a damn nice truck lol

 

Sorry I haven't been on lately. Been caught up in things.
So how would I go about finding a 5.2 v8? If I get one from a junk yard it might not have all the parts. It isn't all that practical to buy another dakota just to take the engine out of it. And same goes for all the parts I am going to have to replace to go along with the v8. What exactly are all the things I will have to change when going from the 3.9 to the 5.2?

 

you will need the whole motor. But your swap will be freakish easy for a 5.2 since you have a 95 truck with the OBDII pcm. You can pull an entire engine and trans out of any Ram, Ram Van, Dakota, Durango, anything that had a V8 option up to about 98'-99'. You will need the engine wiring harness, pcm, motor, trans, you will need to see about either finding a donor dakota at a junkyard for the fan shroud, or just trimming your factory shroud and going with an electric fan (more than 10 writeups in FAQ) and the v8 exhuast manifolds unless your running headers. That should be about it.

 

95 is still obdI, obdII was 96 and up.
Also, I have put down 18mpg on the highway with some mountain driving before. Usually average 13 though in town. Thats where the 31's really hurt the most.