95 Dakota CC 2wd. 3.55 rears. replaced plenum plate. shaved heads, smoothed out bowls, 3 angle valve job with new guides. Comp cam .256 total dur. .456 lift for either side. New springs and lifters. Flowtech shorty ceramic headers. Mopar Performance pcm. I'm disappointed. Truck pulls harder when decked all the way to 5200 rpm but engine does not have responsive snap to it as I expected for partial throttle. I do not think an M1 dual plane would help or new throttle body and might actually make partial throttle response worse. Unless you floor it, you can't tell I did anything. By not doing block (pistons, deck height, bore, etc) I think I wasted a bunch of money.

 

You can try a larger throttle body and do the kegger modification on the stock intake. Also opening up the exhaust all the way back. In 94-up Dakotas came stock with 2.5in pipes vs the 3in 92-93. That cut down power a bit.

 

I agree with Crazy, if you did headers and didn't upgrade your Y-pipe or the rest of your exhaust then your engine isn't going to breathe any better. You can see my '92/'93 vs '94+ exhaust comparison here: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...grade-3-a.html. I also think the kegger mod and a larger throttle body would help. I noticed a difference on my 360 with those mods and nothing else.

 

I agree with Crazy and AZ, either get a 92-93 Y-pipe (even a V6 one will work) or have one made with a good collector like one from Flowmaster. Then 3" exhaust back, with a hi-flow cat (if you need emissions) and a good muffler. Then worry about the intake side.

 

Wasn't the 92-93 Exhaust Manifold 2 1/2" while the 94+ 2"?

 

Outside dimensions yes. Inside were an eighth smaller.

 

I am planning to get a new y pipe from Summit. They have it as fitting a 96 and up but I'm sure it'll fit my 95 as well. I think if I had a higher compression such as 9.5 -10 to1 or the 360, I'd go with the 3" but at 8.7 I should not have any problem with the 2.5" pipe. The 52 mm Holley throttle bodies look real nice. I need something to wake this motor up at part throttle.

 

The stock throttle body on these trucks are a Holley. The FastMan throttle bodies are a very good investment since the butterfly on both sides and the cross shaft are machined to spec. Here is a link to his website http://www.thefastman.com/. I would call him and let him know everything you have done to the engine and also plan to do in the near future so he can advise you on what size will work best for your engine specifically. If you can find one of the larger factory specific Y pipes I would go that route because it will save money and also has been tried, tested, and proven to work well. If you don't have a Mopar Performance PCM I would advise getting one because they do make a pretty big difference. From all the research I've done the kegger mod really only makes a difference at WOT. Also if you do the kegger mod make sure to leave a little bit of the runner on there for the 5.2 engine or you will loose a lot of low end torque. There is a write up on adjusting the throttle position sensor out to maximize performance also and I think you can find it in the FAQ2 section. I have also changed my plugs to one step colder and it feels like it gave me a little better throttle response.

 

Thanks JR. I do have the Mopar pcm. Because our trucks have the fuel bar injection, I get no pinging when I use 87 gas of course being under 9 to 1 compression is the biggest factor but it would be more of an issue if they were carbed or throttle bodied injected, then it may cause one to have to use high test. All our TB's are doing is letting in air so yes, a 52 mm tb may help. I think a lot may have to do with the EGR valve our trucks have. I street lighted an old Cadilac DTS that had the almost 300 hp Northstar engine and pulled him half a car before we ran out of road so the truck definitely responds to wot. I get to 80 mph in about the same time I used to get to 60 before the mods. Gas mileage is just about the same if I stay out of it (20mpg). I will look into the throttle sensor but admit to being puzzled as to how one adjusts what i thought were sealed electronics.
Your truck looks perfectly proportioned with those wheels and tires

 

Thanks for the complement on the wheels. The write up for the adjustment of the TPS includes opening up the holes where you mount the sensor and use a meter to pivot the sensor to fine tune the voltage reading. All the details are in the write up. I agree that all the TB does is provide air for the engine but with all the mods you have done the PCM will dump more fuel into the engine and without the right size TB the engine will not be able to adjust the air/fuel mixture to provide the desired level for maximum performance. The EGR valve is one thing I wish I could delete all together. I installed headers and bought the headers for a 96 because they don't have the connection on the passenger side header. I plugged off the tube going to the header and just left the electrical connector attached to the EGR valve. I plan to do the kegger mod later along with the Harland Sharpe 1.7 RR's. When I do the kegger mod im going to buy another factory intake for a 96+ so I can delete the EGR valve completely. Once I do that I need to figure out what to do with the electrical connector so the PCM thinks it is still connected.