Does anyone out there have experience with aftermarket performance add-ons such as under drive pullies, performance chips, cold air intakes and throttle body spacers???????????

These would be for the 3.9L V6.

I am wondering what you may have experienced in terms off HP gains and fuel economy gains/decreases??? Any major problems with these types of add-ons????

Any help would be great in terms of links or personal experiences....thanks

 

Well, not sure about the pullies, but you can buy chips, cold air, tb spacers (they are a waste of money though, unless you have a carbed engine.)

 

the best upgrades for the 3.9 is getting a v8 throttle body and 1.7 harland sharp roller rockers, those two combined will get you about 30-40 horsepower at the wheels. my truck's got a few mods... look in my signature.

 

Thanks for the info "wink"

What kind of implications in terms problems with the computer would the use of a V8 throttle body be??? Has this caused you any tuning problems or will the computer make the adjustments????

I also looked into the 1.7 RR's and they are only listed as fiting the 5.2/5.9 motors. Is there some information you found that you might have a link too???

 

putting on a v8 throttle body will not cause any problems. Just unhook the battery when you do it and that will reset the pcm. Once the pcm is reset it will relearn and adjust to the bigger airflow. You will need to change your throttle cable though because the ends are different. I ordered my throttle cable through www.dodgeparts.com it was like 30$ brand new and shipped. The last time I checked you could get the 1.7 rockers from www.summitracing.com just do a make and model search. It doesnt matter if you buy ones that are listed for the 5.2/5.9 they are the same, but you will get charged more because of the 4 extra rockers. Make sure you get the non adjustable ones unless you feel like screwing around with getting them just right forever.

 

Just another question..... does the TB have to come from another dakota or could it be from a Ram??? I have read that the cable must be the same year as the TB but does the model make a difference??
Do you know any information about doing a electric fan conversion.... I have read info from a link called Socaldakota.com and they sell a conversion that uses a Viper fan system and wiring. I am looking for more info about using a different system that may be a little cheaper.
Have you found that the CAT back systems are worth the money and do you recommend a dual system or the single...is there really a big difference.
I am from the old school of carbs, no CATs and no computer so a lot of this is really new to me, its been a while since I've done hop ups so thank again for the advice.

 

i'm 99% sure that any v8 throttle body for a ram or dakota 98-03are the same, i cant say however that a ram's throttle cable will be the right length, that is why i ordered mine from dodgeparts.com, it is listed for dakotas 98-03 5.2/5.9 throttle cable. it worked fine for me and my throttle body came from a 00 dakota R/T.
I havent had any experience with electric fan conversion but i have heard that they are worth the money because they dont draw anything off the engine, just some amps. As far as exhaust goes, I do recommend a single exit exhaust, and so do alot of other people with 3.9's. Dual exit systems are a bit too much overkill and result in a lot of low end torque loss. My truck has a 3" single exit dynomax catback and even with going from stock 2.5 to 3" I noticed a low end loss, but that was before I upgraded the intake side. What I would recommend is to get a 2.5 inch catback so you dont lose low end. You could still put whatever size tip on though, it wont affect anything. Even just having a muffler of your choice welded in and having a nice tip welded on would be cheap and probably get you the same results.
The big thing with these magnum 3.9's is to make sure you upgrade the intake side of the engine first, not the exhaust otherwise you will lose low end. I made the mistake of doing exhaust first, and for a long time my truckwas slow as hell. Since I have added a cai, stage one intake manifold from hughes engines, and a V8 throttle body and now the thing screams from 2k-5k rpms... it's almost scarry how well it pulls, but I still have basically no off idle power at all.However 1.7 rockers will help that outonce I get them in.
oh and i almost forgot, 2 of the cheapest and easiest things you can do for power is to swap to a 180 degree thermostat and remove the rubber flapbehind the grill on the passenger side, it will pull in more air even if you have the stock intake.
My truck ran a best of 17.4 in the 1/4 with just an exhaust, I'm hoping for a sub 16 second pass after I do 1.7 rockers and 4.10 gears with LSD.

 

wow, that was the longest post ive ever done. i've written college essays shorter than that.

 

It may have been long but a great help.

 

Okay, i looked at the roller rockers on summit. What's the difference between 1.7 and 1.6, and what do they actually do for the motor? Also, where would I get the stage 1 manifold and for about how much $$$? And what kind of MPG are you getting with the mods you have done?