Best R/T
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All Star
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 867
Likes: 3
From: Crawfordville, FL
Best R/T
What seems to be the best year R/T to have? ithink the computer systems were changes up a little and the power was supposedly different too. thinking about getting one and just wondering what year to look for. thanks
Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,051
Likes: 6
From: Roanoke, Texas
RE: Best R/T
98-00 is what you want.
98-00 had less exhuast restrictions, silver 17x9in rims, Had the Perfmance PCM option (what i have) you buy is seperate... they dont make them anymore. have to find them used.
01-03 had more exhaust restrictions, chrome 17x9in rims, didnt have the PCM, cuz its diffrent..
If your going to be using it for racing try to find a Single Cab R/T. There pretty rare though in the ealry years. Thats kinda why i got mine. 2000 Bright White Single Cab R/T 1 of less then 120 made and probably 1 of less then 99 still on the road. Ive only met 2 other people in all the 5 forums i go to that have Single Cab Bright White.. and one of them is a well known guy. Sam @ Socaldakota.com and forgot the other dude.
all of them had the same power 250hp 344tq from factory although, some people have said there truck was a tad bit faster in the 1/4 stock then others, just got to get lucky.
the 03s also had a stampede package (stampede body kit) put on them.
some had the dealer death flash also, a detune that can be bad for the trucks performance. Look into it.
but i would say shoot for a 98-00 dak. seem to be better off
98-00 had less exhuast restrictions, silver 17x9in rims, Had the Perfmance PCM option (what i have) you buy is seperate... they dont make them anymore. have to find them used.
01-03 had more exhaust restrictions, chrome 17x9in rims, didnt have the PCM, cuz its diffrent..
If your going to be using it for racing try to find a Single Cab R/T. There pretty rare though in the ealry years. Thats kinda why i got mine. 2000 Bright White Single Cab R/T 1 of less then 120 made and probably 1 of less then 99 still on the road. Ive only met 2 other people in all the 5 forums i go to that have Single Cab Bright White.. and one of them is a well known guy. Sam @ Socaldakota.com and forgot the other dude.
all of them had the same power 250hp 344tq from factory although, some people have said there truck was a tad bit faster in the 1/4 stock then others, just got to get lucky.
the 03s also had a stampede package (stampede body kit) put on them.
some had the dealer death flash also, a detune that can be bad for the trucks performance. Look into it.
but i would say shoot for a 98-00 dak. seem to be better off
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 338
Likes: 3
From: Las Vegas, NV
RE: Best R/T
The engine is the same for all years 1998-2003. There was a magazine article which claimed that some 2003's were supposed to come with Mopar heads, cam, converter, etc. but after all these years nobody's seen a single one that came from Dodge with those mods.
The transmission case is slightly different 98-00 vs. 01-03. No real difference inside though, they're all 46RE's.
98-00 Dakota R/T's will have a V8 Magnum badge on the front fender. 01-03 Dakotas do not have fender badges.
98-00 Dakotas have a different dash layout than 01-03 models.
98-00 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 6000rpm tachs. 01-03 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 7000rpm tachs. A relatively small percentage of 2000 Dakotas have the old-style cluster but with 7000rpm tachs -these guys are screwed when it comes to aftermarket gauge faces, none of the mass-produced mfr's accomodate this model.
The Mopar PCM is only available for 98/99/00 models, although it's been discontinued for new production for awhile. IMHO a PCM flash from B&G Chrysler, Tom Fox, or an SCT distributor is much better anyways, and those are available for all 98-03 models.
98-01 R/T's came with silver painted 17x9" wheels. 02-03 R/T's have chrome 17x9" wheels, although there isn't any chrome in the pockets between the spokes. Aftermarket R/T wheels are chrome all over, but don't have Rams heads on the center caps.
98-99 R/T's have 1 cat; each downpipe feeds directly into a 2-in/1-out cat.
00 R/T's have 1 cat; the downpipes merge into a y-pipe and feeds into a 1-in/1-out cat.
01-03 R/T's have 3 cats; one pre-cat in each exhaust downpipe, plus one main cat after the y-pipe.
Some 2003 R/T's (but not all) came with the Stampede body kit. 2003's also came with a soft tonneau, different decals (none on the doors, block font on the tailgate), and 4-wheel disc brakes.
Leather seats were also an option on later models - I believe 2002/2003 only.
IMHO the 2003 models are the best - the 4-wheel disc brakes worked a lot better than the previous disc/drum setups, plus you get the chrome wheels & stampede body kit (sometimes). I liked them so much, I bought two of them
The transmission case is slightly different 98-00 vs. 01-03. No real difference inside though, they're all 46RE's.
98-00 Dakota R/T's will have a V8 Magnum badge on the front fender. 01-03 Dakotas do not have fender badges.
98-00 Dakotas have a different dash layout than 01-03 models.
98-00 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 6000rpm tachs. 01-03 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 7000rpm tachs. A relatively small percentage of 2000 Dakotas have the old-style cluster but with 7000rpm tachs -these guys are screwed when it comes to aftermarket gauge faces, none of the mass-produced mfr's accomodate this model.
The Mopar PCM is only available for 98/99/00 models, although it's been discontinued for new production for awhile. IMHO a PCM flash from B&G Chrysler, Tom Fox, or an SCT distributor is much better anyways, and those are available for all 98-03 models.
98-01 R/T's came with silver painted 17x9" wheels. 02-03 R/T's have chrome 17x9" wheels, although there isn't any chrome in the pockets between the spokes. Aftermarket R/T wheels are chrome all over, but don't have Rams heads on the center caps.
98-99 R/T's have 1 cat; each downpipe feeds directly into a 2-in/1-out cat.
00 R/T's have 1 cat; the downpipes merge into a y-pipe and feeds into a 1-in/1-out cat.
01-03 R/T's have 3 cats; one pre-cat in each exhaust downpipe, plus one main cat after the y-pipe.
Some 2003 R/T's (but not all) came with the Stampede body kit. 2003's also came with a soft tonneau, different decals (none on the doors, block font on the tailgate), and 4-wheel disc brakes.
Leather seats were also an option on later models - I believe 2002/2003 only.
IMHO the 2003 models are the best - the 4-wheel disc brakes worked a lot better than the previous disc/drum setups, plus you get the chrome wheels & stampede body kit (sometimes). I liked them so much, I bought two of them
Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,051
Likes: 6
From: Roanoke, Texas
RE: Best R/T
ORIGINAL: SinCity R/T
The engine is the same for all years 1998-2003. There was a magazine article which claimed that some 2003's were supposed to come with Mopar heads, cam, converter, etc. but after all these years nobody's seen a single one that came from Dodge with those mods.
The transmission case is slightly different 98-00 vs. 01-03. No real difference inside though, they're all 46RE's.
98-00 Dakota R/T's will have a V8 Magnum badge on the front fender. 01-03 Dakotas do not have fender badges.
98-00 Dakotas have a different dash layout than 01-03 models.
98-00 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 6000rpm tachs. 01-03 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 7000rpm tachs. A relatively small percentage of 2000 Dakotas have the old-style cluster but with 7000rpm tachs -these guys are screwed when it comes to aftermarket gauge faces, none of the mass-produced mfr's accomodate this model.
The Mopar PCM is only available for 98/99/00 models, although it's been discontinued for new production for awhile. IMHO a PCM flash from B&G Chrysler, Tom Fox, or an SCT distributor is much better anyways, and those are available for all 98-03 models.
98-01 R/T's came with silver painted 17x9" wheels. 02-03 R/T's have chrome 17x9" wheels, although there isn't any chrome in the pockets between the spokes. Aftermarket R/T wheels are chrome all over, but don't have Rams heads on the center caps.
98-99 R/T's have 1 cat; each downpipe feeds directly into a 2-in/1-out cat.
00 R/T's have 1 cat; the downpipes merge into a y-pipe and feeds into a 1-in/1-out cat.
01-03 R/T's have 3 cats; one pre-cat in each exhaust downpipe, plus one main cat after the y-pipe.
Some 2003 R/T's (but not all) came with the Stampede body kit. 2003's also came with a soft tonneau, different decals (none on the doors, block font on the tailgate), and 4-wheel disc brakes.
Leather seats were also an option on later models - I believe 2002/2003 only.
IMHO the 2003 models are the best - the 4-wheel disc brakes worked a lot better than the previous disc/drum setups, plus you get the chrome wheels & stampede body kit (sometimes). I liked them so much, I bought two of them
The engine is the same for all years 1998-2003. There was a magazine article which claimed that some 2003's were supposed to come with Mopar heads, cam, converter, etc. but after all these years nobody's seen a single one that came from Dodge with those mods.
The transmission case is slightly different 98-00 vs. 01-03. No real difference inside though, they're all 46RE's.
98-00 Dakota R/T's will have a V8 Magnum badge on the front fender. 01-03 Dakotas do not have fender badges.
98-00 Dakotas have a different dash layout than 01-03 models.
98-00 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 6000rpm tachs. 01-03 Dakotas have gauge clusters with 7000rpm tachs. A relatively small percentage of 2000 Dakotas have the old-style cluster but with 7000rpm tachs -these guys are screwed when it comes to aftermarket gauge faces, none of the mass-produced mfr's accomodate this model.
The Mopar PCM is only available for 98/99/00 models, although it's been discontinued for new production for awhile. IMHO a PCM flash from B&G Chrysler, Tom Fox, or an SCT distributor is much better anyways, and those are available for all 98-03 models.
98-01 R/T's came with silver painted 17x9" wheels. 02-03 R/T's have chrome 17x9" wheels, although there isn't any chrome in the pockets between the spokes. Aftermarket R/T wheels are chrome all over, but don't have Rams heads on the center caps.
98-99 R/T's have 1 cat; each downpipe feeds directly into a 2-in/1-out cat.
00 R/T's have 1 cat; the downpipes merge into a y-pipe and feeds into a 1-in/1-out cat.
01-03 R/T's have 3 cats; one pre-cat in each exhaust downpipe, plus one main cat after the y-pipe.
Some 2003 R/T's (but not all) came with the Stampede body kit. 2003's also came with a soft tonneau, different decals (none on the doors, block font on the tailgate), and 4-wheel disc brakes.
Leather seats were also an option on later models - I believe 2002/2003 only.
IMHO the 2003 models are the best - the 4-wheel disc brakes worked a lot better than the previous disc/drum setups, plus you get the chrome wheels & stampede body kit (sometimes). I liked them so much, I bought two of them
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 338
Likes: 3
From: Las Vegas, NV
RE: Best R/T
ORIGINAL: CYCLONE_06
Actually Ive talked to a few people that would know, and they say that the rear discs offer no advantage over the drums on the earlier models.
~CYCLONE_06
Actually Ive talked to a few people that would know, and they say that the rear discs offer no advantage over the drums on the earlier models.
~CYCLONE_06
