Hey guy/gals,

So I have a 99 dakota 4x4 with a 5.2L
As of current mods:
Interior- JVC head unit, stock door speakers, missing rear, 2 MTX blue thunders in a box on the back seat.
Exterior- body lift (came with truck) and 31" mud terrains and axle back duals with knock off flowmaster (thats what the receipt said that came with the truck)

This is some ideas I have came up with that I'd like to do eventually.
Engine- either rebuild the 318 and bore it or get a 5.7L hemi and i know it drive by wire so i have to do a lot of wiring and get the computer and gauges out of a ram too

Replace the headliner with something besides tan, i was thinking camo?

build a custom box for beneath the back seat for subs and amp

torsion keys and leave blocks maybe 2in to 3in if i can

So what the most lift i can get out of torsion keys cause i have seen 3in, how tall of a tire could I run?

what would be better rebuilding the 318 or to a hemi swap? I do drive once a month about 350 to 400 miles to visit my parents. (that to and from) so what would be better on mpg

and what other helpful mods have you done to your dakotas to make them more fun and enjoyable but still daily drive worthy?

thanks!

 

If you are gonna rebuild the 318 I would hold out on tuner and stuff. You can add intake,exhaust and throttle body. You can get about 2in out of torsion bar crank. You can fit 32's under it but will need to get it aligned after you do it. Imo the hemi swap isnt worth it. There is fab work and wiring that needs to be done. I would spend the money and just build up the 318 or put a built 360 in.

 

What would be some good parts for a mild build on a 318?

Like still get decent mpg but add a little more ponies under the hood.

 

I had exhaust,cai and sct tuner on my 98 5.2 and was pretty happy at just what the sct added. Tho I was running 32 bfg's. I'd say exhaust,cai,fastman throttle body and sct will add a pretty good kick! It also added the wot shift point from 4,800 rpms to 5,200 which actually helped!

It took off prob about 2sec of my 0-60 time. Helped throttle response. I cant really tell the full potential since my tranny was slipping.