When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
We need the MPVI2+ as you mention for it to work, I just wanted to confrim that my MPIV1 would not work. I have 2 gas engines I want to tune, the other is a 3.8L jeep motor in the little womans Wrangler. If I am going to blow a motor up... I would prefer it to be mine first lol. (learning curve)
I am probably looking at January before I pick up the MPV2+ with pro option. I have several things to do to the Dak before diving into the tuning. Aero, fuel, fan etc... I heard the link to the jtec controller can be tricky, not sure exactly what the intent on the comments I read were so maybe sit tight until i get mine up and running... unless you feel adventurous...
I also did not expect this much of a change with the new plugs, like I mentioned, the SOTP feel is no change. But, from experience with the ram and de-tuning it, that just indicates that the difference is just enough of a bump to prevent the downshift on the hills. On the ram, 2 things really stood out, 1 is the bed seal mod, it reduced aero load noticeably, then the light weight pulley's up front on the motor. They also gave an immediate change to throttle response. Anyone running say 500 hp out of their cummins engine would not feel it. At the time of the install, I was down in the 200 hp range (guessing). Truck weighs approx 7000 lbs.
I'm Patient so i rather wait and see how the HP Tune will work on yours and if you think and would help me out a little i will follow your leed.
I never have done those kind of electronics and i'm not familiar with it to take the first steps on my own.
The tuning is not as hard as you would think, and there are probably tutorials on the HPTuners website. You may even be able to take a class. But, you'll mainly want to mess with the timing tables, and if you make small changes then try them out to see the effect you can get it tuned pretty well. Don't mess with the air tables, that generally doesn't change unless you change the intake manifold. Fueling tables can also be left alone unless you're changing injectors for different sizes. Since you're not making a living at it, you have time to make changes slowly and try multiple tunes. I've not played with HP Tuners much, but there should be a way to monitor the running engine to see what happens. You'll want to monitor the knock sensors and O2 sensors at a minimum so as to not go lean or get a lot of knock retarding. Some tunes will pull 5 degrees of timing right off the bat when knock is detected, which will kill power. Most important thing - before changing anything, save the original tune in a couple of different places in case something goes wrong. That way you can always put the factory tune back in.
The tuning is not as hard as you would think, and there are probably tutorials on the HPTuners website. You may even be able to take a class. But, you'll mainly want to mess with the timing tables, and if you make small changes then try them out to see the effect you can get it tuned pretty well. Don't mess with the air tables, that generally doesn't change unless you change the intake manifold. Fueling tables can also be left alone unless you're changing injectors for different sizes. Since you're not making a living at it, you have time to make changes slowly and try multiple tunes. I've not played with HP Tuners much, but there should be a way to monitor the running engine to see what happens. You'll want to monitor the knock sensors and O2 sensors at a minimum so as to not go lean or get a lot of knock retarding. Some tunes will pull 5 degrees of timing right off the bat when knock is detected, which will kill power. Most important thing - before changing anything, save the original tune in a couple of different places in case something goes wrong. That way you can always put the factory tune back in.
Roger that, thanks for the input! The ram has probably 200 tunes by now, I will always do a download, data log, then eval the log and adjust as needed. I figured the timing would be the place to start. The knock senor, if I start getting knock, I wont here it but the sensor may and it should show up as a timing retard... if I understand you correctly. I would love to dive into it now, but I just dont have the bandwidth to get it done, spread too thin.
I developed a gas leak... most likely one of the top o-rings off the rail, need to ID it and fix asap. it is not a bad leak, but I smell it under certain conditions.
Introducing The Punisher !!!
Include some pictures of my 2000 Dodge Dakota Sport 4.7L 45RFE 2wd.
Showing the overall look, the Air Defector under radiator/engine, rubber bed seals and CAI ( Cold Air Intake ).
2000 Dodge Dakota Front Angle View 2000 Dodge Dakota Left Side View 2000 Dodge Dakota 4.7L View 2000 Dodge Dakota 4.7L CAI View 2000 Dodge Dakota Auxiliary Fan ( 1985 Saab 900 Turbo ) View 2000 Dodge Dakota Air Deflector View 2000 Dodge Dakota Air Deflector View 2000 Dodge Dakota Rubber Bed Seal View 2000 Dodge Dakota Rubber Bed Seal View 2000 Dodge Dakota Rubber Bed Seal View
on the bed seal, how hard would it be for you to pull the bottom part of it back (zip tie it out of the way) and have it stop at the top of the wheel well and drive/test it like that? If you look at the pic of the Ram, there is no fender flares on the bed around the wheels. I bet with the seal in there the lower part where the boundary layer is sticking to the bed it is hitting the fender flare and causing more drag, by moving the end point of the seal up towards the top of the bed it should reduce that drag. With there being such a small area that is changed by the seal (at that point) gains end up being reduced. But... I can say with 100% certainty that there is a gain to be had there. How much that translates into mpg's would need to be evaluated. All the little gains will add up.
I like your belly pan! it looks like it covers the bottom well and there is minimal if anything sticking out below the end height of the piece you installed. my 1st shot at an air dam under there is going to just push the air downward towards the pavement like on the Ram. I will use fluid film on the air dam face to see where the airflow is hitting and eval more from there. Not sure I can pull off a belly pan with the front end components sitting the way they do. It was also an issue with the Ram so I leveraged what Ford did with an F150 (2010~2014 time frame IIRC) and their front dam setup. Back in 2018 I was in the middle of the make over and the bet with the co-worker and had all the mods in place. Was able to achieve 19.3 & 19.8 mpg crossing Idaho doing 80~85 for extended periods of time (hours) the way it was setup. That was before I realized the easy fix for the bed seal was to just not run it all the way down the bed like on the newer 4th gen Rams. I ended up taping up the bumper so airflow could not enter it and cause drag.
Looking at the Dak... if those flares came off, the bed seal would be good down to that body line like on the Ram...
Your fan setup is interesting, how does that 2nd fan attach?
Last edited by steve05ram360; Nov 8, 2021 at 08:29 AM.
Dak mpg update, again 15.6 mpg corrected... no change in mpg from plug change on 1st tank... HOWEVER.... we had heavy rain & heavy winds for 2/4 days on this tank, there was a lot of water on the road so I'm not surprised it did not go up, but I am surprised it did not drop more. At times there was a good amount of water rolling off the road surface which ads a good amount of drag. Going down the hill by the Tacoma dome, the Dak lost 6~7 mph coasting before I realized it and throttled back up. The limited number of drives down thru there I recall it being a 3~4 mph drop.
I have a fuel leak somewhere, I smell gas. I have inspected the rails & injectors and am not finding anything so its either real small and drying up before I see it or its under the truck. I am going to get a fresh set of injectors and swap them in. At that time I am going to wrap the rail to prevent the heat soak. Been using this stuff on the rails for 20ish years now, does the job and is dirt cheap...
I read the fuel rail mod that was done on the 4.7 years back, way overkill for what the end result is. the heat reflective tape will do the job far cheaper and with less headaches (potential fuel leaks).
Also plan to put a fresh O2 sensor in there since I have no doubt that this one is probably the one from the factory... PO did nothing to keep the truck up from what I am seeing. (such a shame)
