Alright, well I have basically no knowledge about mods for cars. I've been looking into how to make my 02 dakota a little bit faster, and just mods that I can do to improve it in general.

First off, where would be a good place to start? I dont know really anything about intake or exhaust or modchips or anything. Everything on my truck right now is stock. Its a 2002.

What should i look into, specifically? Any suggestions that you could give me would be helpful. I don't need to mess around with the suspension really, i dont need to lift it for offroading and i dont have any desire to lower it. I'm looking for mods that will make it faster, or more fuel efficient, stuff like that.

Help me get started?

Thanks!

 

First up tell us what you've got.

 

2002 Dakota SXT, As far as mods go i've got nothing. Its all stock.

 

engine size? v6? v8?

 

V6 3.9L 2 wheel drive

 

To start with you will want a Cold air intake, and an aftermarket exhaust system to help the engine breathe better. then if you are still wanting more you need to look at programmers and throttle bodies, if that's still not enough then its time to look inside the engine, cams cranks, rockers. just depends on how much you want to spend. Cardomain.com has opened up a store that seems to have fair prices.

 

I've only seen 1 "cold air intake" kit for the v6 which is un-shielded and in my opinion a waste of $, drop in K&N is your best bet. Until someone comes out with a CAI with a heat shield for the 3.9, I think the drop in is your only option. un-shielded CAI's draw in hot engine compartment air which causes a loss in torque, metal intake tubes get heat soaked and also make this problem worse on take off (stop lights & slow stop & go driving).

some good suggestions might mbe JBA headers, 1.7 crower roller rockers, flowmaster exhaust and the drop in K&N (for now).

 

i agree with steve. go with the drop-in k&n filter. red, what kind of budget were you looking to work with? better question, how much are you willing to spend at once? you can do a bunch of little things, but to get some nice power, you would need to be ready to drop a nice dime. also, i would recommend just enjoying the 3.9 the way it is. it is very underpowered for its weight and will never really be a fast truck without moving to forced induction. i say save you money and buy a v8 of the same model. you will be getting identical, if not better mpg, but with plenty more power.

 

Chris is right... the v8 is the only way to go. i've heard of some 408 setups getting 18 mpg in a dakota... so it really depends on how you build it.

Chris, what is your K&N setup like?

 

i have a drop in-k&n and all i did was get two small lengths of piping you would use for your household dryer. i ran one off of the stock opening in the front of the air box and one off of a hole i cut in the side. i joined the pipes and routed them into the fender, where there is always a nice big pocket of air that is at the ambient outside temp. i look at it this way, it is a 3.9 liter. it will never be fast, so might as well be as practical as possible.