Wow, you people amaze me. My mild mods must have made a difference, because when I gun it people freak out.

 

Problem is everyone seems to think every truck is set up the same and is on a level playing field. Gears, Chassis and cab configuration, trans, engine state of tune and health, tire size etc all play huge roles in how these trucks run. A 5.3 chevy with 200k on the original spark plugs and wires with a plugged cat could be beaten by a 3.9 ram in a good state of tune, whats that prove?. I bet you could take 10 different 5.2/auto trans/3.55/2wd/rcsb rams and have as much as 2.5 seconds difference in 1/4 miles times. These whatever vs whatever threads really crack me up and prove absolutely nothing. Go to www.performancetrucks.net and see what a lot of these trucks run in the 1/4 mile with given mods/chassis setups and you'll see where the avg trucks of a given make run.

 

nice point....but it still did felt good when i left that avalanche in the dust. lol

 

lol @ this thread.

 

I'm just glad that I don't have to put up with lack of power! Ramman, ur ram has xtended cab and 4x4 which adds roughly 1000 lbs (i'm sure thats not exact and someone will correct me but it should be around there). U can't screw up a race with a auto and YES he knew we were racing he drove beside me and revved his engine for miles. and we did multiple runs. His truck was running strong and sounded good. To be honest i'm surprised that i didnt beat him by more! the only change to my truck besides those i mentioned earlier from stock is that i have a 3:55 anti-spin instead of the stock 3:21 unit. the 5.3 is good and faster than the 5.7 vortec and can beat MANY 5.2's but it is not high and mighty. Hopefully i'll get to the drag strip when it warms up to try to verify this to the nonbelievers.

 

You can't screw up a race with a auto?

There's quite a few things to run on with that one, but I'll leave you to your mis-belief in that one. When you run that truck at the track PLEASE get it and the time on video to shut us non believers up. I'd say if it ran much better then a mid 15 in the 1/4, then you have a very good runnin 5.2. I'm not sayin your a liar or your truck is junk, but a 5.2 magnum is only going to move 4800+ lbs of truck so fast. My 96 2wd/5.2/3.55/auto trans/rcsb runs pretty strong for what it is and the limited mods (5.9 Mp pcm, no cat,3" exhaust, and cai), but I'd hate to line up against any stock 5.3 chevy truck from a dead stop unless the chevy guy was a total noob and just blows the tires off from the start. Your stick truck probably has a 25hp advantage over a auto truck, but your launches are probably trickier and I imagine you can blow the tires off if using radials fairly easy.

I had a 1995 2wd/rcsb/5.2/5spd/3.91 dakota which only weighed 3400lbs, after cam,roller rockers,headers,3' exhaust,mp pcm,cai,under drive pulleys,msd ign,traction bars, sticky tires and a few other things I am probably forgetting, my best time was a 13.1 at 101 mph. A lot of the guys running the 5.3 in a 2wd/rcsb chevy 1500 are faster then that with similar mods done to their trucks even with the added weight over a older dakota like mine. Thats why I doubt a 1400lb heavier ram with less mods is going to walk all over very many 5.3 trucks, even heavier 4x4 trucks with half assed drivers. of course it's street racing and anythings possible and we're just bench racin on this chilly day. Don't take my words too harshly as thats not how their intended, just bs'n. Any of you guys intrested in drag racing your trucks should join up at that other forum I posted, would be nice to see some non diesel/non hemi/non srt10 dodge trucks over there.

 

Ok, teach me! How do you race with the 5.2/5spd. When do you shift? 4k? 5k? How much do you slip the clutch? What rpm do you take off?

Btw, on paper, the 5.3 chevy with the same options and size as a Ram wins in every category. But who wants to drive one? I say good job beating his truck. I just wish I could do the same.

 

Oh! Oh! Me! Me!

 

captaincameltoe, i just don't know how you can screw up with an auto trans you put it in drive and hit the gas. a lot of drag racers seem to prefer automatics because of their ease and consistency. i guess i am missing something and just would appreciate it if you could enlighten me (even if i am ignorant on that subject). I have no idea wut it will run in the quarter but i am planing to drag it just to see and i will try to get that video. I was just glad that i was able to pull on the 5.3 in my truck. Launches aren't too much of a problem i've driven stick since the day i got my licence. but if u launch it too hard it does tend to spin. that sounds like a really nice dakota you had though wow 13.1 is pretty damn fast! and no worries, no offense taken.

 

Ramman18, thanks for the question! like i said you are toting a substatial amount more weight but your truck should still have some good pickup. Wut RPM you choose to launch at depends on many variables including the road surface, temp, and weather. Your truck is heavier so on dry pavement on a nice day i would guess you could lanch around 3k. it may be a little less. just try it if it spins too much launch at a lower RPM. you know its right when you get that little squeak and they hook right after. and don't completely drop the clutch but when taking off don't slip it that much. I shift at right around 5100 in each gear. You can't afford to shift any sooner if you want to go fast. Once you hit 5100 put the clutch in and slam it to second, dump the clutch pretty good (sometimes i slip it in) and nail it. repeat until you reach desired speed. no keep in mind i do not condone this for everyday driving but if you find yourself lined up next to an arch rival let 'em have it! Thanks again! and luckily the paper didn't matter last night!