Back story is that in '97 I bought my 1998 Dodge Durango new. I love it. It's always been strong and fast and it's never let me down outside of a few unexpected battery changes.

Last fall a friend bought a used 1998 Ram 1500, 4x4, 360 / 46RE. I did the work to fix it up for inspection and such so I spent some time behind the wheel.

My Grandfather in Law just gave me his used 1998 Ram 1500, 4x4, 360 / 46RE. I drove it home and while it has a few issues that need fixing as well.

In comparing my 1998 Ram and my friend's 1998 Ram I noticed they seem to be very equal in many aspects of power and acceleration and speed / quickness. That's to be expected.

However, why is my Durango so much more than the trucks? I know there must be a weight difference and without researching I assume a rear end gear difference although my highway speeds / RPMs, are very similar between the Rams and my Durango.

I guess what I am asking is, are there any technical engine differences between the Durango 360 and the Ram 360 from the same year? Excluding the R/T and such.

Thanks.

 

Nope. Same motor. Might be slightly different tuning between the truck and durango, there is certainly a weight difference... somewhere between 1 and 2 thousand pounds.

 

I have a donor 360 that I plan to rebuild for the Durango. Can't decide between an R/T build or something more radical like a stroker.

Since I don't want to do any actual engine modifications to my truck 360 at this point, do you think a computer re tune might be of benefit if I'm looking for more power?

If yes, is there a preferred forum source for where I can send my truck's computer to have it reprogrammed?

 

The 98's (96 and up really) are flash programmable. You buy a tuner, plug it into the obd port, follow the prompts, and ten minutes later you are done.

Around here, the SCT Tuner by Hemifever is the preferred tuner. 265 for canned tunes, 365 for custom. If you are only doing basic bolt on mods, the canned tunes will be great. Pick up a few horseys, and some noticeable torque.

 

I know I'm not the first person to say this but I really would have trouble justifying spending that on a tuner that I may only use once. Anyone have one that I can rent?

 

what you're buying is actually the tune itself and the software license. the device is more or less free, as its just the mechanism for installing the tune and preventing unauthorized copy.

i don't know of anyone that provides the tuning service without charging the relatively high price.

my personal preference is to pick up a used superchips (98+ only) which corrects the speedo and cures the death flash and call it done. i think its a truck, not a race car. if you do get a used superchips, be absolutely positively sure its been returned to stock. (ask for pictures of the screen). otherwise its "locked" and unusable. beware that most people don't understand this, they just find a device and assume they can sell it.

 

Can't rent them. Each tuner can only do so many different vehicles and then it locks. Not sure of the exact number since I dont have a tuner...yet. Lol

 

This is my thought as well. I was given this truck and it's for loading and hauling and performing the work duties that my Durango cannot. It'll probably be a weekend truck that might see 30 - 40 uses a year. The need for performance increase is mostly just something I need for it to feel like my Durango does.

I can get the Jet chips used fairly cheap. Any issues with using one of those plug in chips?

 

jet chips dont work with these pcms in our trucks...they make a difference ... for about the first 200miles the amount of time it takes the computer to learn to override most the jetchip changes... at least thats what I've read from many who have tried and tested them...

 

Okay, so as far as programming, my options are a Jet chip that might not last very long...a used Superchip that might be useless, or a high quality high cost custom tune for my truck's ECU.

Can someone elaborate more on the Superchip? I like that it 'can' be bought used but I am unfamiliar with it. Is it a programmer or a plug and play chip add on?

Thanks guys.