About three months ago i purchased a 07 Quad Cab 4x4 4.7 dakota. I purchased the truck to take the family out on the beach with my friends. The truck handles great in the sand....only have had the chance to take it out once.

I also used the truck as my daily driver. I live in Salisbury, Maryland, but work in Georgetown, Delaware. Yeah, thats approx. 70 miles a day. Luckly, my drive is 80 % highway and backroads which I have been seeing aprox. 20-23 mpg. I traded a Fusion and was seeing 32 mpg!!! So my fuel bill has double (fill ups twice a week, but this truck is alot more fun than the Fusion).

I have always loved the dakota, matter of fact, I purchased my first Dodge vehicle right after college grad, a new 97 dakota ext cab 4x2 3.7L. I liked that truck too, however, the fact of not having the V8 and 4x4 lead me to trade the truck in later for a 99 jeep grand cherokee (mistake). Anyways, I like this dakota but find the ride a bit rough!

Searching this site, I see everyone is talking about the Rancho Shocks. I'm hoping they will resolve my hard ride issues. What is the deal with the 2" leveling kit? I see some of yous have it, why?

Besides the shocks, what other "toys" are out there that everyone seems to be adding to their dakota?

Thanks.

 

Here are a few...

K&N Series 63 Intake or AIRAID Intake
Upgraded Exhaust
Rhino or LineX Spray-In Bed Liner or BedRug (which is what I have)

Others will give their feedback as well.

Welcome to DF!

 

Intake, exhaust and spark are all good starts. Get a CAI for FIPK to replace your stock intake. Get a high flow muffler to replace your stock resonator and muffler. Then go for a better plug like NGK irridiums, I liked the E3s myself. Then a superchips. That would get you started.

 

I have an intake from Ebay, It works very well, and for $50, not bad on the wallet.
The leveling kit does exactly what it says it does levels out the truck, It gets rid of the raked look with the nose down. It also stiffens the front end helps the ride quality. I also have a flowmaster 40 exhaust on my truck. I also have a bedliner, and a nice roll up bed cover. If you check the stickies theres a clip of my truck with the exhaust, Also if you search you can find pics of my truck and pics of my bed cover. Its made ny access.

 

As far as teh leveling kit goes... "why?" is a really good question. They are really only good for being able to run larger tires, and get a small ammount of additional clearance. If your happy with the tires and ride height you have now, skip the leveling kit. If you do want to throw larger tires on, and want more clearance for whatever reason, Trailmaster and Daystar seem to be the ones to run. Also, Auto Spring makes a leveling kit for our truck thats only $70, and I have heard good things.

Some of use got leveling kits, but not to level the stance. Instead, to use the leveling kit to lift the front 2", and then find somthing to lift the rear 2". Alot of us, including myself used Blocks, but I am sure an add-a-leaf can be found easily too.

Since there are no real lift kits on the market, everyone is sort of making do with 2" kits.

 

Your truck has a hard ride??? I think yours the first. It's pretty firm in the back, but that has more to do with the leaf springs and towing capabilities.

The front suspension is generally considered floaty or bouncy, and the stock shocks are really bad. The main problem with the shocks is a lack of rebound control that will send you into a pogo-motion. I replaced the shocks on my 06 at 36000. They were shot, and the Ranchos were a huge improvement. In my opinion, the front springs could be stiffer too, but no support there. I think replacing the oem shocks with Rancho's or Monroes is a great idea.

As for the leveling kit, the truck does have a back to front rake, which the kit does help to level. But, in my opinion, if your not running 32" or larger tires, the risk to pre-mature suspension and drive-train component failure is not worth it.

 

It looks like replacement of the OEM shocks is highly recommended. I think I will be ordering a set of Rancho's to get rid of that bouncy-pogo feeling.

Looks like I'll do the CAI, exhaust and spark plugs next. I'm familiar with NGK, I run them in my Supra--- funny, the things you guys recommended is almost the same recommendations I saw with the supra.

I do not plan on upgrading the tire size to a larger size, so I think I will pass on the leveling 2" leveling kit.

Thanks.