Hey all,

New to the forums here looking for some info and advice if possible for my 05 Dakota.

I have already put on a Magnaflow dual exhaust and K+N CAI then threw on a Hypertech chip.

There are 2 things I'm looking at:

a) Im not sure even where to start (brands, applications, websites,reccommendations all are helpful) Im looking for a set of lights to mount around the front grill. Whether on the front bumper, behind or in front of the grill. I dont need a monstrous hardcore offroad insane 360 degree lighting set up. Im looking for something practical, maybe a 4 set of lights around 4-6" diameter. Any suggesstions welcome

b) Second thing would be headers. To be honest my biggest question would be are putting headers on this truck really worth it? Reading up on them for this truck the gains seem slight. around 10-15 hp/tq, and a change in fuel consumption. Any info again would be much appreciated. If anybody has put headers on a truck like this I would LOVE to hear from you if you dont mind. Toss me a PM!!

Thanks in advanced
Take it easy

 

If you have a 4.7L There are headers, Not a whole lot I believe, If you have a 3.7L your SOL like me lol.

For lights on the front, there is like 4 options
1. Bull Bar
2. Grille Guard (I have one, with 2, 3x5 Halogens and 2, 140LED Strobe Panels)
3. Behind the Grille
4. Custom Fabbed Light Bar (Someone has a Nice one they made up)

I bought my Grille Gaurd at a local shop that equips my works Trucks/Vans, It was only $20 more then I found online.
You can find good deals on used stuff like Craigslist (Or Kijiji in Canada)
Also EBay is good for some things, I got my Running Boards new for under $200 Shipped to Canada (They paid Customs to)

 

Im in the 3.7L aswell, Gibson sells 2 sets of headers for it (1 set shorty), curious if anybody has them. Kijiji is a good idea I must admit Im not sure what a bull bar is. Is it sort of an upsidedown "U" that you mount lights to then mount to your bumper? Or something else?

Thanks!

 

Yes, A Bull Bar is Basically a U.
I think DonkeyPunch's Lightbar is the best option for just Lights, And Looks Amazing (He should sell them lol) I got a grille guard for Protection mostly from deer.

Heres the Custom Light Bar Donkeypunch Made
P1010007-1.jpg
brush.jpg
DSC03277.jpg

Heres the Bull Bar TomZ Has on his. (I Believe his is the $89 Special)



Then Heres the Grille Guard I have

 

i have the 4.7L v8 HO, Im deciding between jba shorties and gibson shorties... just worried about breaking some bolts when removing the stock headers... I dont want my installation to turn into a weekend of EZ-Out fun!

 

soak your studs with wd-40 or freeze off and they should break right free.
i LOVE my gibson's/

and i believe gibson makes a set for the 3.7 correct me if im wrong.

 

i hear PB Blaster works well too...

 

they do.

Thank you very much Reject, Donkeypunch's looks exactly like what i was looking for. Any reccommendations on where i should look for lights? websites? brands? suggestions, etc

Lastly, how difficult is it to remove/install headers? My buddy and I did my cat-back dual Magnaflow exhaust, first one we had ever done and it was a success. Are the headers much more difficult? I would probably need a hoist too right? Or can they be plucked from under the hood?

Again thanks for all the help and info everyone

 

Westin makes a nice light bar that is similar to donkeypunch's. As for off road lights KCs are about the most popular.

 

Hmmmmm, any pictures of this?

The reason I designed my own bar is to retain the factory tow hooks. For me, there is no sense in deleting tow points on a truck........especially where I live.