I bought a super-clean silver quad cab TRX4 4.7l Dakota about a month ago. I am using it as a daily driver to occasionally tow my miata to and from the track etc.

Well, I expected poor gas mileage and don`t care too much about it, but I figure if I can improve it, I might as well to save some money in the long run. I plan on keeping this truck for quite a while.

What I am thinking about doing is a K&N intake and a superchip. This also can help me with my towing which is an added bonus if I need it. Are they worth it? What else is worth it?

For those that care, I have done the following so far on the truck:
- Window Vents
- Electronic Trailer Brake Controller
- Put on all the necessary towing stuff (class iv receiver, 7 pin wiring)
- Soft tonneau cover

 

External tranny coolers are cheap, easy to install and effective. Also it seems like you will be doing a lot of towing. Get one of those.

I never used superchip but forum members swear by them.

Might also want to change gears for something more tow friendly

What is a window vent?

 

check to see what gears are in the truck, open the glove box and see what the sheet says, if they are 3.55, get rid of them, I went with the 4.10 and love them,

 

I was looking into the tranny coolers. Do the 5speeds have cooling issues with towing?

The gears are 3.92. I figured that wasn`t too bad especially with OEM tire size. Should I still look into better gears?

The window vents are referring to the window visors or w/e you want to call them as shown here:
http://cdn1.autopartsnetwork.com/ima...R-IN-CHANN.jpg

 

Probably should have multi-quoted, but it came with 3.92s because of the TRX4 package. I figure that should be good (one of the reasons I bought it).

 

I think that Joke Posts (like using the words Fuel Economy and 4.7L in the same line) are supposed to go in the General Discussion Forum!

I think that the best way to reduce the fuel used is to stop pressing so hard on the long skinny peddle - but it is just so darned fun!

 

Not much you can do on the mileage front. Some members have resorted to removing weight, etc. But only 1-2 mpg gains are seen. A CAI and low restriction exhaust are your best bets. Superchips tuner improves performance, but mileage suffers because your always on the gas wondering why the dang trucks dont come from the factory like that...lol. Babying mine, the most I ever got was around 20 mpg on a trip. 15-17 around town. Towing your lucky if you break 15. It's a big, heavy truck.

 

welcome to the forum, sounds like you got started off on the right foot. please post pictures of your TRX4!

 

mileage,towing & dakota 4.7......yeah,the cai,exhaust & superchips help,but its no hemi.
yes, it will do the job,but neither towing or mileage is real impressive to be honest.
i pull a 18 ft triton bass boat with mine & it makes me wish i still had my old ram......or a new diesel,lol.

 

the first thing i did when i got the truck was drop in aem and delta 40 exhaust from cat back(removed all resonators too). my mpg went up 3 at most. really im not a big cai fan, since for $100 you can get a box drop in and your own straight pipe from the tb to box, half the price as k&n. Also its mixed but i hear bed covers make mpg worse in most cases, only b/c factory they built the truck to be made without one..just a thought.