ok, im pissed off right now, and a little drunk i might add. This guy in a 04 or older dakota raced me tonight, first we went from a roll and i got a late start (about a second late, + the time it takes the auto to downshift) and when my truck finally gets into 2nd, i start catching up to him....i am about to his passenger side door when i let off (i dont want to get arrested) and we pull up to a red light. The light turns green and we take off and he is pulling on me pretty damn bad. probably every gear he gains distance. then i let off and turn around and he has already turned around. We pull up to the light and i roll down my window and ask nicely "damn, are you stock?" he says "fok yeah im stock" and then asks what engine i have, i tell him 4.7 and he says "oh you still have a little engine in it" then he says "take that **** home" and takes off turning right while spinning his tires.

I only got mad because he was such a d!ck about the whole thing. I mean, we both have dakotas, so there should be respect right? and the fact that i was being nice about me losing should have showed that.

what i dont understand was that i was gaining on him from a roll, but from a stop, he was pulling on me in a "stock" dakota. it said V8 magnum on the side, so it wasnt an R/T.

I wish that kit i ordered previously was compatable with my truck, but thats not the case



so my question is this...what mods can i do so that i can be faster. I have a limited income (making payments on the truck + insurance), so i need a cheaper alternative. Ive been looking into the STS turbo kits, and i tried to contact them and ask them how much it would cost to get a custom kit for my dakota. I really love my truck, but i need it to be faster.

my buddy was tring to convince me to get a 50 shot, but i hate nitrous and would hate being a hypocrite.


so, any suggestion on what mods i can get (and i understand there are limited mods for the new daks.)

ive been thinking about and intake and pulley, but i dont know yet


any suggestions?

 

Hmm...that sucks man

First off....what do you have? Club or Quad? 4x2 or 4x4?
4x4 is gonna slow you down to begin with (yes, even in 2wd drive mode)

Second....our gen. of Dakotas weigh more than the previous gen.....so if he did have a 4.7.....you're at a disadvantage already and would've lost.

Third.....the 5.9 was an option in the previous gen. Dakotas even if you didn't get the R/T package. While the 5.9 isn't super quick....it's got a lot of torque. Or the 5.2 was the older engine of choice before the 4.7.


I'm still breaking in my 4.10 gears on my truck (changed out from the factory 3.55)......so once they're broken in....I'll tell you how much of a difference i noticed. That's a reasonably cheap mod though.
So....gears are around $200 & then the labor was $300.

I didn't have a LSD though & added that too....that was an extra $260 for the LSD.

 

Like the previous post stated, the 5.2 and the 5.9 were also offered in the 2nd Gen Dakotas....however, you could only get the 5.9 in a Quad....it was an option on the Quads.....I dont believe they offered it in a RC or CC. If they did, it would have been the final year they made the R/T's or the year after that. 2003-2004.

The 2nd gens were also really good with the torque compared to the current model. My 01 Dakota was quite the beast for a 4.7L V8. Ran alot of R/T's that were still somewhat stock and won about half the time. My 01 had a few mods, nothing really big tho.

As for the current model Daks, an LSD and better gearing is always a plus. Definitely a cold air induction kit and better air filter system. You definitely can do headers, new exhaust from the cat, and a better throttle body will help a lot. If it's not an offroad truck, I'd look into finding a chip.

Turbos/Supercharger are just too expensive, and with the upgrades you could do for the same price as that kit, you'd wind up with more HP and a better overall running truck.

Honestly, the new Dakotas just arent built for speed. The H.O. model sucks ***.... altho you can swap out the heads from the 4.7L v8 to the H.O. heads...there was a thread posted about that just recently...supposedly that'll work. I'm going by what the thread stated....

 

if it said v8 magnum, it was probrably a 5.2 or 5.9 (they stopped using the emblems in 2001) obviously the guy you raced cracked on you because you have the 4.7, and he had the 5.2 ,which is what years mostly used the emblems on the fenders....but obviosly, he isnt bright...because he doesnt understand that the 4.7 is no less powerwize than the 5.2 stock for stock...the problem is is that our trucks are heavy, but thats what happens when they make the truck bigger........ive drove some ram 1500 4.7 trucks that seemed to run better than the 3rd gen dakotas stock for stock....the biggest problem with these trucks is that they need to be programed!!! the factory actually detuned the engines from the 2004 model years (didnt you ever notice that the 4.7 gets "supposedly" better mileage than the 3.7) that is due to the detune...

 

well, i have a quad cab 4x2, and his was a club cab 4x2.

i dont know what im gonna do yet, but let me know how those gears work out, i didnt realize they were that cheap.

also, i want to keep the mods simple so that if something goes wrong, i can revert it back to stock and still be under warrenty

 

He probably got you the first time and eased off, which would explain why you were catching up. The quads are heavy, my 02 weighs almost 5000 (but it's a 4x4 with the 5.9), so you're at a major weight disadvantage. What gears do you currently have? 3.92 was a common option for the older ones. The 5.2 makes its power lower in the RPM range iirc, so it'll be in the fat part of its curve faster as well. The 4.7 is a good motor though, had one in my 99 grand cherokee. You should look into headers, high flow cat, cams and/or rockers, and intake manifold options to see about getting more power. Turbos and superchargers are great, but they're really spendy, and you'll need premium gas.

 

Although mine is a 2nd gen '02 QC 4x4, there is one way you can supercharge your ride as long as you have 3 or 4 inch air intake tube for less than 200 bills. It doesn't give but a 2psi raise to the intake rather than 6-8psi on the expensive superchargers. 2 lbs is about a 40+ hp jump though. I'm getting the parts now for mine and gonna install it.

 

Gears won't really affect anything warranty wise....3.92 gears were an option already and 4.10 is just a tiny little bigger step up. And the cost factor isn't high either.

DEFINITELY driving nicer though...haven't gotten on it yet, but it picks up nicer without much throttle. And on the freeway.....give it more gas and it responds without having to downshift (since it's in the rev range)

So something to think about and I'll get back to you once these gears are broken in and I get to enjoy them!

 

wow that guys a dick. There should be respect upon fellow dak owners.