I really wish they'd come out with a HyperPac or Superchips Programmer... I reallllllllly wanna see what these engines have for potential!

 

Agree with getting CAI and Exhaust first...

 

So, I've seen some stuff about Throttle Body spacers...what do they do and are they worth getting?

 

Isn't this why you came here? We're to help, not all of us are that experienced either. I'm still learning about my truck and the things I can do to it.

I wouldn't go with the TB spacer. They're not worth it. From what I'm told, they're just paper weights. Get a Throttle Body instead. They're $260 and when you send back the core from your truck, you get $80 back. That'll make a difference. I would also get an air intake system (mines an Airaid ($210), but I added a TrueFlow foam filter (54.00 after shipping). Those are pretty inexpensive, and for the exhaust, well that depends. If you go to a shop that's been in the community for a while, and they're pretty small, you can spend a lot less through them. The guy that did my exhaust on my truck (which is a catback dual with a magnaflow muffler) charged me $400. He custom bent all of the pipes. The next thing you could do is put in a JetChip Stage I or Stage II if you get the 180 thermostat. The chips run from 230-250 and you can get some good power out them for what they're worth.

For me, I've been piecing my truck together for two years now. It takes time, but I get a lot of people telling me my truck looks really nice. Not only does it look nice, but it runsgreat and sounds great. I've put about 3K into my truck, but to me it's worth is.

 

Run fully synthetic lubricants everywhere. Cold air intake, 180 tstat, maybe exhaust if you have the extra coin left over. If you want to do things to your Dak, get ready to spend some money, period.

 

Here's my gallery: https://dodgeforum.com/photosearch.a...er=&page=1

This might help you out with some decision making. There's a lot of before and after pics from when I first bought it, until two weeks ago.

 

Hey DakotaStone, thats a nice truck, I really like that color on the Dakota's they wear it well. As far as a Thermostat, where do I get one, what does it do, and how do I install it? Oh btw anything I would do I would probably install myself with the help of my buddy, he's done some stuff before and he has a real garage to work on the truck.

 

The t-stat helps regulate the tempature of the engine. What it'll do is keep the engine running much cooler. Our trucks naturally run about 195 degrees. Now with the 180 tstat, it'll run... well, 180 degrees. Anything colder than that will not do well with the truck.

You can go to NAPA. They cost like 8-10 dollars, but you have to make a cut into it for it to match the truck. You can go to http://www.jetchip.comand order one through them. They cost like $31.00 and they already have the notch cut into it to match the truck.

You'll probably raise your HP/TQ by a couple of numbers. The cooler the tuck runs, the better it runs.