V6 Terrible acceleration for all that horsepower
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V6 Terrible acceleration for all that horsepower
MY wife and i have been looking at the New Durango for our next vehicle. We want one for sure, and we are getting the HEMI. The reason is... When we test drove the V6 models; even though they have more horsepower than most V8's on the road today [290], the truck would only accelerate with any power at the top of the RPMS like a four cylinder. I had to hit 4500 RPM's jsut to get the thing to get up and go. Im not a race car driver, nor do I expect the thing to be a race car but my 1998 Ford Explorer has 10x more get up and go and its only got 215 HP on a V6. Is there any way to get these rigs to perform better? has anyone here owned one and put a cold air intake and a decent exhaust on it, and if so, did that help?
The HEMI was beautiful. It was nice and powerful. I hardly had to touch the accelerator with the tip of my toe and it would take off smoothly and quickly. It was almost like driving one of the larger diesel trucks with 1100f/lbs of torque.
I wouldnt mind saving few $$ and buying the v6. It has plenty of horsepower but it just seems like it is not using it. Even on the highway passing, I practically had to put the truck into second and hit 5000 rpm to get it to pick up and go. I was severely disappointed.
The HEMI was beautiful. It was nice and powerful. I hardly had to touch the accelerator with the tip of my toe and it would take off smoothly and quickly. It was almost like driving one of the larger diesel trucks with 1100f/lbs of torque.
I wouldnt mind saving few $$ and buying the v6. It has plenty of horsepower but it just seems like it is not using it. Even on the highway passing, I practically had to put the truck into second and hit 5000 rpm to get it to pick up and go. I was severely disappointed.
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Joined: Jul 2011
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From: Lansing, MI
MY wife and i have been looking at the New Durango for our next vehicle. We want one for sure, and we are getting the HEMI. The reason is... When we test drove the V6 models; even though they have more horsepower than most V8's on the road today [290], the truck would only accelerate with any power at the top of the RPMS like a four cylinder. I had to hit 4500 RPM's jsut to get the thing to get up and go. Im not a race car driver, nor do I expect the thing to be a race car but my 1998 Ford Explorer has 10x more get up and go and its only got 215 HP on a V6. Is there any way to get these rigs to perform better? has anyone here owned one and put a cold air intake and a decent exhaust on it, and if so, did that help?
The HEMI was beautiful. It was nice and powerful. I hardly had to touch the accelerator with the tip of my toe and it would take off smoothly and quickly. It was almost like driving one of the larger diesel trucks with 1100f/lbs of torque.
I wouldnt mind saving few $$ and buying the v6. It has plenty of horsepower but it just seems like it is not using it. Even on the highway passing, I practically had to put the truck into second and hit 5000 rpm to get it to pick up and go. I was severely disappointed.
The HEMI was beautiful. It was nice and powerful. I hardly had to touch the accelerator with the tip of my toe and it would take off smoothly and quickly. It was almost like driving one of the larger diesel trucks with 1100f/lbs of torque.
I wouldnt mind saving few $$ and buying the v6. It has plenty of horsepower but it just seems like it is not using it. Even on the highway passing, I practically had to put the truck into second and hit 5000 rpm to get it to pick up and go. I was severely disappointed.
The V6 and the V8 for that matter are both held back by the transmission. I have looked at dynos for both engines and they lose around 50hp for the V6 and 60hp for the V8 at the wheels. The Durango weighs nearly 5,000 pounds. A CAI would definitely help with power for the V6, but only to a certain extent. If you want effortless acceleration go with the HEMI. The 8 speed transmission is planned to be rolled out with the 2013 models, which won't be started till late fall and will help with acceleration and gas mileage significantly.
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Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Plainfield, il
Re: V6 Terrible acceleration for all that horsepower
I just purchased a SXT with v6 and agree the acceleration was much like a 4 banger, which worried me since I bought the v6 in part for its fuel efficiency and also for its towing rating at 6200 lbs. I changed the factory fill oil out at 400 miles for synthetic oil (as I normally do with new vehicles). I changed it earlier than I usually do due to the reports of contamination on some of the earlier v6's (mine was not part of the recall).
I can tell you that it ran out like water (definitely not the viscosity of 5W30 oil) and was a heck of a lot dirtier than I would have expected for 400 miles.
Refilled with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and there is a noticeable (not huge but noticeable) difference in the get up and go. I plan to change it out again at 3,000 miles to see how much metal/alum debris the filter picks up and then move to 5K changes. Maybe I'm crazy.....
I can tell you that it ran out like water (definitely not the viscosity of 5W30 oil) and was a heck of a lot dirtier than I would have expected for 400 miles.
Refilled with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and there is a noticeable (not huge but noticeable) difference in the get up and go. I plan to change it out again at 3,000 miles to see how much metal/alum debris the filter picks up and then move to 5K changes. Maybe I'm crazy.....
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Joined: Jul 2011
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From: Lansing, MI
I just purchased a SXT with v6 and agree the acceleration was much like a 4 banger, which worried me since I bought the v6 in part for its fuel efficiency and also for its towing rating at 6200 lbs. I changed the factory fill oil out at 400 miles for synthetic oil (as I normally do with new vehicles). I changed it earlier than I usually do due to the reports of contamination on some of the earlier v6's (mine was not part of the recall).
I can tell you that it ran out like water (definitely not the viscosity of 5W30 oil) and was a heck of a lot dirtier than I would have expected for 400 miles.
Refilled with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and there is a noticeable (not huge but noticeable) difference in the get up and go. I plan to change it out again at 3,000 miles to see how much metal/alum debris the filter picks up and then move to 5K changes. Maybe I'm crazy.....
I can tell you that it ran out like water (definitely not the viscosity of 5W30 oil) and was a heck of a lot dirtier than I would have expected for 400 miles.
Refilled with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and there is a noticeable (not huge but noticeable) difference in the get up and go. I plan to change it out again at 3,000 miles to see how much metal/alum debris the filter picks up and then move to 5K changes. Maybe I'm crazy.....
You could always try putting a 77 series ram kit from K&N. I personally have a friend with the V6 and this and it definitely gives a extra bump in the butt. It also gives the engine a little deeper note when accelerating.
http://www.knfilters.com/search/prod...rod=77-1560KTK
http://www.knfilters.com/dynocharts/77-1560_dyno.pdf
http://www.knfilters.com/instructions/77-1560_inst.pdf
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