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dabald
Dodge Dakota
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5/20/2004
23:45:18
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 Subject: In your professional opinion??
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Here's the deal, I bought this 2000 R/T, 6 monthes ago. I have done most of the "bolt-ons", available for the truck.
I've done about (10) 1/4 mile runs on a track, I've painted out on an deserted highway. My times vary from 14.50-14.75 around 95 mph.
I want to know what you think I should do next?
I've literally spent thousands, doing the following modifications.
Here's what I've done:
2000 Dakota 5.9 R/T, Regular cab, Firemist
ceramic coated PPH headers, cat's removed, O2 sensor, 3inch exhaust, Flowmaster 40 mufflers.
Intense Performance Intake w/ 9" cone filter.
PCM upgrade-Jett and 180 degree thermo, iat relocated to intake tube, MSD 6A, 8mm wires, Accel and Autolites. 2400 RPM Mopar conv, Trans-go shift kit, Moroso cooler, Hughes Racing Engines 52 mm billet throttle body, Hughes stage II ported intake manifold.
I have not installed the NX express and remote opener, but plan on doing the nitrous this weekend.
I'm real excited about the nitro, becuase the truck sounds bad as hell, and for the most part, is generally very satisfying to drive. I of course want more! By how much should the 100 shot lower my ET? Is ALL the headache of diving into the heart of the motor, ie. pistons, heads, cam, going to be worth the cost?
Bottom line, I want to beat my buddies Trans Am that nruns about mid 12's. HP=$. What will it take? Thw Nitro won't take me from 14.5 to 12.5?
Maybe 13.5?
I'm also considering traction bars and some Nito drag radials on those factory 17's.
Thanks, dabald
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CThomp
*GenIII*
5/21/2004
07:50:26
|  RE: In your professional opinion??
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Heads
Cam
1.7 RR's
It'll be worth the cost to have a naturally aspirated engine that really moves. The addition of those mods will more than likely put you well into the 13's. Most people say that the camshaft swap is often the key to really waking the motor up. The 100 shot will probably put you into the 13's as well.
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Nitro Junkie
R/T
5/21/2004
09:03:28
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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what CThomp said !
2000 R/T
Belltech 2
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CThomp
*GenIII*
5/21/2004
09:24:26
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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Ha! And I drive a 4.7L. It's amazing what you can absorb after you hear others talk about it after a few years.
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
12:48:26
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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This is what I would do or at least look into doing.
1.Adjust fuel sync to a setting of +12 using a mopar scan tool or +6 with a Snap-On scan tool(with a 97 and up cartridge). It is the same setting, just different values with the two scan tools. This is the first mod I do to every Dakota I own.
2.Change plugs to Autolite racing plugs AR3934. Equivelent to the heat range plug found to reduce pinging in magnum engines according to the DTO website. If you are going to run nitrous, you want to run at least one step colder plug than this. I run the AR 3934's and if you know how to read plugs you may agree with me too. Available from Barnett Performance for $ 2.98 per plug. 1-800-533-1320.
3.If you decide to use nitrous, go with a 150 shot if you hope to drop 2 seconds in the quarter. You may not get quite that much, but it will take a least a 150 shot to do that. It is assumed to be safe to use up to a 150 shot on a stock motor.
4. Check the Jet chip against the stock pcm for actually performance gains especially if you use a nitrous kit.
5. Go with an aftermarket cam with the 360. It really needs something more than the stock cam. The only cam I ever used was the MP cam (.458 lift intake and .467 lift exhaust). I know you need a liitle more cam than this.
6. If you have a scanner hooked up to your truck, check the air/fuel ratio since you removed the cat and see how it is. You may be okay since you are using Flowmaster mufflers.
7.Yes, get some traction bars. Even a cheap set of Lakewoods will help a lot.
Good luck. I know my advice will much different than other peoples. At least, it is something to think about.
Compare this to your truck. I have done some of the mods to this truck myself, so I know what it runs in the 1/4.
2000 Dakota RT regular cab
fuel sync set at +12
K@N FIPK
Bosch Platinum +4's
Jacob's coil
3 inch catback with FLowtech muffler
Stock cat with the inlet and outlet opened up to 3 inches.
MP computer
IAT sensor installed into K@N intake tube.
180 degree thermostat
M1 intake
MP cam .458 intake,.467 exhaust, 114 centerline installed at 109.
Truck runs 100 mph in the 1/4 on the street. Ran an 9.20 in the 1/8 early on with not that many mods. Hasn't been run in the 1/8 at its present level of modification.
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Mudlizard
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
19:33:00
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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S Dave: How about going into a bit more detail on this scan tool for the "fuel sync". Never heard that before on this site until now. Cost, how to's, where to hook up, where to buy.....you know, stuff like that. Thanks
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/22/2004
11:41:32
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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A lot of repair shops use Snap-On scan tools. Dodge dealerships have their brand of scan tools. These are the same scan tools used to make repairs by monitoring the overall state of engine tune and by reading trouble codes. I would not buy a scan tool to set the fuel sync. Just go to your local Dodge dealership and tell them you want your fuel sync set to +12. You have to get with them on what they will charge to do this. But I think it should be a half an hour labor to an hour. Any repair shop that has a Snap-On scan tool with 96(or 97) and up cartridge has the function to set the fuel sync. the older cartridge that is for vehicles up to 95 or 96 does not have this function. If you use the Snap-On scan tool, you set the fuel sync to +6. Which is the same setting as you will get if you set it on +12 with the Mopar scanner. I would think that you can get it done at a local repair shop assuming their shop rates per hour are less than those of a dealership. Only problem they may be not aware that this function exists as it is not available on many vehicles.
Fuel sync is adjustable on all Dodge trucks with the 3.9,5.2, and 5.9. Jeeps are not adjustable. The 4.7 does not have this function in their software. I am not sure about the Hemi.
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00R/T CC
Dodge Dakota
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5/22/2004
15:19:08
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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What is the purpose of having the fuel sync. reset? What does this do exactly? (I imagine it has to do with the injector timing in relation to crank position? Is there any reason to fool with it on a relativly stock engine? May sound like a dumb Q, but as was stated I've not heard of this operation until now, either.
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Slow Guy
Dodge Dakota
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5/23/2004
00:25:28
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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Buy some M/T 28x11.5 slicks. Put them on some Dak 8" wide rims. Buy a Mopar PCM and a 150 shot from NX. If you can hook up, you should run mid-low 12s. Roller rockers and a cam would be great, too.
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Spali
Dodge Dakota
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5/23/2004
02:26:08
|  In your professional opinion??
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S Dave:
I see you posted.........
MP cam .458 intake,.467 exhaust, 114 centerline installed at 109.
What's the duration on the MP cam???Is the MP cam the same as the R/T cam??
Also I heard they have a new R/T cam also out. Do you know the specs???
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irish
Dodge Dakota
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5/23/2004
11:15:39
|  RE: In your professional opinion??
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Dabald-
Is it a rc or cc? Id get that to the dyno and make a couple of pulls to see where youre at. Somethings not right if youre getting traction. Youre not going by what youve read on a G-Tech are you? Thats not how you want to measure your performance gains vs. $$.
You mentioned a 3" exhaust. Is it a dual or single? Are you throwing any codes? When was the last time you reset the pcm? How is it shifting? Have you done any weight reduction? Are you getting traction from launch? What was the temp/humidity on your runs? Whats the altitude?
With your mods you should be in the low 14s assuming its tuned and youre getting traction. Get to a dyno and find your a/f ratio and h/p and tq. curves and peaks. Good luck
'99rc r/t
13.51@99
N/A
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
12:01:28
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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00R/T CC, you are correct about the fuel sync. Yes, it can provide a increase in performance on an otherwise stock truck. What I like about this mod is it makes the engine much more willing to rev.
You can do this mod without the assistance of a scan tool if you like. This is how you do it. With the engine off,loosen the distributor hold down bolt. You want it to be just loose enough to move the distributor because you are only going to move it just a little bit. You don't want to loosen it too much so that the distributor is EASILY turned because you are going to be moving it at VERY small amounts at a time. Move the distributor counterclockwise MAYBE a 1/16 of an inch. In other words, you are going to just barely move the distributor enough to say it is not in the same position. You shouldn't have loosened the distributor that you have to tighten it back down to try it. Next, you reset the computer so the computer doesn't know that you moved the fuel sync. Then you drive the truck to determine if you went to far. If you go to far the truck will buck and stumble when you are driving at 55-60 mph. It will feel sort of similar to when you hit the rev limiter. In any event, the truck will not run if you go too far. So what you do is repeat the process of barely moving the distributor counterclockwise, resetting the computer, and driving it until you arrive at the point that you have gone too far. Once you go too far, you want to BARELY move the distributor back clockwise until it will run. Once you arrive at this point, you are at +12. You see the computer will not let the engine operate past the point of the setting +12. Now some people say that some of the larger cams like a fuel setting other than +12. I think it was KRC was selling a cam that they said that the fuel sync would be best set at +10. I have not had any experience with any cam larger than the MP RT cam so I wouldn't know. You would have to experiment to find out what they really like.
Spali, the MP cam I speak of is the RT cam. Duration is 204 for the intake and 208 for the exhaust. And yes there is a new Rt cam. I would have to get the specs for it though. Personally, I would wait for it to be available from other sources than MP. They want $450 for the new cam. If you notice the new cam is centerlined at 119 instead of 109. If you plug in the information into the Mr. Gasket Dyno program using a magnum 318 engine and the RT cam(204 i.,208 e.,.458 lift i.,.467 lift e., 114ls., and 109c.), change the centerline to 119 and see what happens to the torque curve. It doesn't fall off like it does when it is degreed at 109. Somebody that has the RT cam might want to try this. I was trying to get my friend with the RT to try this, but has not yet done so.
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Spali
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
12:23:04
| In your professional opinion??
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S Dave
I've been trying to do some research. This is what I have so far. I have a 01 5.9 R/T. This should be the specs of the cam, correct??
Stock 5.9:
Intake- .410 lift 249* total duration
Exhaust- .417 lift 269* total duration
I wonder what the @.050 duration is??
With 1.7 rockers you should be able to net a
.442 Intake
.449 Exhaust
Mopar R/T cam:
Intake- .458 intake, 204 @.050 duration
.467 exhaust,208 @.050 duration
114 centerline installed at 109.
New Mopar R/T cam: Still looking
That 119 centerline is quite high, I would imagine so the engine would pass emissions, but at the extent you lose alot of power than having a 109 centerline. 109 being a rough idle and 119 being fairly smooth idle.
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
12:41:11
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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THe lobe seperation is 114. I see I made the mistake in the post above of saying 114 centerline. 109 is the centerline. There is 4 degrees ground into the RT cam, so essentially the cam is installed straight up.
According to the dyno program, installing it at 119 makes more power than at 109 with this cam. I'll get the specs on the other cam and be back. As far as what the specs are on the stock cam in your Dakota RT, I don't know what they are. I assure you that is not important as the cam is too small for a 360. I would check with Comp Cams to see what they have for the RT and see what they suggest.
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Spali
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
13:08:47
| In your professional opinion??
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I see. I really like KRC's 210/220-512/512 108
but realize that I will probably have to go with the 112 lobe separation to keep it somewhat emission friendly. I was thinking down the road of making mine a stroker 408.
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
14:00:53
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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New MP cam for magnum engines-P5007551- advertised duration 272 intake and 278 exhaust. Duration at .050 is 208 intake and 216 exhaust. Cam has 37 degrees overlap and a 119 centerline. Lift is .467 intake and .482 exhaust.
Another thing to think about is to get someone to check the pushrod length when you install the new cam. I did not want to go to the expense of buying roller rockers. A friend of mine is a professional engine builder and he suggested buying the adjustable pushrods(when they were available)to adjust the preload on the lifters. He said that I could see as much as 10-15 foot pounds of torque adjusting the preload. I did and when he went to help me install and adjust them, he discovered that there was not enough adjustment to properly adjust the preload. There was about an 1/4 inch of adjustment and that did nothing. So we took them apart and turned them down in the lathe. Then put them back together. He adjusted the preload on the lifters with just an 1/8 of a turn. The pushrods turned out to be more than 1/4 inch shorter than they were the stock ones. This was with the Magnum RT cam I had installed in my Dakota. I was suprised that the pushrods were that much too long.
If I were installing a cam, I would allow enough time so that after installing the cam you could have the pushrod length checked, buy the right length pushrods, and have them installed at the same time. If you don't, you may find that you can't adjust the preload properly when you install roller rockers.
That is why I suggested Comp Cams. They probably can sell you a pushrod length checker for the magnum engine I'm sure and can provide the right length pushrods that you need.
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
14:25:44
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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Be careful and don't pick a cam that is too big. You don't want to lose low end because you are not going to be fast if you are slow from a start. On the street, you want to pick up your low end and mid-range because that is where you spend most of your driving. I know some people will say you need to gain power on the upper rpms also. That is where they get into trouble. They think about making that big horsepower number and forget about the all important torque curve. What you want to do is extend the rpm the cam can pull to quickly. I am not sure on a stock RT, but on my 5.2 CC Dakota it would quit pulling hard by 4000 rpm in high gear when it was stock. You would be suprised how fast a Dakota you can have without resorting to installing a killer cam with a stall converter. I am not saying the same you are talking about buying is too big. I am sure KRC can tell you how the cam will perform and what rpm range it will make power with the mods you are going to run.
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Spali
Dodge Dakota
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5/25/2004
07:17:04
| In your professional opinion??
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S Dave
Thanks for the info. Where did you find the specs on the new R/T cam. Is it online somewhere? That new R/T cam sounds like what I've been looking for. Can you plug this cam into the Mr. Gaskets dyno program for me and see what my 360 might achieve? Stock heads 1st and then with ported stock heads?? Also what's your email addy??
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S Dave
Dodge Dakota
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5/25/2004
10:25:10
| RE: In your professional opinion??
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Specs for the new cam was in one of my Mopar Performance catalogs. I think the 2003 edition. I am not sure if the specs are given in this years edition or not.
I don't have that computer program and I don't have a computer at home. I go online to check and see what going on this forum when I can get access to a computer. I used to visit a friend who is professional engine builder. I would check the engines he ran on the dyno against the Mr. Gasket program. The program is very accurate if you plug in the correct info. I don't go to visit him anymore that much due to the lack of time. The problem with the program though in this case is you don't know how accurate it would be to use the setting "stock exhaust" since I don't know if takes into account for an exhaust system with a catalytic converter. But that is the closest choice you have and the one I would go with.
My email address is patrickdga@yahoo.com. I may check my email or visit this forum 2 or 3 days in a row and then go 2-3 weeks before I get time to do anything. So if I don't answer the email right away that is why.
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Spali
Dodge Dakota
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5/25/2004
12:44:46
| In your professional opinion??
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I think they have that catalog online, I'll have to check it out. The catalytic converter shouldn't really rob more than 5-8 HP at the most. I hear it's fairly good flowing from the factory. I'll squeeze the power from somewhere else to stay legal.
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