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18:20:56 - 04/26/2024
Dakota Performance
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Dusterbd13
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
12/08/2005
18:47:17
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 Subject: chassis and brake tweaking
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Message:
ok, this one will be lengthly, so get a cup of coffee...
to start, the truck. 1998 dakota sport, club cab, 318, five speed. 9 1/4 rear, 17X9 steelies with 255/55/17 Kumho tires. effectively RT wheels and tires. stock front sway bar, fresh disc brakes, rear sway bar off a 2001 quad cab. fresh rear drums.
what im intending to do:
the truck is my daily driver, and still used as a truck. but i will also use the vehicle for autocrossing and open track days with my corvette customers. im planning on ugrading the chassis and suspension, as well as the brakes.
presently, the truck has very soft compression and rebound rates on the shocks. spring also compress' a lot for given road conditions. there is plenty of body lean, and also some frame flex as evidenced by the cab moving independantly of the bed.
What i propose:
i was looking at AFCO 600 pound/inch coils from the front, but i do not know the stock spring rates, so i do not know how much of an increase this would be. i would end up cutting the coils to lower the truck, but i do not know what will hapen to the Ackerman or Bumpsteer when i lower it. i know the R/T is lower by an inch than a sport, and it has acceptable bump steer characteristics. so what will two inchel lower than stock (like the Hotchkis setup) do to the geometry?
Also, i will be boxing upper and lower control arms, using polyurathane bushings and Moog ball joints.
in the rear, i do not know what to use for leaf springs. i would like to drop the back 3 inches to help with the dive upon hitting the brakes hard, and to make ride height level. i do not know which manufacturer to contact, or what rate to use to compliment the nature of the truck. also, i am contemplating a watts link or panhard rod to help with the side loading of the springs. as far as the lowering aspect, ill either use lowering leaves, or lowering shackles. poly bushings in the rear as well.
For chassis bracing i was going to purchase a kenny brown x-brace, but cannot get anyone there to answer the phone, so i am open to suggestions. a full roll cage isnt an option, even though the girlfriend wants me to install one. it is still a street car, and in a street car accident roll cages do more harm than good.
as for sway bars, ive only found addco and hotchkis making them. hotchkis values their products too much for my budget, so i will use the biggest set that i can purchase from addco. that, and ive worked with their engineers before. nice guys.
Shocks will be KYB MonoMax's, both for price and availibility.
as for brake upgrades, i am having severe difficulty in finding anything other than slotted rotors and race style pads. also found a $1600 rear disc conversion. too much money....
so what i would like to do is change the proportioning in the brake system, and possibly scrounge larger brakes for both froint and rear. any suggestions would be appreciated.
if i am missing anything, or if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. ill take any advice, comments, criticism, etc. just dont go telling me i cant go road racing in a truck.
Michael
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toolfan
GenIII
12/08/2005
19:38:36
| RE: chassis and brake tweaking
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Message:
you can go road racing in a dakota truck good luck with some others. the dakota is the best handling truck stock. i cant help you much but i do think that you're on the right track for using a dakota. if i where you i wouldn't worry about the rear disc conversion. do the front and than see how it goes. my buddy i think has the hotchkis Kit in the front and blocks in the rear and his truck handles great. 2in in the front and 3in in the back that it is lowered.
[ and some mods to blow it up]
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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12/08/2005
22:30:19
| RE: chassis and brake tweaking
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Have you considered an air ride suspension? That's the hot ticket in performance street machines.
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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12/08/2005
22:32:06
| RE: chassis and brake tweaking
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Message:
And what about coil overs and ladders bars in the back?
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2005
20:51:24
| RE: chassis and brake tweaking
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for rear brakes, a less expensive route would be to locate rear drum brake setup from '00-'02 QC dak as they are larger than SC or CC trucks or i think '03-'04 daks had rear discs.
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Dusterbd13
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2005
10:08:55
| RE: chassis and brake tweaking
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ladder bars are a great idea, but i dont particularly want to go that route. just seems a little too much as far as the still a truck usage is concerned. as far as bagging it, ive seen great results with that setup, but the cost is very prohibitive.
i appreciete that suggestion on the larger brakes from the later model stuff. will the rearend housing accept the brackets, or will i have to get the rear end as well?
thanks. keep the advice coming.
Michael
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2005
10:36:09
| RE: chassis and brake tweaking
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"will the rearend housing accept the brackets, or will i have to get the rear end as well?"
that i don't know for sure. if they use the same axle tubes as the 8.25" diff's they should fit. if you have a friend at the local dealership they could probably look up the part numbers and tell you. i know R/T's and QC's were available with the 9.25" rear ends so you may be able to find something in the salvage yards w/ that option.
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