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Black SXT
Dodge Dakota
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7/29/2003
17:49:47
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 Subject: A question for the masses
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I have been visiting this site for about 8-9 months now, tons of great advise and info here. My question is why is it that people who want to trash the 3.9 V6 even bother to enter the V6 board.I have yet to read a post in the V8 board where a V6 owner is trashing the V8s. I think most of us with V6s have them because we wanted them ( at least I do). I am very pleased with the preformance of My V6, if i had wanted a 4.7 or the 5.9 I would nave gotten one,but i have yet to read a post from a V8 owner that can say they get a consistant 21-22 mpg,(latest mpg figures from my 3.9) Sorry but thats my 2 cents worth
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Shank
GenII
7/29/2003
20:35:18
|  RE: A question for the masses
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Amen!
I drove a full size 1500 ('94) with the 318 V8 to the coast last weekend towing my boat, 11 MPG! the thing had the optional 35? gal tank and cost $50 to fill up! Jeez, my 3.9 Dak gets 14MPG towing the same boat!!!!! and I only have the 18 gal tank. I ended up spending 2/3 of my vacation budget on fuel.
Not again & y'all can keep your V8!
Shank
Btw, I live 5 1/2 hrs from the coast and drove 1600 miles in 5 days. Daaaamn that thing sucked up some fuel.... Along with breaking down twice but fortunately from knowledge from the board I was able to keep it together.
If it don't work hit it with a hammer, Still don't werk? GET A BIGGER HAMMER!
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J and J Auto
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
01:07:29
|  RE: A question for the masses
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My last milage check on my 95 4X4 stroker was
22.4
And I love these V6 motors yes keep your V8's
Larry
J&J Auto
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gg
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
02:59:00
| RE: A question for the masses
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i wanted a r/t but could not afford the insurance,i am happy with my v6,when the motor wears out i will swap in a crate motor
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stealwings582
GenIII
7/30/2003
17:15:11
| RE: A question for the masses
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I love my V-6 and after each mod I do, it keeps getting better in performance and gas mileage. V-8's do have better pick up from the factory but these engines have great potential. People think since it's a V-6 it isn't worth it. I think what they are forgeting is that the V-8 trucks weighs at lot more than the V-6er trucks. If you improve the powerband with some key mods, the V-8ers would be surprised.
Wouldn't want any other!
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wadak
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
17:47:06
| RE: A question for the masses
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I have 2 dodge dakotas. One is a 1993 extracab 4x4 LE setup to tow and a 97 2 wheel drive extra cab pickup with the v6. I like both these trucks very much. On the 92 the best gas mileage I have achieved is 20 mpg on the freeway at 65 mph on level ground. The normal mileage 12 to 15 in town and 16 to 19. The last trip I made I got 18.5 on the freeway. The 1997 v6 recently achieved 21.5 running 70 to 75 with the ac on. The v8 certainly has more power than the v6. With the mod's I have made to the v6, I getting close to the v8 output.
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A-Dub
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
18:12:24
| RE: A question for the masses
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I just bought a 2003 V6 SXT and was wanting to know of some quick and fairly cheap mods to get better gas mileage. I was told that if I run 89 octane it will give it maybe 1 or 2 mpg more. Would a K&N air filter help it too? Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks
Aaron
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Black SXT
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
19:09:23
| RE: A question for the masses
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A-Dub I ran a couple of tanks of 89 octane and didn't notice any differance in mpg or preformance. I also started with a K&N dropin and didn't notice much increase in MPG. I added a soft tonneau cover(175 bucks) and did notice a 1-11/2 mpg increase at freeway speeds. Right now I have an Intense air stage III intake, JBA headers, and a Gibson side swept cat back.I also use Mobil 1.I was lucky enough to be able to pull the intake and headers from a buddies wrecked Dak. The cat back i got on sale for 240 bucks. I average 21-22 mpg. and have gotten as high as 24mpg,(steady 55 mph,with no stops or A/C). My next mods will be a electirc fan, and some more spark. I have yet to find something I wanted my 3.9 to do that it did not have the power to do.
03 CC SXT w/auto
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A-Dub
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
19:27:49
| RE: A question for the masses
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Does your truck sound pretty good with that exhaust. I am wanting to get a cat back but wasn't sure which one would give it a good throaty sound but not be too loud were its an annoance. I plan on getting a hard top cover. Do you know where the best places are to buy them? Thanks
Aaron
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ErnieQuad03
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
20:06:05
| RE: A question for the masses
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Yeah, the V6 trashing is crap and needs to stop, I posted something on that a few months ago. The guys/gals doing this don't deserve the time of day on this board.
Anyway, I had a 2002 Dakota SXT 4x4 V6 Auto with 3.92s. It was a great truck! I ended up trading it in though about a week ago for a 2003 Quad Cab 4x4 4.7L V8 5spd Manual with 3.55s. That is mainly what I wanted when I got the first one but could not afford it, with the cheap interest rates and incentives plus a $1100 difference on my trade, I was able to get the truck I really wanted, well minus the 3.92s, which I am gonna see how I like the 3.55s first, I have a set of 3.92s handy if needed.
Anyway I post this because I do not think it is right to bash the V6, it is a great truck and performed well for me. If you want to give it some nice throttle response improvements try these....
Autolite AP3923 plugs
Dynomax #17748 single-in-single-out muffler
Intense Performance Stage II intake with 7" big mouth cone filter.
180 T-stat
This did not overwhelmingly improve HP but gave the truck MUCH better throttle response, a nice mellow tone, better mpg (I went up 1mpg) and a lot smoother running engine. I wanted to add a 48mm F&B throttle body but never made it to that, I believe this would have been a very nice improvement.
I will state some facts since I have now had both...the 4.7L engine is great! Lots of power, very strong runner. So far, yes I am getting better mpg numbers than the V6, but I have just been through 2 tanks so far and am just a little over the recommended break-in. So if anyone ever wants a V8, the 4.7L so far has been great and the 5spd manual really puts the power to the rear wheels, I test drove both, and I just am not a person who should be driving an auto I guess because I really didn't like it with the Auto, it really seemed to hold the engine back. I think I would have like my V6 better with the stick as well. As far as power, the V6 isn't lacking very bad, I do notice the power difference mostly at take-off and passing, the V6, even after the mods did not have much low-end and I could never pass very effectively with it, of course, I am also comparing my V8 stick to my old V6 Auto which is not fair either.
But good luck with the 3.9 V6 engines you all have. It was fun modding it and the truck was nice and was worth the $$$. Even though I have the truck I originally wanted, a piece of me still misses that SXT. There is no doubt the V8 is gonna be stonger than a stock or mildly modified V6...but I knew that when I bought the first truck and I still bought it. A Dakota is a Dakota and that is what really matters, if these bashers want to bash someone, bash the Chevy S-10s wimps or the Ford Ranger/Mazda morons. Or....cringe...import trucks...ughhhh.
Dakotas are the best of the compact/midsize class PERIOD and all of us are ahead of the rest just because of this fact.
If anyone needs advice on the 3.9, I would be glad to still provide my input!
Enjoy your Dakotas!
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A-Dub
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
22:32:35
| RE: A question for the masses
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Does any of that stuff you said to beef it up void the warranty. Also, where is the cheapest place you have found to buy dakota parts. I have been looking around for a couple days now on here but I don't want to miss something special. Thanks
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Joe
Dodge Dakota
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7/30/2003
22:53:07
| RE: A question for the masses
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I bought my truck used and would love to have a 318 in my truck. Until I started exploring this site I didnt like my V6. But now after doing some mods and actually noticing the gains, I like it a lot and have fun getting more power from it. My neighbor also has a 3.9 same year, so we keep trying to outdo each other.
My 97 Z28 that I just sold didnt impress me. Of course it was strong from the factory, but bolt ons did close to nothing for it. Centerforce dual friction ($800 installed), Borla ($600), coldair(200), Hypertech(350), and a few more total well over $2000. All that and the car never felt a lot more powerful and wasnt any funner to drive, with the exception of the Borla.
But after V8 TB, exhaust, intake, and Im starting to use synthetics, Ive noticed nice gains and the truck is more enjoyable to drive, which makes a big difference.
Still I would rather have a V8, UNLESS bolt ons didnt make a differnce like on my Z. Then what fun would it be, it would be a money pit (like my Z) with nothing to show for it.
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ErnieQuad03
Dodge Dakota
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7/31/2003
01:04:12
| RE: A question for the masses
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None of the mods I listed void the warranty.
I got my intake from www.intenseperformance.com
Got my Dynomax from Advance Auto Parts for $59
Autolite Platinum 3923s from Walmart about $12
Got the 180 T-stat from Autozone for like $7
Cheapest place to buy parts....I just do a search alot off of google for warehouses and stuff. There are a ton of places. If you are looking at Mopar Parts for the Dakota, www.dodgeparts.com has some good deals.
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Black SXT
Dodge Dakota
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7/31/2003
04:32:29
| RE: A question for the masses
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What I did just to make sure on the warrenty , before i made any chages to the truck I called and emailed DC customer service .and asked about the mods i was going to do, after be told they would not viod the warrenty I wrote down the name date and time of the service rep i spoke to and am saving it in case it should come up later
A Dub to tell you the truth I have not heard what the truck sounds like (except at idle) from the outside,from inside the cab there isn't much differance untill put your foot into it. When it is idling it sounds quite a bit deeper than stock and when i step on it ,it is a good bit louder than stock(at least from in the cab)
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