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Dakota Performance
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RAT
Dodge Dakota
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3/04/2004
12:15:27

Subject: RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Alrighty then... You need to think long and hard about what you just said. Have you ever heard of things called insurance, gas prices, general service prices, and car loans? Well there are a few reasons right there. Plus, I paid about $12,800 on my dak with only 30,000 miles and a warranty. Tell me where you can find an R/T for that price. Not to mention I am 18 and I already spend $202 per month on insurance, with a perfect driving record. Oh. And I never thought that I would even try to get the perfomance of the R/T in my 2.5L. Just trying to make it better. However, look at the weights of the two Dakotas together, and realize that it really is not that hard to get 300+ HP out of a 4cyl. Without nitrous. Anyways, I just would like to see more people posting remarks that might get somone somwhere. Instead when ever you say the words "four cylinder", all you get is a bunch of guys that feel so insecure about themselves that they have to say How stupid we are for getting a wittle bitty 4cyl. I know it's not big, but I really don't have a problem with that, Other than the fact that I enjoy trying to make more power with just about everything.
Anyways,
Have a nice day... :)



jason ireland
Dodge Dakota
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3/04/2004
20:34:31

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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I completely agree with you rat, i have a 96 sport with the 2.5 its a nice little truck, the gas mileage is amazing i love it, for being stock it can still toast some pickups with a v6. the only disadvantage is no performance parts, you cant find sh*t for the 2.5, they need to build performance parts for the 2.5 engine theres allready enough bullsh*t for the v6 and v8 dakotas. im about to start building my own parts like a air intake and custom exhaust system, and maybe shaveing the head and porting and polishing. from what i've observed the 2.5 in the dakota's is the same as a jeep 2.5 so the parts might just enterchange such as headers and beter intakes. if anyone finds anything please let me know, make the 4 cylender more popular.



.boB
Dodge Dakota
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3/04/2004
22:26:43

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Ford made great power with their 2.3L turbo in the Mustang and T-Bird. 250-300 hp is pretty common with some simple mods. I've never seen a turbo kit for a Dodge truck. But didn't Dodge make some small cars with a 4 cyl turbo? Seems like those parts would be a good starting point. I'd look in that direction. No reason why you can't have 250hp and 25mpg in the same truck.



WipLash
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3/04/2004
22:46:41

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Everyone assumes the insurance for the R/T is higher than the other Dakotas. I've had State Farm for over 15 years. They classify the trucks. The Dakota is a class 5. They did have it as a class 4 (the lower the cheaper) just a couple of years ago. You could buy a RC v6 Sport for $10,000.00 less than a CC R/T in 2001 and they were both rated as a "class 4" which meant they cost the same to insure. My 2000 CC R/T cost less to insure than my 2002 SLT 4.7L RC by $9.00. State Farm couldn't even explain that one to me. It makes no sense to me, but that's how they do it.



Mr.Sleepy
Dodge Dakota
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3/05/2004
09:02:49

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Rat,

Your concerns are on insurance and gas money which is fine. But why dump thousands into your truck if money is that tight for you? The inline 4 gets decent mileage but the difference should only amount to about $500-$600 bucks a year in gas. Besides like most people on this board and those who own trucks pretty much agree, we didn't buy these things for the great fuel economy, we bought them because they are great work vehicles and extremely durable. If youre hell bent on trying to get your inline 4 faster, realize that with more mods your mileage will drop and you will wear that engine out quicker the harder you push it. V8's (especially that old 360) can take a lot of punishment and was built for muscle. It just sounds like your trying to use the wrong tool to do the right job so to speak. Now I have a relative of mine that put a nice new crate engine v8 from summit racing under the hood of that his inline 4 dakota, hooked up the bare essentials and still told the insurance company it was a 4. He even kept the inline 4 stickers on it, that makes for a great sleeper truck. Although you will need to beef up the trans and sure up the driveshaft amount other things, but for $3000 bucks it drives like a maniac and pulls better than any stock 360.

Just for the record, I'm not raggin on you, I just believe that a Inline 4 was meant to be economic, and cheap to maintain. Performance does not fit in that equation. When it comes to engines you can't have your cake and eat it too!



.boB
Dodge Dakota
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3/05/2004
13:46:18

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Sure, anybody can make a vehicle faster by bolting in a bigger engine. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. But where's the fun in that? A true hot rodder will figure out how to make what he's got better/faster/stronger with cheap and easily available parts.

Use all the standard hot rod parts - intake, headers, gears - and you'll get some improvements. Open the engine and do some head work for better flow. But look at forced induction for the greatest improvement .



RAT
Dodge Dakota
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3/05/2004
18:29:49

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Still.. wich is cheaper? A new engine and tranny, with a good rear end, or a $1500 turbo upgrade. I know your not raggin' on me but al I am saying is that I already realize that I could drop a V8 in my truck for a reasonable price, but I think it would be a little more unique an difficult to use the engine I already have. I can think of many 360's all over the place that are fast, but no 2.5L's. It's a lot like what .boB said. Besides. I really don't expect to get great perfomance out of my truck. I may not even put the turbo on there that I am planning. If I want to fill my need to go fast, I'll get the YZF-R1 i was wanting. Or fix up the Shelby Carger that was offered to me by my friend. I just don't want a truck that can't keep up with the civics around here, and I believe that this site is for the greater good of all Dakotas, not just the V8's.



dakfour
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3/08/2004
19:26:45

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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I have a turbo dak 4 cyl. .... So, whatīs up???
I spent 1,500.00 bucks to make all the mods...now I get 250hp with 26mpg...I can get 300hp with 16,17mpg just increasing the boost...not bad,donīt you think?? I switched my turbine few weeks ago... before I had a Biagio .43 now I installed a garret .60.

Dak 1999 2.5l TURBO

Jeff
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3/08/2004
19:39:36

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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a stock looking 2.5 reg cab wasted me once. made my 3.9 club cab look like an anchor with wheels.



darndakota
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2004
08:33:06

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Where can I get a turbo for the 2.5? Or, how much would head work cost?



RAT
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2004
14:49:04

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Kinda curious. How did you go about getting a turbo manifold on your truck? Did you have to get one made or did you find one on another vehicle that fit?



dakfour
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3/09/2004
21:21:32

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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it was "hand " made... It wasnīt difficult, The hardest thing was what turbo size is the best choice.my first turbine (biagio .43) gave to me a lot of power and torque at low rpm (starting at 1700rpm and full boost at 2500 rpm).My dak had an enormity "catch" without entering in the red line, today I found a best turbo size, start at 2300 rpm and full boost at 3000 rpm, I think with this turbo size is better for daily drive. The problem to build a turbo kit are the pipes...I had to twist many...including a new header. Basically I changed all my exhaust system.

Dak 1999 2.5l TURBO

RAT
Dodge Dakota
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3/13/2004
14:54:57

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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You should post some good pictures so we could get some Idea's. See, I don't really have the tools for exhaust bending, and welding. Could I get a shop to do it for a pretty low cost?



dakfour
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3/13/2004
16:42:45

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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I donīt know how to insert my pics here...If someone help me with that Iīll appreciate...

Dak 1999 2.5l TURBO

dakfour
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3/14/2004
08:39:49

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Please !!!can someone teache me how to put pics here??? I want to show my engine!!!
Thanks

Dak 1999 2.5l TURBO

RAT
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2004
11:25:15

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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type the following, except substitute your picture's location and add a < before the img and a > after the end quote

img src="yourlocationhear"






JC
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2004
13:02:42

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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I just want to address a few comments I have read so far.

1. Up above, someone asked where could they find a R/T for $12,800 with a warranty and 30K miles. I paid under $10K for mine with a warranty and only 44K miles. Buying it during January didn't hurt either but the fact remains, you can buy a low mileage for cheap.

2. What I really need to comment on is all the talk about the 2.5L engine. In my eyes, it isn't feasible to put large amounts of money into this engine. It is an utter dog as it leaves the factory and would cost too much money to build it up. People here are talking about turbos for it but come on. How many people out there are really going to take this route? Not many will actually go through with this. Being this is the net, I find alot of people just like to talk. Face it, this was a good economical engine but that is its only high point.

The 2.5L I had was in a 95 Wrangler with a 5speed and believe me, it was a mistake. If I decided to mod this engine, the parts were far and few inbetween. It may be an easy way out but putting a bigger engine would be the best solution. People might not like that answer but thats what ya get.



RAT
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2004
15:11:51

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Origianality is a good thing JC. When you say that few people improve this engine, I say, so what. Read all of the previous posts carfully. Never siad I wanted some kind of road monster, just somthing better for little more money. $1500 bucks is still less than an R/T, or an engine swap. Besides, minus the weight of the V8, and add a fifth gear, it wont be bad at all. Just different. Different is goooood. Don't listen to the world of normality JC, Question ALL authority and try to step out of your comfort zone once in a while. It's a good thing...
So.
Simmer down now...


Anyways, dakfour I would still like to see those pictures. And I would like to know how you made your exaust so I can figure out a way to do mine. You said that the Hardest part was finding the right size turbo, and I may already have one if I just ask my friend. If you don't have the picture onlind you can e-mail them to me at JustinHinton@hotmail.com

Thanks,
Rat



dakfour
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3/18/2004
18:32:58

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Hummmmm, just to keep the subject on top...
And I still donīt know how to put pics here...

Dak 1999 2.5l TURBO

Buck Harley
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3/18/2004
18:43:57

RE: 2.5L 4cyl upgrades
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Go with headers it is the best bang for the bucks stay with small primaries and a long collector if you can ( More TQ ) use small dual exaust and strait threw mufflers. stay away from large dia Exahust pipes as the 4 banger will be as pipey as holy hell very loud. a K&N air filter is good for a few ponys, and if you can aford it a diff. Cam.. a Comp 260 is a good low end TQ cam to use. they are priced fair. if you plan to do the work your self get a factory service manual. if not be prepared to pay $55.00 plus for labor.
Buck



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