On Monday, August 18, 2003, at 04:34 PM, Michael Quigley wrote:
>
> Is anyone getting better than around 12 MPG from their 4.7L V-8?
>
> I get between 11-12 MPG no matter how I drive. Sometimes I'll get
> around 14
> MPG if I'm doing a lot of highway driving.
sounds like pretty crappy mileage, but with those 3.92s it doesn't
surprise me too much.... don't forget that your truck, being a quad
cab, is quite a bit heavier than many others here, too.
>
> I use my Dakota for pulling a sailboat trailer (around 4,000#) on a
> fairly
> regular basis. Anyone have any advice or general commentary on using
> the
> Dakota as a tow-vehicle?
I know mine (98 CC 318 4x4 3.55) has performed admirably. for heavy
loads (I wouldn't put your sailboat in that category), I'd really
prefer to have the 3.92s, and the 'soft' rear springs could use some
help when tongue weight is high (roadmaster? air bags? weight
distributing setup? overload springs?). I rarely tow anything wide,
but auxiliary mirrors are certainly a must with something more than
about 7'.
if you're looking to mod your truck, keep in mind that a loud exhaust
will start to drone more than it normally would when overdrive is off
and revs are high. also, if you do duals out the back, it'll reflect
off the trailer and be far louder. watch going for too much flow, too,
otherwise you'll knock out the all-important low end torque. I've also
been impressed with the towing performance mode that my SuperChips PCM
programmer gives me, but they don't have anything out for the new
engines (3.7/4.7/Hemi)
there are certainly people here with a lot more Dak-based towing
experience than I, so I'll let them fill in the massive blanks I've
left.
-- Michael Maskalans '98 Dakota SLT CC 4x4 318 details here: <http://mike.tepidcola.com/dak.html> mobile.612.618.4652 campus.585.274.2246 fax.954.697.0487
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