To the guy who suggested replacing the Y-pipe coming from the exhaust
manifolds into the cat, Thank You for the post. I just got my truck back
for the muffler shop who installed a 2" mandrel-bent Y-pipe and replaced the
short pipe between the cat and the muffler with a 3" pipe. I notice a
significant increase in horsepower throughout the entire RPM range,
especially in the low and top ends. I agree the stock exhaust manifold have
runners that flow pretty well the way they are and I've heard horror stories
(on Chevys) of having to tighten header bolts down every couple of months so
I didn't want to break the seal between the head and the exhaust manifold.
Plus $500 for the Mopar/Doug Thorley Tri-Y headers is a little steep in my
book. This latest mod in conjunction with the Gibson 3" cat-back exhaust,
the K&N FIPK, Mopar computer, Accel Spiral Core spark plug wires, and an
Accel SuperCoil is netting me close to 270 hp. My next mod will be some
pulleys after I replace the stock Goodyears with some lower profile
235/60R15 tires to lower my high 3.21 rear gear ratio to get the motor
revving a bit higher to overcome possible problems with the electrical and
cooling systems. The October edition of Sport Truck Magazine has an ad for
some new roller rocker arms (roller rockers reduce friction) made by Crower
which fit under the stock valve covers, utilize the stock pushrods, and is
claimed to be a straight bolt on. This should be good for another 10-15 hp.
Since I've installed everything by myself except for the Y-pipe, this will
be the last mod I make on the truck. Future handling mods include Eibach 1"
drop coils (don't want to go too low), move the bolt on the rear shackle and
hanger one notch higher (already on to get rid of that raked look), and
install 180 psi gas shocks with a 1 3/8" piston bore. I'm able to get all
this fun stuff because the truck is a lease and the payments are a lot lower
than if I bought it. As soon as the lease is over, I'm taking everything
off (except the exhaust) and putting what I can onto a '99 Dakota Sport.
It's about time Mopar and the aftermarket world figured out that the Magnum
V-8s are engines with unlimited potential.
Happy Motoring,
Nelson Sendino
95 Dakota Sport
reg. cab, 2WD
auto, 13.5K miles
stealth/sleeper look
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:25 EDT