Jason:
You'll learn that this list is like talking to a bunch of economists. You
have 50 of them in a room, ask them a question and get 50 different answers
back. If you've got money to burn, then by all means start doing all those
things that are getting suggested. If you're on a budget, there are some big
bang for buck mods.
To me, these trucks suffer from suffocation. This means they don't
"breathe" very easy. Some folks put on the 14" air cleaner and a K&N filter
(an inexpensive mod). Others jump right to headers & Cat-back. From my
observations, the biggest choke point is the Y-pipe: specifically on the
passenger side of the exhaust stream. You have a point where 4 cylinders are
trying to dump their exhaust out a crimped (press bent) corner. With mandrel
bent (smooth) Y-pipes running under $200 they can net you some nice gains from
what I've seen on the dyno readouts. Combined with either an open air/quick
air system, and a clean cat-back exhaust, you could net some gains in the
15-40hp range depending on how badly your Dak was sucking on the air bottle.
A good set of headers won't help you if you're still dumping into the
factory exhaust. Cat back makes your truck sound better and helps the exhaust
flow slightly, but you're still dying at the y-pipe. Of course the cheapest
bang for buck is Nitrous Oxide but it can also blow your engine all over the
road for you. You need to decide where you want to start, what your budget is
and go from there...
Shaun H.
---original message---
I want to make my r/t faster. I don't know much besides the obvious. I
am 18 and would like to learn a lot about performance parts and
improving the horsepower of my Dak. What can I do?? What parts should
I look into buying? Jason
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:11:30 EDT