As a lurker the past several weeks I thought I'd introduce myself. I
bought a '99 Solar Yellow Reg. Cab Sport about a month ago; 3.9, 5-spd.
After more than 30 cars, trucks and SUV's it's the first Mopar product
I've ever owned... and I'll have to say I was won over by the styling but
the vehicle itself is great. I'm more impressed with it's balance,
construction, performance and comfort each time I drive it. I've owned
Fords, Chevys' Oldsmobiles, Toyotas, Mazdas, Isuzu and Mercedes- and this
new Dakota is as solidly built and nice as any vehicle I've owned. Count
me a happy Mopar customer!
I didn't buy the SureGrip- but took the Solar Yellow, reg. cab, 3.9,
5-spd, drivetrain that I wanted with whatever options came with it- A/C,
Tire group, 3.55, convenience group, etc.; would have ordered SG if I had
a choice. Heavy snow quickly showed it to be somewhat lame so I decided
to try a set of 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks I've read so much about. They're
absolutely amazing. Those 4 tires plus 400 lbs. of sand have made the
truck more capable than any other 2WD vehicle I've ever owned- including
several front wheel drivers. It won't keep keep up with my Suburban 4X4,
but it's MORE than enough now on snow and ice; very confident traction
and road-handling.
BTW- I didn't really want to remount and rebalance 4 tires twice each
year so I began the search for wheels. Dodge wanted a bazillion dollars
for alloys and even steels were $100+ each. Aftermarket wheels were also
expensive. A call to the salvage yard found a "going price" of $50 each
for used, rusty, but more-or-less round steel Dakota wheels. I bought the
Blizzaks from The Tire Rack online (www.tirerack.com) and they listed
O.E. 15"X7" alloy take-offs for $65 each. A quick phonecall confirmed the
wheel availability and 4 days later 4 mounted, balanced Blizzak's
(235X75X15) showed up mounted on absolutely brand new, polished OEM
alloys.
Yes... I know, SureGrip would have been cheaper but I wanted the truck
*NOW* and Solar Yellows are few and far between around here so far. The
wheels mounted perfectly, look great and the Blizzaks are awesome.
Thanks for the info and insights. I'm reading the digest and taking
notes. So far, besides the winter wonder-tires I've added a bedliner and
a TekStyle black tonneau along with Pilot iridium fog lights mounted in
the factory location.
Steve Lambert
'99 Solar Yellow Sport
'97 Suburban 4X4
'95 Miata Triple-Black
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