How's it going guys? I have a 00 dakota and i love the body style of it, but the motor leaves a little to be desired. I know the 4.8/5.3 of the chevy's have a ton of potential but i don't want to give up the dakota body. Anyways, what kind of modifications does the 4.7 respond to well? I know that everything responds well to a supercharger, but what else can i do to the 4.7 to get her moving. On a side note, is it just me or does it seem like every 98+ dakota ever made has a has a tranny go out between 100 and 125,000 miles.

Thanks for any replies,

trav

juice it!!!!!!!!

i understand that nitrous is the best bang for the buck but i want a real modification, something that gives me power all the time. Obviously i am not looking for something as fast as my camaro, but i want a spunky daily driver. Is a cams swap an option for the 4.7, or heads or intake. Or should i just skip all the bs and supercharge it.

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated..


trav

I see Kennebell in your future.

There are a few choices for cams now for the 4.7's and you can do the HO intake. A few people have gone with blowers, I hear tuning is a lil tough. A guy in Arizona did his own turbo setup and has run low 12's at 3500+ft in the heat. The aftermarket just never really picked up for the 4.7's. But some cams, intake, tb and exhaust and you should see some nice gains. KRC has 4.7 cams:

http://www.krcperformance.com/newcontent/cams.html

spray, HO cams, and gears

Put a 12Valve Cummins in it!!!!!! well depending on the money you are willing to spend, turbo that thing!! i think it would be different, i havent really seen a turboed Dak, (havent really looked lol) but i think it would be awesome, but money wise a kennebell or spray

If i were to do anything, i would prolly go with the HO cams, ported intake and throttle body matched with some headers and a custom tune. Now for another very important piece of the puzzle, how well with the tranny and transfer case hold up to the added power? My truck is a one wheel wonder right now and i can guarantee you she wouldn't stand a chance of hooking up even if i put a posi unit in it, so i am probably gonna have to launch in 4 wheel hi. I have a friend with a 00' 4.8 4x4 silverado with a cam and a 2600 stall and 4.10's, and he can launch that thing pretty friggin hard in 4 wheel drive. It's pretty safe to say that nothing will stand a chance 0-30mph against that thing. He smokes my camaro right off the line until i hook up and get moving again. Anways, he has a 4l60e tranny and surprise surprise, it's slipping really badly on him. How well is mine gonna hold up?

I just want a fun daily driver, i only get 17mpg right now anyways, and if after doing all this work i am down to 12-13mpg i am willing to make that sacrifice cuz i will be having alot more fun!

One more question, how good is the rotating assembly of the 4.7? I have 90,000 miles, is that gonna be an issue?

thanks guys!
trav

I'd go with the HO cams if you're gonna try and pull all that weight around. To realize the potential of the 4.7 engine will take some re-programming of the PCM... 4.7's NEED ignition timing. Go with a 70mm F&B throttle body, CAI and some free flowing exhaust and you'll be making some decent power. If you don't mind sacrificing some low-end torque you can go with larger cams. No matter what you do - you will need to make it pull both rear tires. If you go with more aggressive cams you should probably go with a set of gears also.

The 4.7s do in fact have some potential....

http://members.cox.net/duner/Turbo/DunervsLethal.wmv

You might save a little cash on the headers, not a lot of people have been incredibly happy with them... it's not so much that they're bad, it's just the price vs. value doesn't add up, they're a bit overpriced for the little that they do on an N/A 4.7 it seems.

The KRC 206 cams are what I've got in this truck, they've still got a really low powerband, nothing like a big all motor cam where you've got no bottom end.. they're probly a good choice, but again there's the price vs. value, you can do the HO cams for a couple hundred bucks, these 206 cams were 499 dollars when I bought them, they're 750 now, that's a lot for a set of cams..

PCM flash is a MUST like duner said... just simply a MUST... if you try to argue, you are wrong. Say it with me... a MUST :)

You can do 13s NA, though you're 4x4 will present more of a challenge.

why do you think the 4x4 would present more of a challenge? Are there reliability issues from the 4x4 system when you start making some real hp? I'm thinking HO cams/intake swap. Obviously the 4x4 is dead weight further down the track, but off the line i should be able to hook like a banshee. Look at parish's truck, that thing just scratches and bites!! Do you guys think that the transfer case and cv shafts would hold up to full throttle launches when i am making 300-325hp? I'm just looking for any known weaknesses so that i know what i am getting myself into before they happen.

thanks
trav

4x4 launches are nice, but not any better than a 4x2 with slicks or DRs. :) On the street nice, but on the track the added weight plus the raised height hurting aero, it'll present more of a challenged than a 2wd.

I'd go with the HO cams if you're gonna try and pull all that weight around. To realize the potential of the 4.7 engine will take some re-programming of the PCM... 4.7's NEED ignition timing. Go with a 70mm F&B throttle body, CAI and some free flowing exhaust and you'll be making some decent power. If you don't mind sacrificing some low-end torque you can go with larger cams. No matter what you do - you will need to make it pull both rear tires. If you go with more aggressive cams you should probably go with a set of gears also.

The 4.7s do in fact have some potential....

http://members.cox.net/duner/Turbo/DunervsLethal.wmv


Well lookie there if it ain't some guy from arizona that did his own turbo setup in person.. How ya been duner..

Barry

Well lookie there if it ain't some guy from arizona that did his own turbo setup in person.. How ya been duner..

Barry

I'm doing GREAT Barry! How 'bout you?

right now i have an 05 4.7, with a 7 pipe exhaust system (flowmaster), and an air intake (k&n fipk gen 2). my truck is not slow at all, although it could be faster..it even competes with a chevy 5.3 extended cab, even wiwth the wewight difference..there is a lot of potential with the 4.7, it just costs money lol

Go to www.airram.com and talk to Nick he has a 02 Ram quad cab with a 4.7 that is running 9.1 in the 1/8 mi, and it is fixing to get faster. He currently has an Air Ram intake and scoop, HO intake manifold, HO cams, Fast Man throttle body, ASP pully, E - fans, 4.56 gears, headers, and exhaust. He has a set of Fast Man heads, KRC cams..cant remember which ones off of hand, and a converter about to go in. He is pushing alot more weight than you and putting down respectable #'s. Hope that helps

I think i will be going with the HO cams and throttle body and all the supporting goodies to go along with it.

One quick question, do you guys think there is more potential with a 99 silverado with a 4.8, 5spd, 4x4. I know that this combo is kind of rare but i have seen a few of them for sale lately in the local paper. They are going pretty much what i paid for my dakota. I betcha i could trade my dakota almost straight up for the silverado. What do you guys think? Or do you think with comparable work i could get the same numbers out of a 4.7 and 4.8?

i am torn, i like my dodge but if the chevy has more potential than it is kind of obvious who to pick. Again, what do u think?

trav

Trade it in for an R/T, youll be much happier. But I wouldnt advise a wet nitrous kit on teh 4.7, the manifold is not designed to carry fuel, and sooner or later, a back fire will blow it to smitherines.

Unless you do direct port, no nitrous.

If you are looking for performance equal to or better than your Z28 then you will need to get away from the 4X4 platforms. All of the different makes of trucks have about the same potential... but some cost more to achieve the goal. If you're a Chevy guy then just get the Silverado.

obviously it would take alot to get any truck as fast as my camaro, I am just looking for something that would make my truck a little quicker. I brought up the 4.8 chevy idea because it seems alot of the chevy guys are getting alot of power out of the LS series motors with minor work. Although, the more research that i do with KRC is showing some good numbers with the 4.7. I have pretty much decided on HO cams, intake, and pcm tuning. Money is kind of an issue, so i think i will keep the stock exhaust manifolds for now. I have no plans on nitrous, i want good all around grunt all the time.


Does anybody have a sound clip of a HO cammed 4.7 through either dual exhaust or gibson side exit?

thanks for the replies
trav

Look for the Copper Dodge dakota in the video, you can hear him in his burnout.

http://www.csramotorsports.com/videos/southernnats.wmv

That's a 13sec N/A 4.7
KRC212 cams, 72MM F&BTB, Flash, Duals with Dynomax, HO intake, Volant air tube, and not much else.

http://www.csramotorsports.com/videos/truck.AVI

4.7 W/True Duals, Flowmaster 40series, H-Pipe

those are some pretty good videos. I wish the video of the supercharged cammed 4.7 dakota was a little brighter so I could actually see it. I pretty much want to run what that 4.7 did in the first video. I would like to see some high 13's or so for my daily driver. Within the next couple of weeks or so i think i will be ordering up the HO cams, tb, intake and posi unit for the rear end. Oh yah, and of course a custom tune. Thank you very much for the vids. If you have any more feel free to pass them on cuz i think I really like the 4.7 motor.

I just recently found out that the 4.7 is extremely popular with the hardcore off-road guys cuz it makes something like 90% of it's peak torque from like 1800 RPM all the way up to like 3500-4000 RPM.

Trav

I would recommend a more aggressive cam to go along with the other mods you're describing to hit your 13sec goal.

Did you mention your truck was a 4x4 too?
Probably need some juice or a blower to get the 4x4 in the 13's too.

Will have more vids very shortly. :)

Hey, gm truck guy here. I hear ya asking about the 4.8 versus the 4.7 you have. I would have to say that the 4.8 probably has more of an advantage, but not necessarily because of the motor itself, itst the aftermarket. There just hasn't been a huge rush to run out and mod up the 4.7 dodge's. However all the parts 4.8 are interchangeable with the 5.3/5.7/and in most cases the 6.0's. Thats the beauty behind the GM LS based motors. I personally have never seen a modded up 4.7, but would be cool to do. I also do not know how much parts cost on the 4.7 compared to the LS motors, the parts for GM are not cheap. It will be difficult to get into 13's with either one, the 4.7 or 4.8 especially in 4x4. I know several of my friends that are running 4.8's and they are extremely modded and running typically in the mid to high 13's. The 4.8's lack low end, but you can spin the hell out of em.

The only other thing that I could say would be to look at what the trucks purpose is. If its a daily driver then that will regulate what you should do to it. I know the dodges don't get as good of gas mileage as the gm's. With the mods in my list, I average about 18-19 mpg. Not bad considering whats been done. If mileage isn't a concern then have fun.

That definitely is a pitfall with the newer version 4.7's (not having parts interchangeable)
The aftermarket came on EXTREMELY slow for this motor but has evolved little by little every year since it's inception.

Gas mileage with the 4.7 puts the squash on the old Magnums. I've gotten as good as 23mpg with my truck. They're making a little headway in that department. On the same note, I've heard of guys with 4x4 4.7's though that only get 14MPG or so. YOUCH! Time for a HEMI.

The 4.8's lack low end, but you can spin the hell out of em.

That's what we love about the 4.7's :)

Oh no doubt, my 01 Ram 1500 with the 5.9Magnum had ass loads of torque but was a turd and let's not even talk about gas mileage. lol. I couldn't pass a gas station.

I will say that one of the best mods that I did to that truck was the F&B larger billet throttle body. Really woke the truck up as far as performance on it. I am sure that the same would still hold true on the newer motors.

Well from what I have on mine I'm just happy. I would go with an intake/exhaust combo first. I've got an Airaid intake and a Magnaflow SI/DO muffler. I'm definitely getting some gears so I would look into a set of 4.10's with posi if I were you. I also have the MOPAR HO intake manifold/cams kit. That was a definite boost. I've pulled the TCM wire and put some spring clamps on the rear end. Other than that my next performance mods are going to be gears w/posi, a true 68mm throttle body, and eventually a blower if I can find one cheap enough somewhere.

Nice to see you made it over here from DTW Demon. :cheers:
Your truck is very nice man. Bring some more guys over here so the Dodge section isnt so dead and ya'll can get away from guys like the guy that started that thread. We are all pretty much laid back and there are very rarely any flame wars going on. Hope we can hook up when I come back to texas.

Hey Demon whats up bro. Im here as well, just registered yesterday. Hey Demon, im finally comin down to getting some gears bro. May have them in by the time you get down here.