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Pickups Dodge Dakota Dodge Dakota Performance and Towing Mods
46 messages, Last post on Jul 03, 2009 at 9:36 AM
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Replying to: steak2k1 (May 07, 2007 6:08 am) Dusty |
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Replying to: bpeebles (May 07, 2007 4:51 pm) *over 17 MPG on 133 tanks of gas out of 293 *over 18 MPG on 78 tanks out of 293. *over 19 MPG on 17 tanks out of 293 *over 20 MPG on 7 tanks out of 293 *over 21 MPG on 4 tanks out of 293 *over 22 MPG on 1 tank out of 293 *over 23 MPG on 1 tank out of 293 *over 24 MPG on 1 tank out of 293 There is (was) thought of a Dakota diesel for the 2008, and the 4.7 gets full hemispherical heads and a sixty HP increase next year. Regards, Dusty
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Replying to: dustyk (May 07, 2007 6:13 pm) That's an interesting distribution on your gas mileage. Very one sided. Come to think about it, mine's probably similar, just about 4-5 MPG less. But, my QC is a 4x4 with 3.92 gears. The one thing I've noticed with the newer Dakotas is the mileage ratings are much higher than mine. My 02, 4.7, auto, 4x4 was rated at 13/18. An 07, 4.7, auto, 4x4 I recently saw was rated at 15/20. I know the newer Daks have a 5 sp automatic, versus my 4 sp. But when that was introduced, the highway mileage only went up by 1 MPG. I wonder what else they changed to get the better mileage?
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Replying to: steak2k1 (May 07, 2007 6:08 am) |
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Most people here seem to agree with DC: tow with overdrive off in hilly conditions. Some people have warned about overheating the torque converter if you tow in overdrive. But what about the lockup system? If I run at ~70mph, I'm spinning about 2500rpm (2002 Quad Cab, 4.7L, 3.92 rear end). Give it a little gas, it spins up to about 3100rpm, I assume this is the torque converter unlocking?? Give it more gas, it shifts into 3rd (3500rpm to maintain about 70mph). So is the danger of towing in overdrive that it unlocks and locks too much? If it stays locked is it bad to tow in overdrive? Thanks for any input. -Eric
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Replying to: bowdin (May 17, 2007 6:29 am) Now that I've moved up to a 4500 lb travel trailer, towing in OD is out of the question. The reason is the load is great enough, the transmission won't shift into OD, except when going down hill. When the OD is on, the torque converter will not lock up in 3rd gear, hence a lot of heat is generated due to the torque converter slippage. When the OD is off, the torque converter will lock up in both 2nd and 3rd gears. It just depends on how much you are towing. |
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Replying to: sunburn (May 17, 2007 5:08 pm) The manual says "overdrive off in hilly conditions." But the definition of hilly depends on whether you live in Kansas or Colorado. So (in marginal situations) is there a transmission behavior to look for to indicate when to turn overdrive off? -Eric
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Replying to: bowdin (May 18, 2007 3:35 am)
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Replying to: sunburn (May 18, 2007 3:14 pm) Besides, ordering direct from the factory is CHEAPER than purchasing off the dealers lot and I got the options I wanted. This is because the dealer has a GUARANTEED sell when you order from the factory. The dealer's purchaser purposefully orders cars for the lot which have options with the highest markup. This be because they still have to SELL the vehicle. (And brush the snow off of it all winter!) |
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Replying to: sunburn (May 08, 2007 4:36 pm) The first one or two years of the 4.7 in a Dakota they used a 47 or 48mm throttlebody. In 2002 or 2003 that was increased to a 50mm. The camshafts are different for each year up to 2003. The 2003/2004 camshaft duration was changed to 243.5 degrees intake, 253.7 exhaust. I think that fuel delivery and timing algorithm changes permitted a decrease to valve overlap (17 degrees) for an increase in low end torque and improved idle. Likewise since '04 they've changed camshaft profile and fuel delivery some more. The mere fact that the 545RFE transmission has five normal forward gear ratios and considerably less parasitic losses than the previous "RE" series transmissions could explain part of that 1 MPG difference. Top gear ratio for the 46RE is .69, and .67 for the 545RFE. Pretty close but a slight advantage for Dodge's newer automatic. The intermediate second gear on the 545RFE might actually contribute more to better gas mileage. Starting in 2007, Chrysler is phasing in Variable Line Pressure (VLP) to its automatic transmissions. This will significantly reduce parasitic losses. In think the RFE will get VLP in 2008. On my son's last leave I rented him an '05 Dakota Quad Cab, 4x4. It had the same axle ratio as yours. He was able to average 16.6 for the two weeks he had it in very mixed driving. Best regards, Dusty |
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