Dakota fuel economy

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Roger Rabbid - 31 Dec 2005 21:27 GMT

I picked up a 2000 Dakota 4X4 with the extended cab. I LOVE IT! It's
equipped with an automatic and 4.7 V8. Is there ANYTHING I can do to
increase the fuel economy? this truck is pherocious on gas. I have
cut my hiway speed back to 64 mph and it alone seems to be saving me a
lot on the hiway.. but since the company I work for recently moved me
into a new shop further in the center of town I am faced with more
stop and go traffic.. this is when my trucks appetite for gasoline
really rares it's shining face. Oh yes.. I bought the truck with 31"
Bridgestone tires which are much taller than the factory 235s. Will
replacing the tires help any? What kind of performance mods are
available? it seems the original owner installed one of those intake
typhoon thingys.. do they really work? or should I just take it out?

I have owned Dodge products since 1997 and really enjoy the
satisfaction of knowing my car/truck is going to be dependable and
expect to get 200K out of this truck.

Ken

2000 Dakota Sport 4X4/4.7 V8

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Jay - 31 Dec 2005 22:18 GMT

Some Dakota's came stock from the factory with 31's on them. My 02 had
265/70R16 (31's) stock.

>I picked up a 2000 Dakota 4X4 with the extended cab. I LOVE IT! It's
> equipped with an automatic and 4.7 V8. Is there ANYTHING I can do to
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John Quell - 01 Jan 2006 14:54 GMT

Jay, Mine came with 31's on it too.

Roger, Mine is a 2004 Dakota 4.7V8 5sp manual trans, all stock and it's gas
mileage is horrible at 65-70mph.
It just turned 16K, I was told by my dealer that it will get better once it
reaches 20-25K.
If I keep the rpms under 2k on the highway,(5th gear about 60mph) it's a
little better.
I've noticed that driving around on 40-45mph roads I get better gas mileage
in 4th gear,(1600-1800rpms)
I was told by a friend that 4th gears ratio is 1 to 1 on my truck and it
would explain the increased mileage
at that speed.

If anyone has any info on increasing the gas mileage, I'm all ears!
Got to confess, this is my first Dodge, I was a previous Chevy man.
But boy, do I really love this truck....I'll buy Dodge again!

John

> Some Dakota's came stock from the factory with 31's on them. My 02 had
> 265/70R16 (31's) stock.
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>> ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption
>> =----

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The Reverend Natural Light - 01 Jan 2006 21:37 GMT

Factory sized tires, on road style tread, and slightly higher than
recommended air pressure will help.

I put a flowmaster muffler on mine and it made a noticable improvement
- ~14mpg, up from 12mpg. It still sucks. The biggest improvement was
to park the thing at home on weekdays and commute in a '91 Corvette -
28mpg at 75mph.

-rev

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