Just so happens that I ran my 98 Dakota R/T Club Cab at Atlanta Motor
Speedway in February .
I did rather well , considering the weight of the truck , the fact that it
was my first time at AutoX , and that I was on nearly bald stock Goodyear
RS-As . The only real problem I had was the truck's tendancy to want to
plow thru the tight 90 degree corners after the nice long straights , so I
had to get used to kicking the tail out to get her pointed in the right
direction . I believe that a Regular Cab would not be so bad at this . also
, the Club Cab that I have weighs in at about 4500 total with me .
The Dakota R/T has , of course , the 5.9L (360) Magnum V8 , unique 2-into-1
catalytic converter , one-piece aluminum drive shaft , 9.25" rear end with
3.92 gears and Sure Grip (Chrysler's term for LImited Slip) . It is also
lowered 1" all the way around versus a stock Dakota .
The only transmission available is the 46RE Automatic Overdrive .
There is a LOT you can do to the truck to make it faster , and Hotchkis
Performance is making a kit for it that will lower it even further , but
not just for looks . One of the guys that works there has a V6 Dakota that
he regulary AutoX and this kit will help you there , but the full kit will
run you about $1k . Kenne Bell makes a nice Supercharger , if that is your
thing , and Nitrous Express has a great kit as well , but that wouldn't be
needed for AutoX , maybe Bracket Racing .
All in all , I think that the Dakota R/T has MUCH potential as an AutoX
vehicle , despite it's girth . I will be back at AMS on March 27-28 to do
even more with her (yes , it is a she) .
If you want to find out alot about Dakotas and how to make them
faster/better , check out the Dakota Mailing List at :
http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/WWW/DAKOTA/dakota.html
I have been part of this group for about a year and these guys know the ins
and outs . Of course , like I said , most of what they concentrate on is
for bracket racing , but alot of it will apply .
If you check it out , look up Gary Pinkley in the members area , he is the
one that works at Hotchkis and AutoX his V6 Dakota .
BTW - DO NOT get the Dakota R/T and then complain about gas mileage !
With the 3.92 gears , if you go over 2000 RPM on the freeway in OD (right
at 60MPH) , you can get 20 MPG , but anything over that , anything at all ,
and you are looking at 15 on the freeway . Don't even ask about mileage in
town . Thank God Gas is only 69 cents here !
Hope to hear about another Dakota R/T at the track !!
Here is a URL for my truck :
http://webpages.charter.net/hemi/jbd1.html
PEACE
At 01:37 PM 3/12/1999 -0500, Mark J. Andy wrote:
>Howdy,
>
>I'm bored at work, so I thought I'd look into something that a buddy
>said...
>
>He saw an S10 run in HS locally and was wondering how the Dodge Dakota R/T
>would fare. It weighs around 3500 lbs, has 250hp, has (I think) 17x9
>wheels, and according to the brochure is "lowered"...
>
>Anyone know if you can get negative camber on the Dakota w/RT package
>without vilating stock rules? Are the springs stiff enough? Etc. etc.
>etc.
>
>And, for more of a twist, what's the towing capactiy?
>
>Mark
>(who's considering one of these plus either an f500 or a shifter kart for
>next year...)
>
>
>
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W . Jack Hilton III
JackHilton@charter.net
770-253-8328 ext.426
The future of the Internet isa here.......
http://www.charter.net
Charter Pipeline........The Next Wave......
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