just wanted to let yall know that last week i took my 94 lightning to a 1/8 mile dragstrip and raced a new hemi truck. he beat me off the line but i came back and beat him which really surprised me. but what can i say i do drive a lightning. my best time was a 9.84

 

Good Job, I hear those Simi-hemi’s at any stoplight when I’m stopped and they're next to me. I Don't know if they think they are fast or want to see/hear the L because none of them have caught up to ask me. Oh well

minthill, seems like a 15.252 in the 1/4 for ya.

 

its goes to show u that even a gen 1 lightning cant outdo any thing that them mopar boys think new technology can help them out on. i havent really had to worry bout no one wantin to race me at any lights, theyre too busy starin at the truck to even think about racin me.

 

Way to go.

I'd say the hemi's are a little over rated for hp/tq, or the driveline just sucks up way to much power...either way, congrats.

 

yeah i think one of the best things for the gen 1 L is the transmission set up with the shiftkit in there. one and two are so crisp that its ridiculous to how much i caught up to that hemi.

 

I am totally unimpressed by the hemi trucks. I agree, they're either really over rated or who knows what...but they're slow. I do kinda like the mellow sound of them, but I enjoy my ford motors too much

 

My old man bought an '04 dodge 1500 w/ the hemi (although I cringe at actually calling it that).

For the first 3000 miles, we actually thought something was wrong...it really didnt have any power to speak of, even with the lowest gearing. After it got broken in, though, it seems to have decent power, but its all too high in the powerband, I think.

I don't drive it much, but when I do, it seems that the power doesn't really began to build until around 2500 rpms, at which point its like feeling a turbo kick in. I don't know if thats how they are designed, or ours is fluky, but it just doesn't feel like a truck.

 

i think dodge just wanted to sale more trucks to keep up with the sales of fords so they decided to throw a hemi in there with a large amt of horsepower. guess they still couldnt figure out how to use it to their advantage.

 

Actually the Dodge PCM's have a torque limiting function. I believe the trans limits the amount of torque so it doesn't brake anything. Which brings the question, why have all of that horsepower and not use it???

 

yeah that doesnt make sense but u know if ur lookin to buy a truck and u see 345 ur goin to be interested.

 

Hmm...thats interesting. Ours is the 5-45RFE transmission...the 5-speed auto. I have a couple wierd qualms with this transmission in our vehicle.

1) You can't disable OD for putzing around town, and the 1 and 2 on the tree make you start in that gear and go up, so forcing it to manually downshift is like pulling teeth. According to the techs when we bought it, the auto is a five speed because it has "two second gears", one specifically for downshifting.

2) The only time I like the shift points are when I'm racing someone off the line...any other time, and they are fairly awkward. They are also annoying because they don't feel evenly spaced...the upper gears seem shorter than the lower gears.

I don't have anything really against this truck. It's a nice truck (although I hate the color he got, and it has that annoying fake stick on hood scoop), but it just seems like it was over-rated, and rather over-priced. Arguably most new vehicles are over-priced, I suppose.

 

From what I understand, there is a wire you can cut to disable the torque limiting function, I believe they call it the "T-mod", allowing the trans to put more torque to the wheels.

Makes me wonder though, if the wire is cut and more torque is put to the wheels, where is the weak link???

 

it may be because they still want the fuel economy to go with it too but i think its still not that great either.

 

IMO, "fuel economy" and "truck" should not be used in the same sentance.

 

yeah ur right on that one. i stand corrected and shall never use the same in a sentence again