Help Me Beat a Dakota
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Junior User
Joined: May 2006
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Help Me Beat a Dakota
I have a 96 F-150 with a 4.9. My buddy at work has an 05 Dakota with a 3.7. I have a Thrush muffler, and I gutted my second cat. I also advanced my timing, but that's about it for my truck. When we race, I can hold him off til 60, then he passes me. What can I do cheaply to beat him?
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,890
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From: La Verne, California
The '96 is the EFI, correct? 
You should have the D.S.II distributer, so 1 thing that should help is an MSD 6a box & performance coil.
What rear gears are you running?
Find out what he's running & match his.
If you were running an Asperated '65-'72 300 I-6, I could give you more things that might help, but EFI's......
You should have the D.S.II distributer, so 1 thing that should help is an MSD 6a box & performance coil.
What rear gears are you running?
Find out what he's running & match his.
If you were running an Asperated '65-'72 300 I-6, I could give you more things that might help, but EFI's......
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 3,545
Likes: 4
From: Coal Region
wanna beat em on the top end? only thing that'll help cheaply is some NO2.
these motors wheeze out past 60 mph generally, being in direct or overdrive...there isnt much left. also remember ur power band is idle to 4,000 (thats pushing it) and his is till 6,000 rpm...thats why he is beating ya.
these motors wheeze out past 60 mph generally, being in direct or overdrive...there isnt much left. also remember ur power band is idle to 4,000 (thats pushing it) and his is till 6,000 rpm...thats why he is beating ya.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 911
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From: Northern Virginia, USA
Actually, if you had shorter gearing than him, it might help. You've got massive torque down low that a 3.7L just isn't going to have. You could surprise the hell out of him, at least for the first half the race. My 88 had SD, 3.55 rear and an M5OD. 1st gear was unusable low for driving (but not low enough for hauling). Just whiplash and wheel hop. But I could, and did, blast across large intersections in 2nd gear. My '76 does well in 2nd with 3.00 gears in the back, and will run right up to 75MPH or so before it wheezes real bad.
But in the end, it's going to come down to HP to weight. I bet he's got you beat in both categories. Cheap bolt-on fun would be NOS. Anything else would be major work, like a cam and porting the head. You've got a wicked strong bottom end in that motor; you could take some NOS every once in a while without a problem I think.
But in the end, it's going to come down to HP to weight. I bet he's got you beat in both categories. Cheap bolt-on fun would be NOS. Anything else would be major work, like a cam and porting the head. You've got a wicked strong bottom end in that motor; you could take some NOS every once in a while without a problem I think.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Transfer
you wont beat him in a race, not cheaply anyway, drag the chain out and hook up and pull, i pulled a 460 77 F.150 Ranger in 2wd with my good ol 300 with 3.08s, u could drag him easy, or if you want, have a burnout contest, that 300 will roast em all day, (i know from experience)
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Kalispell, MT
Originally Posted by Mtthwvn73
Yeah, I don't think you can outrun him either...Is yours MAF or SD?
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: northeast, KY
MAF-Mass Air Flow
SD- Speed Density.
Speed sensity is the old technology, you can't hardly do anything with it. Headers and a very mild cam is about all you can do with it.
MAF is alol more forgiving and able to take alot more performance parts before you have to mess with the computer much.
I've always understood that Speed Density is already set from the factory to what it's supposed to run at. MAF is realtime, meaning it puts fuel and air into the motor by what's going on right then. If your motor is wearing out and it's not able to burn all the fuel the engine is putting into it, MAF will change the amount of fuel going into the engine so it will run properly.
Check out http://fordfuelinjection.com It should give you some info on how both of them work and compares the two (not really much of a comparison, kind of show how bad SD actually is).
SD- Speed Density.
Speed sensity is the old technology, you can't hardly do anything with it. Headers and a very mild cam is about all you can do with it.
MAF is alol more forgiving and able to take alot more performance parts before you have to mess with the computer much.
I've always understood that Speed Density is already set from the factory to what it's supposed to run at. MAF is realtime, meaning it puts fuel and air into the motor by what's going on right then. If your motor is wearing out and it's not able to burn all the fuel the engine is putting into it, MAF will change the amount of fuel going into the engine so it will run properly.
Check out http://fordfuelinjection.com It should give you some info on how both of them work and compares the two (not really much of a comparison, kind of show how bad SD actually is).
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 784
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Originally Posted by Col Flashman
You should have the D.S.II distributer, so 1 thing that should help is an MSD 6a box & performance coil.
And yes, the 96 is a MAF. I look at it every time I tinker under the hood
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Junior User
Joined: May 2006
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K I figured it out. After work last night we raced on the on ramp, after I put premium in it. You guys might not believe me but I beat him by like 2 trucklengths. I figured it was a fluke, so we went again last night. It was barely damp out, so when we took off I spun and quit, but when we got up to 60 we went, and I hung with him with it in 4th, then when his shifted, I pulled ahead and he never caught up. Then we went like 70-90 and I slowly walked away again. My timing is at 12*, so I'm gonna try 14 since I run 92 octane. We're going from a stop tomorrow night to see if it's coincidence or what, maybe he'll walk all over me. BTW he is auto extended cab, and I have M5OD plus 3.55's and 2wd. He's 4wd. Thanks for all the advice though, I'll keep you guys posted