08:56:02 Aug. 19, 2003)
Tuned to Haul: 2003 Dodge Dakota R/T Mopar
It’s been Moparized! Dodge Dakota R/T starts out good, gets better
By MARK VAUGHN
THE DAKOTA R/T WAS PRETTY good to begin with. It has been a favorite among street truck performance enthusiasts since it debuted in the 1998 model year. They race it, customize it, race it some more and then sit around talking about how much they hate them dang F-150 Lightnings. The Dakota R/T is so popular there is even a national club, the Dakota R/T Club (dakotart.com).
The R/T moniker stands for “road” and “track” (no relation to the fledgling magazine of the same name). R/T gained fame way back in the days of Chargers and Coronets, when the factory added performance just because it could. In the case of the Dakota, R/T means you get the 5.9-liter Magnum V8 instead of the 3.9-liter V6, a limited-slip, a more drag-friendly 3.92 final drive, four-wheel discs, sport suspension and four 255/55R-17s.
2003 DODGE DAKOTA R/T MOPAR
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $24,770 plus $3,225 in Mopar parts
POWERTRAIN: 5.9-liter, 300-plus-hp, 345-plus-lb-ft Magnum V8; rwd, four-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 3940 pounds
0-60 MPH: 6.6 seconds (mfr.)
That’s not enough for some owners, though. For them there is the Mopar catalog. But it’s such a big catalog—what parts to pick? May we suggest the following: We recently drove a Dakota R/T with the Magnum MPI single-plane intake manifold, Magnum R/T cylinder-head assemblies, high-performance camshaft and lifter package, low- restriction cat-back exhaust and a cold air intake. There was also a cast-aluminum valve cover set, but that’s only necessary if you’re trying to improve your performance when parked with the hood up.
All told, Dodge says it makes “over 300 hp,” though it’s never been dyno’d.
How’d it drive? It was quick, man. It rumbled loudly on launch, spun the tires so easily that managing wheelspin will probably be the biggest trick to winning your bracket, and it roared loudly to redline all up through the gears. Dodge said the configuration we drove recorded a 6.6-second 0-to-60 time. We didn’t test a regular Dakota R/T, but a Dakota Club Cab Sport got a 0-to-60 time of 8.64 seconds when we tested it in 1997.
The R/T we drove could have been quicker if it came with the five-speed manual transmission available on the 3.9-liter V6 Dakotas, but the R/T comes with only the four-speed automatic. We felt a little torque being eaten away in the automatic.
The sport suspension meant a little more bounce, but you’re always going to get some bounce from a truck with leaf springs in the back. This bounce was certainly controlled enough to live with, and undoubtedly added to the performance of the truck.
The R/T regular cab starts at $24,770, but the options list goes on for a whopping nine pages in our Black Book new car invoice guide, an impressive number of choices even by American truck standards. The Mopar parts added to our Dakota totaled $3,225. That’s a big investment, but then, what price glory?
MOPAR Kit for the 03 Dakota R/T (300 HP plus)
Linear Mode
