Okay, so you've bought yourself a V6-powered Dodge Truck. Now you want to make it go faster, but assume that there aren't a ton of bolt-on goodies available for your powerplant of choice-certainly not as many as for the V8 Magnums.
However, the performance aftermarket has realized that V6 owners are as interested in go-fast parts as their V8 counterparts and responded well.
So, why not just buy a V8 in the first place? From personal experience, we can tell you that deciding factors include initial cost ("Hmm, let's see-this semester's tuition, or a V8..."), insurance premiums, and fuel economy. The truth is, after driving a '93 V6-powered Dakota for three years, we were so impressed with the stock performance of the 3.9L liter engine, we had a hard time justifying buying the extra two cylinders in the '97 when we traded up!
The 3.9L V6 engine responds to the same basic performance principles that all engines benefit from: Get more air in and out and it's going to make more power.
Remove friction from the valvetrain, it'll make more power. Light the mixture more thoroughly, and it makes more power!
The performance aftermarket companies list several parts specifically for the 3.9L Magnum engines. We've compiled a short list of companies who offer bolt-on parts that should help you get the most of your already-potent mill.
One item, however, is conspicuous in its absence and that's a performance computer for the V6 from Mopar Performance. They currently don't have one available for any year 3.9L V6 Magnum engine. With the millions of them out there in the hands of younger enthusiasts, we think they're missing a huge market-we'd have bought one for our '93 in a heartbeat. For those of you with '96-and-older pre-OBDII vehicles, however, there is the option of having a custom computer chip burned, so you still have a way to get improved performance through new engine management.
There are a lot of readily available options to any Dodge Truck that V6 owners can also take advantage of to increase performance, such as free-flowing exhaust systems and fresh air induction hoods. Any truck is going to benefit from the addition of Sure Grip and traction and handling improvements. Just because you have a V6 doesn't mean you can't run with the big dogs!
Light 'Em Up!
The widest range of performance upgrades is found in the ignition system. Both Crane and ACCEL offer high performance electrical system components to replace your stock ignition pieces, which provides the ability to burn fuel faster, longer, and more completely. Starting at the coil, both companies offer upgraded, high performance coils that provide enough spark to ignite anything just short of water. At the top of the distributor, ACCEL offers a performance cap and rotor set for Dodge V6 engines that will get the spark distributed better. Both companies offer high performance spark plug wire sets that offer less resistance than stock wires and can tolerate higher temperatures under the hood, both of which will translate into more energy getting to your spark plugs. More energy to the plugs equals more power out of the engine.
Programmable Ignition System
Crane's FireBall Hi-6DSR multi-Spark, Digital CD ignition system is available for the V6 engines, as well as the V8. Features of the system include a dual stage dial-adjustable rev limiter, timing capabilities to 20-degrees retarded, 12 sparks per firing sequence with one millisecond between sparks, and a host of other features that you'll find useful in racing, towing, and nitrous applications.
Spinnin' & Grinnin'
If you can change the speed your engine-driven accessories are spinning at, you can free up some horsepower. March Performance Pulleys and Mopar Performance stock a Dodge Magnum pulley kit with ratios to slow down your alternator and water pump. March also has power steering pulleys in their catalog.
Less horsepower spent spinning the accessories translates into more horsepower available to spin your tires! The March pulleys are CNC-machined from lightweight billet aluminum, then hard coated for extra wear. They're finished off with a "no polishing" clearcoat to keep them looking great. While probably designed with the V8s in mind, they'll work fine on the serpentine system on your 3.9L V6 engine.
In With The Good
Anytime you let air get into your engine easier, it's going to make more power. ACCEL and K&N both offer low-restriction air filter elements to replace the stock paper elements in the air box under the hood. K&N also has FIPK kits that replace the entire stock air filter assembly.
Throttle In A Bottle
When we went looking around for a nitrous system, we figured we'd have to cobble a generic system together for V6 Dodge Trucks. We were stunned to find that Top Gun Nitrous Systems stocks a specific part number for fuel injected Dodge trucks! And being as how the boys who run Top Gun are also the owners of the Spartacus team of nostalgia super stockers and a Pro Stock Ram truck, they're dedicated Dodge guys who don't have the one-size-fits-all mentality.
Top Gun's PN 21314 is a plate-type system kit designed to go between the stock throttle body and intake manifold, with an adjustable plate to deliver 50, 75, or 100 extra horsepower. And it's not like you don't have plenty of room to mount the bottle in the bed of your truck!
Rockin' Rollers
Removing friction from the valvetrain is always good for a few extra horsepower, not to mention promoting longer life. Crane Cams offers a roller rocker conversion kit for Dodge Magnum engines, and Erson offers a V6-specific part number for their roller rocker conversion kit. Featuring roller tips and fulcrums, the geometry is improved and the side load placed on the valvestems is less, so horsepower-robbing friction is reduced throughout the entire system. The stock Magnum rocker arm ratio is already at 1.6:1, and the roller rocker kits from both companies come with the same ratio. However, both companies also list 1.7:1 ratio roller rockers in their catalogs, for those times when more is good.
Bump & Grind
For camshafts, the Mopar Performance catalog lists three separate grinds for '92-and-older pre-Magnum 3.9 V6 engines. However, these are flat tappet cams, not rollers, and are recommended for "carbureted or supercharged engines only." That may or may not fit your needs, but it's nice to know you have the option.
Gettin' Shifty Wit It
Okay, this isn't an engine bolt-on, but it is specifically designed for late-model Dodge trucks with V6 and 4-cylinder engines, and it will increase performance. Hurst has released a new internal rail shifter for trannies backing up the smaller 4- and 6-cylinder Magnum motors. Improved shifting ability may not equal more power, but it should translate into better quarter-mile times. The caveat is that these shifters hit the market before the version designed for the bigger V8 engines!
Chip Shot
This is the area that really surprised us. To realize the full potential of the 3.9L V6 engines, an improved fuel and spark curve is needed, just like the V8 engines. Mopar Performance offers recalibrated high performance computers for all the other engines in the Magnum line, but not for the V6. However, if you have a pre-OBDII engine ('95-and-older) in your V6-powered truck, you're in luck. Superchips can burn you a new EPROM computer chip with custom-mapped fuel delivery and ignition curves, so you can get the most out of your engine. For OBDII-equipped vehicles, the Race Icon will allow you to modify your pulses to your vehicles' ignition system, creating a more tuned ignition curve.
Out With The Bad
This should make a lot of V6 owners happy-JBA now offers smog-legal stainless steel headers for V6 trucks. And when have headers ever not been a good idea for adding power? Having installed a set of their V8 headers on a couple of eight cylinders, we know that JBA makes headers that fit, kits that are complete, and a design that doesn't interfere with anything under the hood such as steering gear or clutch linkage. It's generally a curse-free installation process that's done in less than an afternoon. There are more catalytic converter-back custom exhaust systems on the market than you can shake a stick at, and they'll work fine on your V6, but now you can get rid of the restrictive iron manifolds up front with a set of JBA's Cat 4-Ward headers that look good, sound better, won't leak, and will never rust. Available in several different finishes, we prefer the silver high-temp coating over the others, as it lasts longer and doesn't blue like chrome.
Mopar Performance offers Race Headers for '86-'91 2- and 4WD Dakotas with the pre-magnum V6. They also offer street-legal headers for '96 4-cylinder Dakotas, but no applications for street legal V6 headers are catalogued.
