R/T Octane

[jjklongisland]

Does anybody have a problem running 87 octane in their R/T's. I have a 2001 Durango R/T and it pings alot when I use 87. I have not read anything that states I must use 92 Octane or better because its an R/T. I brought it to the dealer and they said that because its an R/T I need to use 93 Octane because of a "high performance" computer that standard 5.9's do not have.... I actually read somewhere that using 93 Octane in the Durango can give you worse gas mileage. I average between 10.3 and 10.6 MPG city driving.... Input would be great....

[tiggerweed]

You might want to see if your pelumn gasket is blown. Mine is on my 5.2L. The only engines that have this problem is the 5.2L and the 5.9L. If it does it during hard accelartion then that could be your problem. Does your durango use any oil. I know mine uses about a half a quart between oil changes maybe more. Take your air hat off and look down in your intake u need a flash light for this. If u see any oil in the bottom of the intake your gasket is probably blown. Hope this helps

[Milan]

ive only heard of engines pinging because of a high compression ratio like 10:1 or 10.5:1 and running a lower octane gas (87) thats all ive heard but your problem may be different.

[nightmare]

the owner's manual states that 87 octane is recommended. you can run higher octane, and it will improve gas mileage, not by much though. but if you run the lower octane, expect knocking on hard acceleration.

"I brought it to the dealer and they said that because its an R/T I need to use 93 Octane because of a "high performance" computer that standard 5.9's do not have" - the dealership is messing with your mind on that one.

if you change the programming on the computer, they recommend running the 93 octane to prevent knocking.

[jjklongisland]

SO YOU ARE SAYING THAT THE SLT 5.9 LTR AND THE R/T 5.9 LTR HAVE THE SAME COMPUTER SETTINGS. hE TOLD ME THAT THE COMPUTER IN THE R/T HAS DIFFERENT SHIFT POINTS, FUEL MIXTURES, TIMING, AND SPARK. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW IF HE WAS B.S.ing ME

[nightmare]

as far as i know, yes, they are the same. the difference between the two is that you can't order the r/t durango in the 2wd configuration, whereas you can order the slt in 2wd or 4wd.

i may be wrong here, but this was my understanding about them.

[CYCLONE_06]

Seems pretty odd to me to make a Durango R/T in 4 wheel drive only. The whole idea of the R/T's was to be fast, and then they go and throw it in a 4X4. Man thats idiotic.

~CYCLONE_06

[jjklongisland]

I understand your reasoning Cyclone as to why do they make in 4 wheel if it is supposed to be fast, but for the guys like me who need 4 wheel drive to get onto Job sites or like to go and take on the beach such as myself, it aggravates me that trucks like the Lightning, Harley F-150, and other quick p/u and SUV's don't offer a four wheel drive (maybe less potent) option in that vehicle.

[DurangoDude]

I beg to differ on that. My friend orderd a 2001 Durango 2 wheel drive from the factory with most of the RT upgrades, that is the 5.9 engine, the sport tuned exaust, which is just a different muffler, which accounts for the 5 hp. difference, the difference between the RT and the SLT, and the sport tuned shocks and sway bar. The PCM is the same. The only thing the factoy couldn't give him was the RT leather seats.

[Milan]

its not a factory "R/T" you can order a 2wd durango with the 5.9 but you cant order a 4x4 durange "R/T" even though they have the same engine and may even have the same upgrades. its all about the title

[CYCLONE_06]

The Durango R/T is 4x4 from the factory I believe.

~CYCLONE_06

[Milan]

sorry i meant you can order a 4x4 durango R/T and you cant order a 2wd R/T

[jjklongisland]

THE DURANGO R/T COMES FACTORY WITH ALL WHEEL DRIVE, WHICH ONLY GIVES YOU 4 HIGH AND 4 LOW, NO TWO WHEEL DRIVE OPTION....

[myfirstv8]

Not to mention AWD shoots you quicker off the line plus the way its geared it takes off. i can see if the r/t came in 2wd with the 4wd then what would be the point but awd really makes the r/t durango. And yeah i had that pinging problem with 87...the dealer said 87 is ok and the owners manual said 87 so 91 was the trick. i also heard it is a timing issue...if you fix that then you could be on 87.

[vipr2983]

i read in a an issue of car and driver where they were testing whether or not there was a difference in performance with 87 or 93. they tested a few cars and one of the ones that they tested was a ram with a 5.9 in it and it showed gains by using 93. it wasnt off the chart gains or anything like that but it did show gains. it was in a ram too but the 5.9 is still the 5.9 regardless of what its in. i personally never use less than 93 unless money is tight then i might put in 89.

[edelvecc]

:bow: can I use regular unleaded in my 5.9 R/T Dur.