3.9 gas mileage?

ok so I'm looking at getting a 96 ex cab dakota with the 3.9. I loved everything about the truck until I found out it averaged 16 mpg and is still slow. so, are there any things available for them to improve mileage? tuner or chip ect? or what are some good dodge motors that get decent mileage that would make for a good swap. I'm thinking about the 3.5 because my mom has one in her intrepid and it rides out decent and gets 20 mpg consistently. not to mention the motor just looks impressive with the dual throttle bodies and such. thats the main thing holding my back from getting this truck so if I can figure this out I will probably get it. any help is greatly appreciated

ok i know where you r at thats what i drive and drag daily check out spectre air intakes they have an awsome dual plenum which switches it from circle filter to cold air type they work great you can find them at any oreilly auto parts thats where i got mine it should bring your milage up a bit also work on the exhaust like glass pack or something with a lot of flow it also ads a bit of power along with electric fan it should put you to almost twenty mpg

I would keep in the 3.9 do a good tune up and some add on's. Unless you have a donor intrepid just sitting around it could cost you more to do the swap than just paying for gas. Take a long time to brake even. I don't know the 3.5 specs but if its under powered you may get worse mileage.

cool thanks guys. I was planning on buying a cheap intrepid if I were to do the swap. around here you can pick up a 97ish intrepid running for like 800 bucks in good shape. thats how much my mom payed for hers, and they are rated at like 215 hp and gets about 23 mpg in her car. not sure what it would do in a truck though. but if I can pull 20 mpg out of the 3.9 with just bolt ons, then hell it should be ok. that was the only thing I was concerned with on this truck, but if thas all I gotta do, looks liek I will be owning a dodge soon.

5 speed pretty quick for a 4 banger.

haha its funny that you responded. the truck I am trading for the dakota is a 99 Hombre, fully bagged and shaved with a 2.2 auto. its not getting anywhere near 40 mpg though. it isnt running bad, but its not getting the mieage it used to, so I dunno what is up with it.

yeah man if your gonna get that dakota just watch out lots of little stuff that just doesnt work like chevy and ford and nobody makes shit for them