No More SMARTY For Me!

[Drewhenry]

I have had my SMARTY for 6 months and while the power gains and throttle response are impressive, the mileage gain is non existant. I was under the impression there was mpg gain to be had. I see no gain under 70 no way no how. Maybe I need a set of 4. 56 or 4. 88 gears so my rpm will be 2500-2800 at 65mph. That is the only area where I have seen any gain in speeds above 75mph and it is less than 2 mpg. Most of the time I drive 65 or slower. SMARTY has not been a good investment for me. I have turned my truck back to stock and although the throttle response is taking some getting used to my mileage is up dramatically. I heard and read all kinds of testimony about how great SMARTY is. The proof is in the pudding. So far the pudding is not palatable. I am not ready to sell it yet, but I am pretty close. Maybe I should have gotten the SMARTYjr. Hate to gid rid of this one and get jr only to find the same thing.

I could have purchased a great deal of fuel for the cost of a SMARTY.



If anyone has suggestions about settings, I am willing to give it a go again. However, I am likely to set back to stock and remember the old addage that, "If something sounds too good to be true... ... ... . "



Andy B

 

[AKaiser]

How did you have it set up? I have seen at LEAST one MPG or more with my S06. I'm getting ready to go to the Power on Demand, and dial it down to see what kind of MPG gain I get (or not). As for the throttle response, that is reason enough for me to keep it ( no turbo lag). It also goes without saying, you won't see any MPG gain if you don't drive for efficiency. With the Smarty, it's easy to get carried away with all that instantly available power.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

yeah, what settings/level were you running?



I drive fairly agressively... in-town mileage is roughly the same (though the truck is much nicer to drive), but where it really shines for me is on the highway doing 75-85mph, I picked up 2mpg hand calculated

 

[Regcabguy]

I can't say I've picked up any mileage gains. The dramatically improved low end and way lower egt's are worth it alone. My Revo's set on sw#1 and a tad of timing increase. Minimal smoke. Whenever I remove it,the truck's a dog with my camper.

 

[brods]

I’ve seen mpg gains on my 05. Maybe it has something to do with your truck being an 04 so you don’t benefit as much from the timing advance like the newer more retarded trucks?



Bob says the jr programs will eventually be available for the sr, but that was a while ago and there is no timetable for their release. I’ve been on the fence about selling my smarty for over a year now waiting for stock like smoke program. My last hope is the jr programs.

 

[Tinman]

What size tires are you running? I have 315s with 3. 73 and based on egts, I think the engine may be lugging (relatively) a little at 65 to 70 to get ideal mileage. We leave for Nebraska tomorrow for the holidays and I'm going to try different speeds for mileage. I personally picked up almost 2mpg with the 4. 09 tune which would be the econo timing of the REVO. With the standard

REVO timing, I get 1-1. 5 mpg improvement.



I to have been disappointed with the Smarty for reasons of smoke and am waiting for a low smoke program. I have done everything I can think of to improve air flow (intake horn, exhaust man. BB turbo, cam and IC) and it has greatly reduced smoke. It's tolerable now but still more than stock.

 

[Blue Ox1]

I see my best mileage at sw# 5 on my 03 it seems like the lower programs don't help that much with the mileage .

 

[Regcabguy]

I don't see how with increased timing and overfueling down so low,that they'll ever completely kill the smoke. It seems that the competitor's products hold off on fueling until boost builds thus minimizing smoke,but lacking Smarty's low end performance. Mine's really no smokier than my '99 with stock turbo,open intake and exhaust,Mach 1. 6's and an Edge EZ. The '99 with that setup didn't have the lowend power that Smarty has.

 

[WOT]

The PoD version does handle smoke better but there is a trade off. I run on 9 with stock rail pressure, moderate Torque, wastegate off, timing on 4 and the PoD set to 70. With that setting I can get a puff of smoke if I flat-foot it buts it's nowhere near as bad as with the PoD on 99 (which I assume is same as a Non-PoD version setting). On 70, I don't get anywhere near the light throttle "trailing smoke" would get before the PoD. If you dial it down to 50 it is really pretty smoke clean under normal driving. I have not run it on any main power level less the 9 yet so I can't comment there (although timing=2 does get me less smoke than timing=4). The down side to the PoD setting of 70 is some loss of responsiveness but it is still WAY better then stock with (what I feel) is acceptable smoke.

 

[LRutigliano]

I have had my SMARTY for 6 months and while the power gains and throttle response are impressive, the mileage gain is non existant. I was under the impression there was mpg gain to be had. I see no gain under 70 no way no how. Maybe I need a set of 4. 56 or 4. 88 gears so my rpm will be 2500-2800 at 65mph. That is the only area where I have seen any gain in speeds above 75mph and it is less than 2 mpg. Most of the time I drive 65 or slower. SMARTY has not been a good investment for me. I have turned my truck back to stock and although the throttle response is taking some getting used to my mileage is up dramatically. I heard and read all kinds of testimony about how great SMARTY is. The proof is in the pudding. So far the pudding is not palatable. I am not ready to sell it yet, but I am pretty close. Maybe I should have gotten the SMARTYjr. Hate to gid rid of this one and get jr only to find the same thing.

I could have purchased a great deal of fuel for the cost of a SMARTY.



If anyone has suggestions about settings, I am willing to give it a go again. However, I am likely to set back to stock and remember the old addage that, "If something sounds too good to be true... ... ... . "



Andy B

Andy



What Smarty Level are you running and what are the parameters set at?



I have seen a consistent 1. 0 to 1. 5mpg improvement with the Smarty set to Level1, stock RP, default TM and TQ while towing and I have experienced the truck being much more fun and responsive to drive. I have no smoke, ever. Not down low, not at idle, not at freeway speeds and not at full throttle.



Going back to stock would really be hard for me...



One thing about smoke and mpg's... Marco has shown that our ULSD is about the worst quality diesel in the world and it will affect smoke and mpg's. Have you tried any of the diesel fuel additives such as Power Service Diesel Kleen? These can increase your cetane levels up to 6 points and improve your mpg's and reduce smoke with ULSD. I haven't tried this yet, but will for potential improved mpg's and perceived quality of fuel improvement to the injectors...



I am happy with the Smarty and the guys at Mads keep making improvements based on our comments to them. Give Marco or Bob a try to help figure out your driving style and settings and maybe they will have some recommendations.



Your comment about Smarty not being a good investment for you is a little concerning as many of us don't do this for investment purposes. We do it because we can't leave stuff alone (stock) and love getting more power, fun to drive factor, cool factor, etc. We basically love our trucks and enjoy tinkering on them until we hit that magic set-up...



Good luck

Louis

 

[SierraRam]

Your right no MPG improvement. But I went from 290RWHP to 450RWHP with the same MPG, I would say that is a gain! I gould never go back to stock even if there was a mileage improvement.

 

[Jefff929]

If anyone has suggestions about settings, I am willing to give it a go again. However, I am likely to set back to stock and remember the old addage that, "If something sounds too good to be true... ... ... . "

Andy B

I say the problem is in your right foot, better cut it off and get a prosthetic. :-laf

Smarty, Edge EZ... are capable of mileage gains. If you have no self control over your right foot, it is best to get rid of it.

 

[Drewhenry]

The only modifications to my truck are those listed in my signature. Stock size tires. Stock exhaust, stock turbo. I will admit my truck is a lot more fun to drive with SMARTY, but the hand calculated mileage sucks. The hp gains and throttle response are great. I really expected to see atleast 2 mpg gain when driven very conservatively, and it is just not there. I am not pulling or towing, not carrying any loads. With tools I balance the scales at 8K. A longtime friend also a SMARTY dealer convinced me this programmer was better than the Jr. With the truck stock the best mileage is at 65mph=22mpg. When running 70 or above stock mileage drops and is no better than 16mpg. With SMARTY default settings on any Catcher power level I am able to get 17mpg from 75 to 85mph. Around 70 SMARTY or not 17 is all I can get.

I have tried settings with and without timing, I have used cetane boosters from Power Services. I change oil at 15k, 15-40 no synthetic here. I'll admit a childlike fascination with sooting idiots on the road that ask for it, but that wastes fuel. Maybe I have overlooked something. Maybe I need different tires or gear sets. Maybe there is something wrong with my truck. Maybe a great deal of exagerating of mileage gains is the norm.

As I stated above, the throttle response is fantastic with SMARTY!! Maybe I need to make more mods or maybe a different programmer..... I don't know.



What I am really inclined to believe is that there is something really wrong with my truck! It runs great, but I don't get the mileage that any of my friends tell me they get! I am incredibly impressed with this truck's abilities. Just wish "they would let me in behind the green door". I don't want the alcohol or prostitutes, just tell me how to get my mileage up and enjoy the horsepower included.

 

[InfernoB]

Curious what your avg. trip miles are?

I short trip when I'm in the office. (5 miles each way, worst thing for a diesel). Road trips to job sites could be avg of 85 miles.

Overall with/with out Smarty on 3 is 15 mpg. I have a heavy foot, 315's and stock air box. Smoke off the line and stepping on it, but low exhaust temps.

Long trip's I get 16 to 19 in SoCal. I've had 21 without Smarty and 285/75's lifted on long trip with east coast fuel.



Sorry if this was off topic.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

put a free flow muffler on there. a 51" donaldson will keep the sound mellow but will breathe a lot better. I noticed a lot less smoke in the headlights when I opened up the exhaust!

 

[SHobbs]

B] When running 70 or above stock mileage drops and is no better than 16mpg. With SMARTY default settings on any Catcher power level I am able to get 17mpg from 75 to 85mph. Around 70 SMARTY or not 17 is all I can get. [/B]



Yep, it's your right foot. It has been discussed here numerous times, the faster you go the faster your mileage drops. What do you want 25mpg at 100mph? I can get 20 mpg at 62 mph on long trips where I may run 70 or better it drops to around 18 or less.

 

[brods]

The only modifications to my truck are those listed in my signature. ... ... .....



What I am really inclined to believe is that there is something really wrong with my truck! It runs great, but I don't get the mileage that any of my friends tell me they get! I am incredibly impressed with this truck's abilities. Just wish "they would let me in behind the green door". I don't want the alcohol or prostitutes, just tell me how to get my mileage up and enjoy the horsepower included.

There was something in one of the TDR mags about certain aftermarket bumpers hurting mpg due to bad aerodynamics. Do your friends all have grill guards and running boards and whatever else that you have that adds aero drag to your truck? Things like running with an open bed compared to using a tonneau cover make a difference too.



The other thing to remember is people tend to report their best mpg rather than their real average mpg. And nobody brags about getting average or crappy mpg so it always seems like everybody is doing better than average.



What kind of mpg improvement were you expecting to see?

 

[JamesStevens]

I didn't get any better mileage either. I have a 07 auto and was hoping for better MPG. But with your 04 your timing is already better then ours so U might not see the gains. I couldn't go back to stock now though. I see U have a standard, I think they have less of a overdrive then a auto, that may have something to do with it as well. Like was said, get a free flowing exhaust, the air intakes aren't worth it in my opinion, and keep'er slow

James

 

[Drewhenry]

Buddies trucks

Yeah my friends all have automatics. Didn't think about that. What would be better a straight flow muffler or a muffler delete pipe? Noise is not a factor and I have been considering a muffler delete. Normally on long(300 miles or more)trips I try to drive with cruise around 65. Once when I had nothing but time to kill I drove 55 and got lots of middle fingers but hand calculated almost 28mpg. But 55 SUCKED!!! Generally I drive conservatively.

The settings I liked the most were 1,3,5 with adjustable options set to default. Occaisionally set torque to 4 with SW#5 and SW#3. These seem to produce best results. For mileage SW#1 default except for timing and TQ on #4. I probably should stick with the default settings anyway because I really don't understand what/how the adjustable options help or hurt me.



Not giving up yet maybe. .



Andy B

 

[JamesStevens]

I have a straight flow muffler, and it is way quieter then straight piped. That was important to me. I actually got best mileage on Revo setting #3 (60HP) and timing set at #4 (max) I always run torque management on moderate (since I got my transmission done up anyway) I hear U on driving slow it does suck but I see bigger gains from that then anything. The exhaust did help me a honest 1mpg, but again U don't have a cat so U are a bit better off to begin with.

James