More Smarty Jr Questions

[OGaddis]

After reading discussions at this site regarding the Smarty Jr programmer I am still confused regarding what features are desirable to adjust from stock programming to achieve my goals. I am satisfied with the stock power level on my 2007 5. 9 HPCR for my application which is pulling a 10,000 lb fifth wheel or hauling a 2,600 lb cabover camper.



• I would like to advance the timing to optimum level to reduce EGT and maximize fuel efficiency.

• I want to avoid an increase in rail pressure above factory stock to maximize injector life and avoid other reliability issues. This is based on reading the TDR Issue 63 article by Joe Donnelly on the Smarty products and the letter to the editor in the HPCR section by P. McMahon where Donnelly’s reply cautions about elevating rail pressure. Donnelly warns that the elevated rail pressure from the Smarty power setting resulted in actuation of the pressure relief valve. In addition he warns of the increased wear on the injectors due to higher rail pressure with no net gain in fuel economy.

• I have reviewed information on the MADS Electronics website but it is not clear to me how you would achieve the goals I’ve outlined. Donnelly’s article describes the software as providing adjustment of (1) torque management settings, (2) rail pressure settings, and (3) injection timing curves. I know I will want to adjust (3) to optimum. I know that I want to avoid adjusting (2) above stock levels. I don’t know how adjustment of (1) from stock levels will be an advantage to me.

• Since 90% of the time I am hauling with this truck, I assume that I would just set the SW setting to towing (level 2?). Are the torque and injection timing adjustments discussed in the Smarty manual further refinements of the default values established by SW2? Is there increased rail pressure at level 2?

• Furthermore, I don’t fully understand the point of adjustable power (Power on Demand). Why not just reprogram for the overall SW setting you need. If you use your truck for one purpose (hauling), is POD really an advantage?

• In Donnelly’s article he mentions that “Cummins retards timing more at higher loads for emissions reasons”. Does this imply that advancing timing will have an even more profound impact on fuel economy under load (hauling) than when empty at cruising conditions? I understand the advantage with regards to EGT.



Would appreciate any advice and clarification that others could provide.

 

[kblranch]

Dodge needed to retard the timing for emissions. The Smarty advances the timing back to where it should be for optimum fuel economy and power. With the Jr. EGT temps will go down and you will have a lot more power. I pull a 11,000# horse trailer in the Sierras and never have to worry about EGT temps with the Smarty. One advantage of the POD is if you have no control over your right foot you can set the POD at less than 99 to save tires and fuel. :-laf

 

[CToney]

On the Smarty REVO you can adjust rail pressure If you want to. On the Smarty JR you can adjust torque management to limit smoke. You can also adjust the timing if you get too much rattle. The reason for the adjustments is to account minor differences in trucks. You will achieve better milage the longer you can stay in top gear when towing. The tow setting also stays within the limits of the stock clutch. On tow you will have a hard time to get egts to 1200. The POD is nice if you would like a power level between the ones offered. I run my truck in the perf setting on level 80. This way I can achieve 26 psi on my turbo (within the efficiency map on a '03)(I would see 24 on tow) and still be within the limits of the stock clutch. Same clutch on '03s but lower power level to start with so I can run a higher setting and my clutch is still safe.

You will love how the JR makes your truck run. It will outperform "chips" in drivabilty. It enables fast idle as well. It will not disappoint. Get the SR if you plan to add big injectors, aftermarket turbo, aftermarket clutch etc.

 

[CKelley1]

i tow heavy and want the best fuel milage i can get we have tried about every combo of product's, the smarty jr is a must for the heart for them, if you change the cam to a pdr and the injector nozzles to ddp 50 hp and set the smarty to economy you can get 5 mpg increase in towing and 7 mpg empty you can try tow but is borderline on clutch we have three of our 06's set up this way and pix of them are in issue 63. this was before we added the ddp 50 it took me a while to understand what joe donnelly was trying to tell me. we played with the 100 hp setting with a 28,000 gcw on a 6%grade and the clutch started slipping at about 90%throttle but the nice thing was the egt's were only1245* at the time. i dropped the smarty jr to tow and ran the hill again and it held but i do not think i want to risk shelling the clutch on a mountain pass in colorado

 

[CToney]

Nice rigs. I like to find out how guys with similar goals in mind mod their trucks. It was nice to see the write up in the TDR. I would definitely enjoyed a more in depth article.

What different turbos did you try Carl? I was thinking that a turbo with a larger exhaust housing would free up some mpg. With your '06's with the fuel pump in the tank you don't have a lift pump problem. I added a FASS to lengthen fuel filter changes, get the 3 mic filter, and have a reliable pump. Have you tried an aftermarket exhaust manifold? A friend of mine had his stocker fail, so he added one, and his cruising boost dropped and so did his egts. There must be restriction in the stock unit. I don't know if his fuel economy increased or how long it will pay for itself.

Was the tag worth the $?

Thanks
Chuck

 

[AH64ID]

OGaddis. . did the PM I sent you help?

 

[OGaddis]

Yes, I really appreciate the response. That was just the information I was looking for. I may have to break down and give Smarty Jr a try.

 

[OGaddis]

One of the things Joe Donnelly mentioned in his article in Issue 63 was that Cummins retards timing more at higher loads for emissions reasons. It seems like the Smarty Jr would then have a more profound effect on performance/economy with a fully loaded truck than unloaded. Has anyone observed this in terms of improved fuel economy particularly when loaded? With the '07 I find my best fuel economy empty to be 18 mpg with an average of about 17 mpg. Fuel economy drops to around 10 mpg average with a 10,000 lb fifth wheel and around 12 mpg with a 2,600 lb cabover camper. It is at these loaded conditions that I would like to see significant improvement (proportionally higher than at unloaded conditions). Am I reading too much into Donnelly's statement?

 

[AH64ID]

One of the things Joe Donnelly mentioned in his article in Issue 63 was that Cummins retards timing more at higher loads for emissions reasons. It seems like the Smarty Jr would then have a more profound effect on performance/economy with a fully loaded truck than unloaded. Has anyone observed this in terms of improved fuel economy particularly when loaded? With the '07 I find my best fuel economy empty to be 18 mpg with an average of about 17 mpg. Fuel economy drops to around 10 mpg average with a 10,000 lb fifth wheel and around 12 mpg with a 2,600 lb cabover camper. It is at these loaded conditions that I would like to see significant improvement (proportionally higher than at unloaded conditions). Am I reading too much into Donnelly's statement?

I would say that yes it makes sense. . however if you drove your pyro pre Jr then I would expect to see a decrease in mpgs. . This is because if you used to drive to stay away from 1300* plus you were defueling alot, now your not so your going faster and towing harder. . thus worse mileage. . But if you had no gauges or just drove what you wanted then if you drive the same with the Jr I would expect to see an increase... but the caveat is if you use SW2 or SW3 you have the ability to increase fueling which may ofset any benefits from the timing advance.



make sense???

 

[OGaddis]

Yes, thanks that makes sense. I don't have gauges yet on the 07 and I limit my speed to 65 mph with the camper or the trailer - just seems more comfortable to drive that speed than faster and it keeps rpm around 2000.

 

[DaveHess]

I've been on the fence for awhile now just lurking in the shadows when it comes to the Smarty Jr. I downloaded the Jr's manual the other day. I noticed in the version I downloaded, it does not tell you what each of the three levels are. I have seen them advertised as 1, 2, and 3. I have heard level 1 referred to as Economy, level 2 referred to as Towing and level 3 as performance. Is this the truth? I am most interested in the level 2 setting. I also like to set and forget thus my shying away from the Smarty Sr. Too many choices. I'm looking for something to push me over the fence. For the record, I have a VanAaken C3. 1 on the truck now in its "full" power position and it has been in that position since the day I installed it. My dyno results gave me a 56 HP (299) increase and a 134 lb-ft (643) increase with the VA. One of the things that has worried me from day one with the VA has been the increased rail pressure. This decision should be a no-brainer but at close to $500 a copy, I have to be sure. Does this post makes sense???

 

[AH64ID]

I've been on the fence for awhile now just lurking in the shadows when it comes to the Smarty Jr. I downloaded the Jr's manual the other day. I noticed in the version I downloaded, it does not tell you what each of the three levels are. I have seen them advertised as 1, 2, and 3. I have heard level 1 referred to as Economy, level 2 referred to as Towing and level 3 as performance. Is this the truth? I am most interested in the level 2 setting. I also like to set and forget thus my shying away from the Smarty Sr. Too many choices. I'm looking for something to push me over the fence. For the record, I have a VanAaken C3. 1 on the truck now in its "full" power position and it has been in that position since the day I installed it. My dyno results gave me a 56 HP (299) increase and a 134 lb-ft (643) increase with the VA. One of the things that has worried me from day one with the VA has been the increased rail pressure. This decision should be a no-brainer but at close to $500 a copy, I have to be sure. Does this post makes sense???

You are correct on the power levels. .



Do you have gauges?



Personally I don't like pressure boxes. . I'd rather have timing.

 

[Bob Wagner]

Dave, I offer a 100% money back guarantee. There is no gambling here. Thanks

 

[birddog]

I'm on the fence with the smarty jr. also. I don't want to add rail pressure due to obvious hpcr injector issues. My main question I never seen an answer to is how does the tire size / speedometer function work and just what type of a scan tool is it. How much can you do with the scan portion?

 

[Bob Wagner]

I'm on the fence with the smarty jr. also. I don't want to add rail pressure due to obvious hpcr injector issues. My main question I never seen an answer to is how does the tire size / speedometer function work and just what type of a scan tool is it. How much can you do with the scan portion?

The tire size adjustment is handled in the abs function of the smarty/smarty jr. You simply measure from ground up to top of tire and enter that measurement into the smarty/jr and you are good to go up to 44" tires.



The scan tool is one of the BEST on the market and reads both DTC's and ABs code and you also get a plain text definition of the trouble code which was set (no need for search)



The Smarty works as advertised,



Thanks

 

[birddog]

why does it appear that there is so many issues downloading and / or installing programs

 

[Bob Wagner]

why does it appear that there is so many issues downloading and / or installing programs

That is where the confusion lays. The update to the truck is a no brainer, updating the smarty software from the home computer is confusing for some.



I have taken this [project on and will find a solution to make the task at hand simplier.



Please give me a week or two.



Thanks

 

[CToney]

I think if more of us were more computer savvy there would not be an issue. I myself am not very good with computers, my kids are not old enough to teach me yet. It is handy to have a friend or two that know something about computers.

 

[CKelley1]

it is not that hard to download the upgrade. the smarty jr changes timing dynamically to conditions giving it the best performance of anything we tried. on the intake side of the turbo we had very disappointing results of most of the things we tried wepulled the veins out of the elbow and broke them getting them out . we lost a slight amount of mpg and went back to dodge to replace them the cost was high and we decided to try the tag to replace them, it works better than oem. the best combo on intake side was psm, cool hose and tag. the turbo change was to a ats a3000, not even 0. 1 change in mpg + or - and i lost a lot of my low end torque, i just bought a stock turbo to replace it. no change that i could see in the ats manifold i do not mean to hijack this thread pm me if you want more info

 

[Bob Wagner]

found this information.



Instructions for Downloading software for the S-04 or S-06 Smarty off the MADS Electronics web page.

Although these instructions were written with the S-04 and S-06 in mind, the procedure for obtaining software for the other models is similar, with exception of the S-03, where a little more reading is necessary to determine which file is right for your truck.



My hope is these instructions will be helpful in getting the files necessary to update your Smarty with the software available on the MADS website, using your computer.



Before you get started, it may be helpful if you create a folder on your computer and name it "Smarty".



Create a subfolder in the Smarty folder named Docs.



Note: I do not recommend changing the names of any of the files you download.



Visit Mads Electronics - Smarty - CaTCHER - Dodge Tuning - Home



At the top menu bar, Click on the "Downloads" tab.



Select the product you own and want to download for by clicking on the picture of it.



If you already have the current version of Adobe Reader the next step can be skipped.



Toward the bottom of the page, is a link to get Adobe Reader, if you don't have it.

Once you have Adobe Reader, I strongly recommend saving a copy of all the files in the "Documentation" area, of the MADS Download page.



Starting with the top file in the Documentation area, Click on the file, a new window will pop up with the document displayed.



In the upper left corner click on "file" scroll down to "Save As" and click.

It will open a Dialog box. Leave the file name as is, but at the top of the dialog box, in the "save in": area, you can navigate to your "Docs" folder you created earlier.



Repeat these steps for each of the documents present in the "Documents" area of the Smarty download page.



Next, you need to make a selection based on your truck, to either download the "REVO software or REVO-TNT software", or both. (I recommend getting both. )

Write Down the date associated with the file you are about to download.



Click on the File name of the software. You should now be looking at a “Disclaimer of Liability” page.



NOTE: If you are downloading the TNT file, there is a link for documentation for the TNT software on the Disclaimer of liability page. Click on it, and save it in the Docs folder as before.



Read the Disclaimer, and if you agree, click the “I agree with the terms” link.

A File Download box should pop up. Click on Save.



A "Save As" window will open. This gives you the opportunity to save it to a specific folder on your computer, or create a new folder to save it in. Again, leave the file name alone. In the “Save In:” area, navigate to the Smarty Folder.



Select “Create New Folder” name the folder with Either REVO_xx-xx-xx or REVO_TNT_xx-xx-xx Depending on which file you are downloading currently, and Where xx-xx-xx is the date of the file. At the time of this article, the current software is Nov 14, 2008. So your folder name would be: REVO_11-14-08 (Or REVO_TNT_11-14-08 if you are downloading that file. )



The next step is to download the files in the "Tools" section of the Smarty webpage.

There are 2 files you will need. One is a USB file, the other is a USB Driver.



The top 2 files in the “Tools” section are the actual Smarty downloader. Make a choice on which one you need based on your operating system. This is the program that is used to interface your computer to the Smarty and load the smarty with the software you select. (These files have the name SmartyUSB. exe and SmartyUSBL. exe)



The 3rd and 4th files are Zipped files that contain the USB drivers. Make a selection based on your operating system. These files (Once Unzipped) are used to interface your operating system (Windows XP, for example) to the Smarty Downloader. (These files have the name CDM 2. 00. 00. zip or D30104. zip )



Once you determine which Smarty USB downloader file is correct for your operating system, click on it. This will open a "Save As" window. Save it in the Smarty Folder.



Once you determine which USB driver file is correct for your operating system.

Click on it. This will open a "Save As" window. Save it to the Smarty Folder also.



The last thing you need to download is a copy of the 7Zip software. Clicking on the 7Zip Icon at the bottom of the Smarty Software Download page, will link you to the 7Zip webpage. Download the 7Zip program from that page by clicking on the "Download" link for the . exe file.



Once this file is on your computer, you will need to double click it to launch the 7zip installation program. This will install 7Zip to your computer.



Before you can use your USB driver file, (Either CDM 2. 00. 00. zip, or D30104. zip depending on your Operating System), you will need to unzip them. I used PKZip for this.



You also need to unzip the downloaded REVO file. Use 7Zip for this.



Note: An USB printer cable is used to connect the Smarty to your computer.



You should now have everything you need to set your computer up for use with your Smarty, and download a new software file to it.



The next steps will be to install the USB driver to your computer. Follow the instructions you saved to your "Docs" subfolder called "SmartyUSBdriverinstallationguide.pdf"

These instructions do leave allot to be desired, but most people muddle through it.

The Good news is once all this is done, future upgrades are a SNAP!



In closing,

I'm not the most knowledgeable computer guy around, but I have helped a few struggle through this.

I know I'm not the only one on this site who is capable of helping, so if you get stuck, ask for help here! It may even be wise to consider taking it into chat for some "Real Time" help.



Good luck!