Smarty or EFI live Ease of use?

[RoosterXP]

I am going to be doing the EGR and DPF delete on my truck. I have narrowed it down to 2 tuners. . the Smarty JR and the EFI live Autocal. The smarty looks to be a no brainer (yay!!) and the EFI live looks to be kind of a P. I. T. A. but i dont know becuase i have never used either one of them. What are your opinions??

 

[Prairie Dog]

The Smarty won't help you with the deletes and I'd be surprised if EFI live will either but I could be wrong. If it does then the feds will be in touch with the manufacturer soon.
You asked for opinions ...
I would not delete emissions equipment. Dealers won't wan't your truck and neither will many private parties.
Just my . 02.

Best of luck to you,
Scott

 

[moparguy]

Subscribed.

 

[Jim W]

I am going to be doing the EGR and DPF delete on my truck. I have narrowed it down to 2 tuners. . the Smarty JR and the EFI live Autocal. The smarty looks to be a no brainer (yay!!) and the EFI live looks to be kind of a P. I. T. A. but i dont know becuase i have never used either one of them. What are your opinions??

This depends on what version of tuner that you have or going to buy. For the Smarty if there is an "US" in the serial number than no it will not allow you to delete the truck. Also you will need to run a tune that is ME compatible, one for none USA trucks.

Now the EFI live is a little more difficult since you need to have someone write a tune for your truck; if I understand correctly. There are several people who will write these tunes and program the truck for you but you will need to find them. I know my son had someone write his tune for his 06 truck which is close to 600HP; so they are out there.

Jim W.

 

[AH64ID]

If you find a used older Smarty it can do the deletes, but if you buy new it cannot due to EPA regulations.

EFI Live, unless you buy a tune, is much harder to use and is not plug and play. EFI Live does not come with any tuning, so it's all written by a tuner or the end user. Last time I looked EFI can still disable the EGR/DPF.

 

[crispyboy]

I have done some researching on this because the my truck is at a crossroads with emission equipment. (Turbo is getting rebuilt and looks like the dpf is plugged - A perfect storm!) I'm very frustrated that this truck can't be driven by a person who is commuting 50% to work and towing 50%..... This is why I am looking at this option - I would really rather leave it stock... ...

EFI live seems the way to go as there are several folks out there who write tunes. If your savvy enough the end user can do it also. I spoke first hand with an end user of this system at a campground back in September and he had no complaints.
The only negative I see so far is that once every 600 minutes you will get a chime which is reset by pushing the compass button.
EFI for Cummins comes with 3 tunes for 1 price. They are individually downloaded so it does not have the switch on the fly capability (i believe this is being developed). With the particular salesman I spoke with the base tune adds 40 hp and said it would be fine for most of what I do. They have a 75 hp mileage tune and other performance tunes or you can get them customized.
I stressed to the salesman that I did not want to put any extra strain on head gaskets or drive train components - I just want to get rid of the emissions - the only trouble with the truck.
My only worry with a system like this is if I am traveling far from home and the truck has trouble - can I find someone to fix it..... Will the truck be reliable enough to send my wife and daughter down the road... ... . Points for me to ponder.

 

[RoosterXP]

you guys all make very good points. I have been looking at 2 different stores with 2 different options on tuners. . one suggests the Smarty with delete files and the other swears by EFI live. . I am really looking for something i can load to my ecm and drive it. . It sounds like both will do that. just up in the air on which to choose!!

 

[HHhuntitall]

Both will do the job... . EFI is a vast and enumerable program... . a good programmer can write some code that will work very well, and for a long time. There are quite a few dealers out there who can work with it. It sounds to me like you will get a FlashScan tuner with the programs loaded on it, which will VIN lock when you program your truck... . SOP for EFI dealers, who have to purchase liscensing to program individual VINs for different trucks. Basically, it works the same way as a Smarty, only a little more advanced, and can be reprogrammed at later dates. The Smarty's use a generic program, that works well for all trucks. EFI is tunable to your individual truck. I believe there are 36 parameters that be read and used to tune for power, mileage, or overall torque.

Even EFI is feeling the pressure from big Brother. They recently upgraded to 8. 0 from 7. 5 versions... . the new version has the DPF parameters, but they are hidden. IT takes a smart and capable user to find and initiate them... . They are out there, just harder to find.

Either version has it's ups and down, just like anything. Personally, I like the EFI, as I can tune the truck, with it's own specific tune. But I have the software and boxes... . And any of the tuners will up your power, just from removing the DPF and advancing the timing to increase mileage.

Smarty programming to remove emissions is dubbed ". ME" and is no longer being programmed here in the states... . There are some boxes being hacked and upgraded to the delete programs... . Beware where you buy, as hacked boxes will have no warranty, if my understanding is correct. Smarty products sold from Ebay are not warrantied, either. Smarty does a good job with their software, IMO. I've seen some trucks with several hundred thousand on the clock. They all gain substantial mileage when this is done. One I saw recently went from 11-13 to 16-19mpg, usually pulling a heavy bumper pull trailer... .

 

[RoosterXP]

I bit the bullet and went with the EFI live Autocal. . ill keep ya posted!

 

[HHhuntitall]

I typed (thought) Flashscan, but yes, it's the AutoCal box you get for your truck. We use the FlashScan box to upload and read directly to vehicles..... Anyway, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Let us know... .

 

[CBlack]

I had the Smarty and was happy. I have EFI Live and love my truck.

EFI Live is a tool that you or someone else can use to tune your truck to any level you want.

Which tuner did you end up going with? I used two different ones. I currently have Zach at Starlight Diesels tune on my truck, ~120hp, and it's fantastic. Very smooth and responsive. If I keep my foot out of it and do interstate the whole way, I get 22mpg (hand calculated).

 

[crispyboy]

Cblack,
I just purchased an autocal from starlight and waiting for it to arrive. What tunes did you get? I am still uneasy about all this "reprogramming". Did you have to do much readjustment along the way? Meaning were the tunes pretty good on the first try or did they have to be tweaked? Have you encountered any odd CELs?

 

[CBlack]

Cblack,
I just purchased an autocal from starlight and waiting for it to arrive. What tunes did you get? I am still uneasy about all this "reprogramming". Did you have to do much readjustment along the way? Meaning were the tunes pretty good on the first try or did they have to be tweaked? Have you encountered any odd CELs?

I have a Flashscan, so I just emailed Zach saying I wanted a street performance tune. He sent me one that was ~90hp. I tried it out and it was too anemic. He changed a few things and sent it back at ~120hp. It's unbelievable.

There isn't any real "reprogramming" involved, at least any more involved than using a Smarty. You plug the Autocal/Flashscan in to the OBD port, follow the instructions and in about 5 minutes, you're good to go. I didn't have any readjustments to my tune. I was REALLY happy from the get go.

No CELs at all. The only message is the chinese water torture ding on the overhead, "Service Required - See Dealer Now". And I've heard that guys with Smarty's get that one too. EFI Live is working on it but the fix isn't out just yet. Mine used to come on every 10 minutes at highway speeds, in particular in cruise control. Now in a trip from Houston to home (365 miles) it comes on maybe 3-4 times.

 

[RoosterXP]

I had the Smarty and was happy. I have EFI Live and love my truck.

EFI Live is a tool that you or someone else can use to tune your truck to any level you want.

Which tuner did you end up going with? I used two different ones. I currently have Zach at Starlight Diesels tune on my truck, ~120hp, and it's fantastic. Very smooth and responsive. If I keep my foot out of it and do interstate the whole way, I get 22mpg (hand calculated).

Thats amazing!! 22 mpg! I cant wait to see that!! How were your EGT's after the whole delete? as of right now I am lucky to see 16. 5 mpg... (dont have the goodies installed yet. . ) Im glad someone re-assured me about the EFI autocal. . I "was" still skeptical.

 

[CBlack]

I don't have gauges so I don't know what the EGTs were/are.

When I first bought my truck I was getting 16. 5mpg. I unplugged the butterfly valve on the intake side and it went up to 18-18. 5mpg. Smarty on SW5 I was getting 20mpg.

 

[HHhuntitall]

No CELs at all. The only message is the chinese water torture ding on the overhead, "Service Required - See Dealer Now". And I've heard that guys with Smarty's get that one too. EFI Live is working on it but the fix isn't out just yet. Mine used to come on every 10 minutes at highway speeds, in particular in cruise control. Now in a trip from Houston to home (365 miles) it comes on maybe 3-4 times.

Yep, Smarty has 'em from time to time. Some don't even show up until they've been run a good while... . I saw one guy that ran 120k on his before it started recently. And you can't reset it with the typical service reset, and resetting with a scan tool only lasts for a short while..... sometimes... strange one, that one.

EFI isn't working on it, at least not officially. Independent tuners are. EFI is complying to all EPA regulations, and trying to avoid the gub'ment bullet... .