To buy chip or not

[Balzac]

A friend has a 2016 3500 with camper in box. Has asked me if he should add a chip for more hp and or better fuel consumption! If yes which would be the best one?

 

[DHayden]

What transmission? As far as fuel mileage goes, the only thing that will make you see a discernible difference while towing is your right foot.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

No. Your friend friend doesn't need chip, and it doesn't matter what transmission, or gear ratio that he has. The truck will handle it with zero extra help.

 

[DHayden]

It does matter, if he has an Aisin there is no transmission programming. 68rfe there is transmission programming. Depending on the chip/box he may not like the results with the Aisin. Does he NEED it? No. By the way its posted, he already has a camper in the bed and he already knows how it handles and is wanting more.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

BS.

 

[DHayden]

I wont argue with wisdom and enlightenment

 

[Cummins12V98]

I tow a combined load of 35k and don't ever feel the need for more power.

 

[SSchang]

I had a 2015 3500, and now have a 2020 3500. I haul(ed) a 4500# truck camper in both of them. I never thought I needed a more HP/torque in either truck. Of course I'd like better mileage, but I get 12 mpg at 70 mph, and the front of the camper is essentially a 4x8 sheet of plywood I'm pushing through the air. I think that mileage is very reasonable.

 

[terb]

I tow a combined load of 35k and don't ever feel the need for more power.

Would it be fair too say, that your the one the two lane road with 26 cars behind you trying to pass?

 

[Cummins12V98]

Would it be fair too say, that your the one the two lane road with 26 cars behind you trying to pass?

Not really. The rare occasion I would be on a STEEP two lane I would use the pull out.Most 6% grades I am about 50. Throw a 6k Truck camper on my truck and I would run the posted speed limit with ease.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

Your friend wants more HP, and better fuel consumption ? Those two don't go together.
I've had a 2014 tradesman 2500 CTD 6.7 4X4,3.42 gears with the 68 rfe and towed a 14,000 lb Montana 5th wheel , and never needed more power to pull any grade out West on a highway system to do the posted speed limit. My current pickup 2015 (3500 ctd Dually,4.10 Aisin 4x4 megacab) pulled a 18,000 lb Landmark 5th wheel through all lower 48 US states, and never needed more power to do the speed limit. 30,000 miles on the road and never needed any after market stuff.
You didn't mention how big this camper is. It really doesn't matter, because that 3500 should be able to accommodate a very heavy camper, and still have plenty of reliable stock power to do it. If the truck has the gear select button on the shift lever, tell your friend to use that like a manual transmission. He can control how long to stay in say 1st, 2nd , and 3rd gear to get it moving faster. I use mine occasionally. Not related to HP, but the only thing that 3500 might need is more rear suspension, like air bags.

 

[Jim W]

As this question is debated by the others let me answer your question!

No, you can not buy a chip for the truck. That could have worked on the older model trucks, but the new trucks you need a program to replace the stock program from FCA. There are several different brands on the market that are EPA compliant, Such as Smarty MM3, Bully Dog, Banks and others. But they do require in some case a tuner (person) who knows what he is doing.

Now will they help somewhat if the person doing the tune knows what he wants but don't look for fuel mileage improvement with the truck camper in place!.
As an example I tow a 13'-6" trailer and my fuel mileage on my truck when towing runs between 9 and 11 MPG. This is depending on wind conditions, speed, flat terrain and non stop interstate travel otherwise it is out the door. If he can travel at 65 to 70 MPH with no struggles with the camper in the bed. Than in my opinion no he does not need the HP increase for his truck.

Just my $0.02

 

[lpennock]

@Jim W . It could be argued that the Stealth Module is a chip. I agree with the rest of what you said.

 

[Wiredawg]

I run a Stealth Module on my 2017 Ram 5500. It works pretty nice adding 60HP to bring up to 385HP/~870LbFtTQ. I like the results, but would likely NOT chip or reprogram a 370HP SO or 400HP HO truck. The C&Cs are derated, so to bring up to HD P/U ratings works pretty nice.

Cheers, Ron

 

[AH64ID]

Ah the great power debate.

Fuel savings won’t pay for a programmer, as these trucks do great on fuel considering the emissions. My decently modified and efficient 05 didn’t get much better economy most the time and often worse.

If he wants to spend the money, regardless of the trans, find a tuner that will turn off the EGR and give it the ‘18 torque and some added throttle response. Leave it mostly stock, especially the lower end torque limiters... unless he wants to spend a lot of money on trans upgrades.

Otherwise I’d leave it stock. They have plenty of power and longevity. My stock ‘18 keeps up with my 450/1000 ‘05 without an issue.


I do custom tunes and when my warranty is up I’ll likely tune it, but the power will remain stock.


Edit: I forgot to add that I am not of fan of any plug and play module. He should either program it or forget it, IMO. Multiple reasons, but the biggest is that they are never as reliable as the OEM components.

 

[J VanSteenwyk]

I run a TS Performance Stryker fuel control module on mine. Gets 1 mpg better in city and 2-3 highway than it did stock. And puts down 428 rwhp and 957 lb/ft torque if I bury the skinny pedal. Couldn’t be happier. No reprogramming at all. All it does is adjust the fuel injector duration based on how you drive. Yes, you can get more power and better fuel efficiency, just not simultaneously. That is why this module is so impressive.

 

[Randomrunner12]

Here is my experience in the matter.

I bought my 2012 2500 G56 new, I used it for about 6 months towing a 35 foot bumper pull trailer packed to limit with Harley's and 4 wheeler s. After doing that an averaging 9mpg no matter what I thought maybe I'll get a programmer so i got EFI LIVE and its been fun but down hill from there. fast forward a year and needed a new clutch at 38k miles. Did what I could to baby but even running emissions and low tuning DMF gave up. Swapped to a SMF and then other parts fell off and went with better tuning. Power got better and mileage did also but then reliability became an issue. Lost the TURBO actuator and water pump within 4 months of each other. Stepped into a 2nd gen swap, new water pump and bigger intercooler and associated piping to go with it. Had the truck tuned for mileage and reliability instead of more power and now I can easily get 24-25mpg empty at 75, heaviest I have towed was 15klbs and I got a hand calc of 14-17mpg going 65-70 depending on hills, and head or tail winds. Again I am $8K into my truck at this point to get there and looking back I wouldn't have touched it and just gotten a bigger truck that was built to tow that first trailer lol.

Your friend is better off rethinking his situation and maybe consider some way of improving air flow over the top of the camper or around it to reduce drag if possible.

 

[gator-guy]

The OP is asking about a '16. The gains in efficiency from deleting on 13+ trucks is much less than your 2012. Fuel efficiency and reliability of the emissions system in general increased drastically.

 

[rpres62]

A friend has a 2016 3500 with camper in box. Has asked me if he should add a chip for more hp and or better fuel consumption! If yes which would be the best one?

I had a 2016 and put 90k on it and my current 2018 has 120k on it....
Have always programmed my diesels but these two trucks are strong in stock form. I did want any warranty problems and they have plenty of power.