Better tuner then smarty Jr ?

[RWherley]

We are looking for tuner options for my dads 04.5 3500, we had a diablo tuner i forget the model but it burnt up so we replaced it with a Smarty Jr. It works i guess it works but we arent as happy with it as we were the diablo. We dont so much care about mass power the biggest thing we are looking for is MPG gain and a little help when towing.Thanks for the input

 

[CToney]

Smarty Jr would give you best bang for your buck.

 

[p-Bar]

Smarty the best thing for the 04.5. I haven't seen much of a mileage gain, you can change the timing with it. Be careful if you are using it with the auto trans they can't handle much more HP/Torque than stock. Run it in tow mode for best mileage. You need to hand calc mileage as the lie-o-meter gets way out of wack.

 

[cerberusiam]

Best option would be an MM3 with a custom tune if you are looking for efficiency and some added power. That will entail undoing what is protecting the stock transmission. The Diablos were basically a pressure tuner and that has its own downsides unless you have replaced injectors and added filtration. The box tuners have their uses but they are geared for the mass market, not necessarily for YOUR truck.

 

[RWherley]

MM3 who makes that? The truck is a 6 speed with a South Bend clutch so the trans is not really a issue. I was looking at the Diablo Trinity or Edge juiced CTS2 the truck is in need of new injectors right now and we are looking at the BBI .5 ones for it and adding filtration is not a big deal especially if it helps injector life. I suppose i should say that the truck has a Holset HX super 40 turbo on a BD manifold with magniflow 5" exhaust

 

[cerberusiam]

MM3 is a Smarty Touch with no tunes, just the Smarty infrastructure and interface. You have to get a custom tune for it but it will specific for the truck and year rather than a tune that fits everything.

 

[WalterJ]

After my Banks tuner died the 2nd time, whilst in Florida 1300 miles from comfort zone, a local diesel shop highly recommended & installed Smarty Jr. On way back home, I had to stop & change the tune from #3 to #2 as it was a bit too aggressive. The #2 level tune has been working fine since. With no RV, pwr lvl #3 or #4 is fun to drive around town, if you catch my drift. LOL Don't know what lvl #9 is for?!? Forgot to mention I now have 50HP or Stage 1 replacement injectors.

I was a bit skeptical about this device actually writing its tuner software onto the ECM, replacing OEM program. Changing "programs" i.e. "fueling schedules" takes about 3 minutes with engine off. A cool feature is changing the throttle response from 1%-100%, great for valet parking in the big city, or keeping your teenager 'honest' on errands, eh. "Timing" and 2 other customizing options are available.

It does not use 6 cable connectors to get between the engine sensors & OEM Harness like the Banks system, which I believe was the problem with Gale's design.

Previous cautions re: transmission strength are to be heeded. My 48RE trans has billet input shaft & Triple Disc converter from "Precision", which I'm told will handle 800+ Lb-Ft torque. So far, so good.

 

[AH64ID]

Older thread, but to the OP.. did you get something your dad was happy with?

If he was seeing much better mileage with the Diablo than the S-JR was that hand calc’d or on the OH?

As others have mentioned it’s hard to beat the S-JR unless you get custom tuning, and then it’s easy!

After my Banks tuner died the 2nd time, whilst in Florida 1300 miles from comfort zone, a local diesel shop highly recommended & installed Smarty Jr. On way back home, I had to stop & change the tune from #3 to #2 as it was a bit too aggressive. The #2 level tune has been working fine since. With no RV, pwr lvl #3 or #4 is fun to drive around town, if you catch my drift. LOL Don't know what lvl #9 is for?!? Forgot to mention I now have 50HP or Stage 1 replacement injectors.

Smarty Jr’s only have 3 levels, so it sounds like you have a S-06 and not a S-JR.

 

[RWherley]

Dad got another Diablo i dont know the model, but the smarty is not uninstalling correctly and leaves a check engine light, with a code of fueling calibration error, and because of that it wont let the Diablo install, I havent had it anywhere to get it fixed yet. As for the higher mileage we had with the first set up, that was all hand calc'd.

 

[AH64ID]

Dad got another Diablo i dont know the model, but the smarty is not uninstalling correctly and leaves a check engine light, with a code of fueling calibration error, and because of that it wont let the Diablo install, I havent had it anywhere to get it fixed yet. As for the higher mileage we had with the first set up, that was all hand calc'd.

What is the specific code?

If the Diablo is getting that much better mileage I'd be nervous about too much rail pressure and it's effect on injector life. It's the easiest way to bump mileage, and shorten injector life.

 

[WalterJ]

After my Banks tuner died the 2nd time, whilst in Florida 1300 miles from comfort zone, a local diesel shop highly recommended & installed Smarty Jr. On way back home, I had to stop & change the tune from #3 to #2 as it was a bit too aggressive. The #2 level tune has been working fine since. With no RV, pwr lvl #3 or #4 is fun to drive around town, if you catch my drift. LOL Don't know what lvl #9 is for?!? Forgot to mention I now have 50HP or Stage 1 replacement injectors.

I was a bit skeptical about this device actually writing its tuner software onto the ECM, replacing OEM program. Changing "programs" i.e. "fueling schedules" takes about 3 minutes with engine off. A cool feature is changing the throttle response from 1%-100%, great for valet parking in the big city, or keeping your teenager 'honest' on errands, eh. "Timing" and 2 other customizing options are available.

It does not use 6 cable connectors to get between the engine sensors & OEM Harness like the Banks system, which I believe was the problem with Gale's design.

Previous cautions re: transmission strength are to be heeded. My 48RE trans has billet input shaft & Triple Disc converter from "Precision", which I'm told will handle 800+ Lb-Ft torque. So far, so good.

CORRECTION: M "

 

[WalterJ]

After my Banks tuner died the 2nd time, whilst in Florida 1300 miles from comfort zone, a local diesel shop highly recommended & installed Smarty Jr. On way back home, I had to stop & change the tune from #3 to #2 as it was a bit too aggressive. The #2 level tune has been working fine since. With no RV, pwr lvl #3 or #4 is fun to drive around town, if you catch my drift. LOL Don't know what lvl #9 is for?!? Forgot to mention I now have 50HP or Stage 1 replacement injectors.

I was a bit skeptical about this device actually writing its tuner software onto the ECM, replacing OEM program. Changing "programs" i.e. "fueling schedules" takes about 3 minutes with engine off. A cool feature is changing the throttle response from 1%-100%, great for valet parking in the big city, or keeping your teenager 'honest' on errands, eh. "Timing" and 2 other customizing options are available.

It does not use 6 cable connectors to get between the engine sensors & OEM Harness like the Banks system, which I believe was the problem with Gale's design.

Previous cautions re: transmission strength are to be heeded. My 48RE trans has billet input shaft & Triple Disc converter from "Precision", which I'm told will handle 800+ Lb-Ft torque. So far, so good.

CORRECTION: My tuner is a SMARTY TOUCH S2G