Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Jusy a partial review of my personal experiences with the Smarty.
The truck setup then was 3. 54 gears, 265 tires Mach 3's, EZ and a DTT auto. I sold the EZ and switched to Comp. This setup worked pretty good with my only complaint being the reliability of the Comp boxes. It was in this timeframe I had heard all the rage of the Catcher (that's the old school ECM to those that never had that pleasure) and Bob gave me a loaner to try out. I liked the throttle response, the ability to smoke at will and the reduction in timing noise. But, I stuck with the Comp for some time.
Eventually, I went to Mach 4s. Cleaner than the older technology Mach 3s, better milage andd less smoke. Sign me up! I still ran the same electronics, but again, was plagued with faulty electronics. I decided to make a switch.
I bought the Catcher before the release of the Smarty. I was told they were not near production, but I had no idea they would be released so soon afterwards. With the Smarty, the marketing was simple. The ability to have different tuning in the same box. The ability to go back to stock, or change power levels while reading codes and correcting tire change heights. Sounded like the ultimate in adjustability. Since the Mach 4s were proving to be more of a handful than the milder Mach 3s with the Catcher, I thought this might be the thing that does it!
So, on goes the Smarty with a reflashed used TST. The Catcher is still in my drawer as a backup ECM. Everything ran pretty good. With the small turbo and the tight auto, it was driveable. No real issues other than the useless cruise on the Catcher levels. I didn't have the stacked shifts, but the speed to hit lockup had increased. I would hit lockup around 45mph. I was having the surge issue, but after being told it was only my truck, I just lived with it. Later, I found out it affected many trucks and there was a software change. Thanks Marco!
As I wanted some additional cool air, I added twins. There was no driveability change with the Smarty other than I could now have the fuel come in earlier without as much smoke. Cruise control was completely out of the question at any speed if over level 3. I figured I had a sensor issue and tried to track it down. After replacing marginal IAT, MAP and eventually VP44 and cam sensor, the problems in the software remained. I had thought there eventually would be a fix so I lived with it.
Later, I went to a bigger injector as I now had the air to run it. Truck spooled very fast. Especially with the Smarty on level 5. Definitely put a grin on my face. Then I tried to use the cruise. It would build boost, accerate to speed and the throttle would lift, dumping the boost. Then it would tip back in smoking out traffic. At higher speeds, the smoke surge was not as bad, but you felt like you were on the high seas. Accel, decel, accel, decel.....
The lockup point moved even higher still. I tried raising the APPS voltage to the limits of the ECM to accept it with only a small reduction of lockup speed. This is still a pain today. I have also experienced some stacked shifts around the 30 mph mark. I am guessing all the issues I have had relate to throttle position vs fueling alone. Since the trans gets some input from the PCM as well as a physical link of the cable, it only makes sense that the Smarty can affect the transmission indirectly and directly. Also, the smoke level is very high with the larger injectors and any conditions that would add lag. Heavy loads, big turbos, warm weather, ect.
We had all been patiently waiting some updated software to deal with these issues some of us have been having. If it's the same handful of people like in the original surge issue, then it affects every auto out there. It's just not noticed by everyone. I have endorsed the Smarty as I felt that we had finally had a program that was stable and reliable. Also, I felt that the designer absolutely cared about the issues we were having and was working hard on a fix. I hope that's still the case, but I don't know.
With testing with the Edge products recently, I was pleasantly surprised all the negative issues were gone. Of course, you now have the torque management system back in place, but the truck is much more fun to drive and you don't get seasick if you are driving a rough road and the pedal is getting some play.
I have loaded the Smarty level 3 back into the truck and plan to look for a EZ. I have put the Smarty under a seat in my boat so it's there when I go fishing and I can use it for the anti theft software. I'll leave it there until a revision comes, if ever. Since no one will say if they are or are not working on it, I won't hold my breath. And since I can always get another Edge product on warranty, that seems to be the move to make.
I still think the Smarty platform works. And for 90% of the guys, there won't be any issues. There will be, however some issues for some guys. I will be a Smarty fan again if the program ever gets changed. It pains me to lose something that has been so stable. Just like the TST!
If you have a modified automatic truck, take careful consideration of using the Smarty program. Especially if you have mods that were not designed into the original Smarty/ Catcher format. It took time to see the issues.
Sorry for the long post. But I can no longer support a vendor that does not support us. If things change, I'll be back!
Dave
The truck setup then was 3. 54 gears, 265 tires Mach 3's, EZ and a DTT auto. I sold the EZ and switched to Comp. This setup worked pretty good with my only complaint being the reliability of the Comp boxes. It was in this timeframe I had heard all the rage of the Catcher (that's the old school ECM to those that never had that pleasure) and Bob gave me a loaner to try out. I liked the throttle response, the ability to smoke at will and the reduction in timing noise. But, I stuck with the Comp for some time.
Eventually, I went to Mach 4s. Cleaner than the older technology Mach 3s, better milage andd less smoke. Sign me up! I still ran the same electronics, but again, was plagued with faulty electronics. I decided to make a switch.
I bought the Catcher before the release of the Smarty. I was told they were not near production, but I had no idea they would be released so soon afterwards. With the Smarty, the marketing was simple. The ability to have different tuning in the same box. The ability to go back to stock, or change power levels while reading codes and correcting tire change heights. Sounded like the ultimate in adjustability. Since the Mach 4s were proving to be more of a handful than the milder Mach 3s with the Catcher, I thought this might be the thing that does it!
So, on goes the Smarty with a reflashed used TST. The Catcher is still in my drawer as a backup ECM. Everything ran pretty good. With the small turbo and the tight auto, it was driveable. No real issues other than the useless cruise on the Catcher levels. I didn't have the stacked shifts, but the speed to hit lockup had increased. I would hit lockup around 45mph. I was having the surge issue, but after being told it was only my truck, I just lived with it. Later, I found out it affected many trucks and there was a software change. Thanks Marco!
As I wanted some additional cool air, I added twins. There was no driveability change with the Smarty other than I could now have the fuel come in earlier without as much smoke. Cruise control was completely out of the question at any speed if over level 3. I figured I had a sensor issue and tried to track it down. After replacing marginal IAT, MAP and eventually VP44 and cam sensor, the problems in the software remained. I had thought there eventually would be a fix so I lived with it.
Later, I went to a bigger injector as I now had the air to run it. Truck spooled very fast. Especially with the Smarty on level 5. Definitely put a grin on my face. Then I tried to use the cruise. It would build boost, accerate to speed and the throttle would lift, dumping the boost. Then it would tip back in smoking out traffic. At higher speeds, the smoke surge was not as bad, but you felt like you were on the high seas. Accel, decel, accel, decel.....
The lockup point moved even higher still. I tried raising the APPS voltage to the limits of the ECM to accept it with only a small reduction of lockup speed. This is still a pain today. I have also experienced some stacked shifts around the 30 mph mark. I am guessing all the issues I have had relate to throttle position vs fueling alone. Since the trans gets some input from the PCM as well as a physical link of the cable, it only makes sense that the Smarty can affect the transmission indirectly and directly. Also, the smoke level is very high with the larger injectors and any conditions that would add lag. Heavy loads, big turbos, warm weather, ect.
We had all been patiently waiting some updated software to deal with these issues some of us have been having. If it's the same handful of people like in the original surge issue, then it affects every auto out there. It's just not noticed by everyone. I have endorsed the Smarty as I felt that we had finally had a program that was stable and reliable. Also, I felt that the designer absolutely cared about the issues we were having and was working hard on a fix. I hope that's still the case, but I don't know.
With testing with the Edge products recently, I was pleasantly surprised all the negative issues were gone. Of course, you now have the torque management system back in place, but the truck is much more fun to drive and you don't get seasick if you are driving a rough road and the pedal is getting some play.
I have loaded the Smarty level 3 back into the truck and plan to look for a EZ. I have put the Smarty under a seat in my boat so it's there when I go fishing and I can use it for the anti theft software. I'll leave it there until a revision comes, if ever. Since no one will say if they are or are not working on it, I won't hold my breath. And since I can always get another Edge product on warranty, that seems to be the move to make.
I still think the Smarty platform works. And for 90% of the guys, there won't be any issues. There will be, however some issues for some guys. I will be a Smarty fan again if the program ever gets changed. It pains me to lose something that has been so stable. Just like the TST!
If you have a modified automatic truck, take careful consideration of using the Smarty program. Especially if you have mods that were not designed into the original Smarty/ Catcher format. It took time to see the issues.
Sorry for the long post. But I can no longer support a vendor that does not support us. If things change, I'll be back!
Dave
