Safe towing with Smarty

[Sean Flanagan]

I have a Smarty and a nice new 2007. I have heard of everybody saying how the Smarty software #3 will provide, more power, lower EGT and improved economy. I will be doing some moutain towing with this truck and I don't have any gauges (yet). For those of you who have gauges, have you verified this claim of lower EGT? Can I safely run this software #3, with wide open throttle for as long as 15 minutes griding up some steep grades at altitudes from 6000ft to 11000ft, and not worry about a melt-down?

 

[DPKetchum]

Few OLD TDR sayings with mods. Gauges FIRST,I am my own WARRANTY station and lastly you play you pay.

 

[Giachino]

A lot depends on the tow weight... . as a general rule if you're maxed out, stick with level 1, low to medium weight level 3..... that being said, i really wouldnt do either with out guages... . not wfo for 15 minutes in the mountains... . that's a recipe for disaster! NOT WORTH THE RISK... . get guages first and you can guarantee you're not frying your truck!



The smarty's great, but nothing's going to allow you to pull a heavy load under the conditions you mentioned (except maybe twins) without high EGT's... . hell a stock truck with a heavy trailer at 15min WFO on a steep incline's would probably melt the pistons!

 

[DPKetchum]

The thought of what you described with out a EGT gauge sent a shudder through me. Towing WHAT? 500 lbs or 12,000lbs. I used the SRT10 pillar with a grab handle and a Westach single boost and Egt gauge from Geno's. Just a afternoon to install. Get you one installed before blasting up mountains,towing with any box or down loader.

 

[JApol]

I recently towed 7k up a 6% grade. If it hadn't been for the gauges I probably would have started melting stuff.

I probably backed out a little on the late side at 28 PSI at 1000* post turbo. Just letting off 5 mph the boost fell to under 25 and the temps fell to 800. All this is with Smarty level 3

 

[Rotty]

Get guages, I put the genos with the westack(or your choice) on a srt10 plastic handle in one afternoon.

I have not yet made any mods but I installed it to get a base line. It is like a temp guage, oil pressure guage, etc. It lets you know how your engine is doing.

Do you really want to chance hurting your engine? I hope not.

Remember, once your modify for performance, As the old mantra is "I am my own warrenty station".



Spend the couple of hundred dollars and you will have peace of mind instead if something happens like running over max egt for long periods and then you will be putting out several thousand dollars for repairs.

Consider it like insurance pay a little now, or possibly pay lot later...



Good luck.

 

[redfuelrules]

You'll be surprised to see how hot these newer trucks run stock. I'd definitly add a pyrometer before towing.

 

[JCasper]

Like said above, get the gauges.



I have the SRT pillar mount with a Westach boost/Combo gauge and love it. It will only take 2-3 hours to install and will give you peace of mind.



I put mine on last summer right before going to Central oregon to haul hay.



Going over the pass empty I could see 1,000 post turbo that was passing doing 75MPH and was only for a few seconds.



Coming back weighing 21K lbs I was in 5th doing 55MPH and was holding 28PSI and 850-900 egt's post turbo. That was without the Smarty. This summer I will try with the Smarty but only on level 3.



I have sinced moved my probe to the manifold and recommend you do the same. With the Smarty on level 5 empty I can see 1100 post and 1500+ pre turbo on a hard accelaration to 80MPH.



Good luck and get those gauges. Genos is awesome. My egt gauge just started giving me some problems and they immediately put one in the mail for me and sent me a return shipping label for the old one. Warranty is good for a year. Geno's rocks.

 

[RMalone]

Another thing to keep in mind is that Smarty and every other box that lowers egt does so via timeing advance. As you advance the timeing the egt gets lower and lower but in cylinder temps start to get closer to egt temps, so you could be reading egt that seems acceptable but cylinder temps might get too hot. Also since the advanced timeing is using the fuel more efficiently that means more heat is staying in the engine and you may run into high coolant temps. One of you guys with more experience correct me if I am wrong but I believe the above is true.



And as stated in every post, don't even consider towing with fueling mods without guages.

 

[OT-OF-HERE!!]

SMARTY & Towing

Like all the above have stated GET A EGT GAUGE!! A must have!



Like a couple have said, you need to stick with probably SW1 in the mountains and other than that since you have no mods then I wouldn't venture past SW3.



Once you do mods then things change a lot. I can tow on SW7 and NO problemo but I've got twins and tons of others stuff. For me, the SMARTY gives me the best downloader/box I've used. Actually I turn everything but the SMARTY off to get my best result when towing above 10k.



You can't use other's experience unless you're modded like they are so stick to the very low numbers and watch that gauge.

 

[Sean Flanagan]

Wow, quick response... Thank you. Your response is what I expected. I figured the claim was too good to be true. It sounds like to me the claim of lower EGT's using the Smarty, or anything else, is for people who don't use their truck for towing in the mountains. Maybe just cruzing down the highway unloaded or something. Nobody cares about EGT unloaded, why even make the claim?. I'll probably keep the stock software until I get some gauges. I am worried about voiding the warranty by drilling the manifold for an EGT probe. Anybody have experience with that?



At this point for me, the Smarty is a very expensive thing to only correct my speedometer.



Anybody out there who lives in Denver have a similar setup with the Smarty and some gauges?



My old truck was a 98. 5 with a TST PM3 with the remote with gauges that let you set a max limit on EGT. That thing would start cutting back after about 15 seconds of full throttle, but I could still hold about 60-65 mph up a 7% grade, at high altitude, pulling a 5000lb travel trailer. That truck died with a busted crankshaft tonewheel that went through the side of the block, at 270k more or less trouble-free miles.



Hopefully this newfangled common rail thing can last at least that long.

 

[DPKetchum]

More worried about warranty and a downloader or fueling box then a hole drilled for a EGT gauge. In fact had the tech working on my fin temp sensor, ac issue install mine at a labor break cause the dash was all apart. He liked it. Kinda a reward for all the warranty repair he was doing.

 

[Ross]

Get Guages First!!!!!

I tow pretty heavy with my 2006 (about 20,000#). I've run both Smarty and a TST PMCR R49 trying to reduce EGTs while increasing power and economy... . My experience is that NOTHING helps your EGTs enough to really matter. Sure, timing helps some, but it doesn't help as much as people have promised me. I've had people say: "lowers my EGTs 200 degrees. " I haven't seen that. Maybe in the flats when she's not workin', but that's not where the truck needs relief! We need EGT relief when the truck is pulling a long hill at full throttle. My experience has been, unless you do something dramatic (like twins or large single), you're not going to see a huge benefit in EGTs.



Smarty & TST both do what they promise when it comes to making power. They're great in that respect, but until you deal with the problem the itsy-bitsy turbo creates, you're not going to help the heat issue much...



Let's face it; these trucks run too hot in stock trim. Add some fuel (even with timing) and you're asking for it. I've run Smarty on 1, 3, & 5 and while the power is always welcome, I exceed 1300 degrees on almost any hill over 3/4 mile long. That's about 40 seconds. That's long enough to melt a piston...



I also tried every combination on the TST. Ecomony, timing only, no timing... etc, etc. , and still can get to way over 1400, even on relatively small and short hills.



I always have to hit "cancel" on the cruise and slow down to about 60 mph to keep the temps in check. I've had one really steep hill I had to down shift and run at 50. I drive my EGT, not my speedometer. I top hills as fast as my pyrometer will let me. Sometimes its 70, sometimes its 50. I've got power enough to top them at 70, but always run into EGT trouble. I'm think folks with smaller trailers might be ok though.



I truthfully don't know how people without guages get along without burning down their engines.



I'm either going to get a bigger turbo, or try water/meth injection. Based on price, the water/meth is looking good.

 

[Sean Flanagan]

It sounds like the 3rd gen trucks run quite a bit hotter than the old 2nd gen 24v that I used to have. You folks have me worried about mountain towing with this truck, STOCK. Since I've had this new truck, with no gauges, I feel like I am running blind. Today I'm going to call the dealer and ask them what happens to my warranty if I drill a hole in the exhaust manifold. It will be interesting to see what they say...

 

[Ross]

Good move on the guages, Sean. I agree with you that the 3rd gens run too hot stock. Don't get me wrong, I love many features of the 3rd gen trucks, but they are on the edge, IMO. I believe that in an effort to raise output (325 hp), and maintain good driveability with no smoke, they have to run a small exhaust housing for quick spool and clean emissions. This is great running around town, or unloaded, but use these trucks for heavy towing, and the turbo is beyond it's efficiency range. There is a good article about this in the TDR about 3 issues back... .

 

[DPKetchum]

Unless you screw up something because the manifold got drilled or metal shavings,probe breaks off etc. It dosen't effect warranty.

 

[nineback]

I had a similar concern about towing with my stock 07 but have been assured that as long as it is stock the ecm will take care of protecting the truck if temperatures get too high. Now if the truck is not stock then all bets are off.



Tom

It sounds like the 3rd gen trucks run quite a bit hotter than the old 2nd gen 24v that I used to have. You folks have me worried about mountain towing with this truck, STOCK. Since I've had this new truck, with no gauges, I feel like I am running blind. Today I'm going to call the dealer and ask them what happens to my warranty if I drill a hole in the exhaust manifold. It will be interesting to see what they say...

 

[ColemanR]

I would not bet on it. I had the factory injectors honed nice increace in power no gauges for about 10,000miles put gauges on it and about had a heart attack no problem burying 1500 EGT!!!! granted they were not stock any more but if the computer supposeedly backs it down with excessive heat why did it not? FYI Smarty on level 1 backed my EGTs down about 200 to 400 degs across the bourd Love that Smarty but my trans hates it. Randy

 

[Sean Flanagan]

I know for a fact that the engine computer DOES NOT monitor exhaust temp because there is no means for measurement. It uses fueling maps based on temperature and manifold pressure... etc. These maps are setup so you probably will not exceed max EGT under most conditions.