Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Smarty and new Clutch

[DixonL]

I have been thinking about getting a Smarty for a while and I will get one this winter after Christmas. I have been considering getting a new 3rd generation dodge CTD, but I think I might be just as satisfied with getting the enigne to produce the same amount of power. I guess I am only shooting for about 50hp more than stock. Will my stock clutch hold or will I need to upgrade? I hear a lot of good things on the south bend clutches. Should I be looking at the Con O or the Con OFE? What would be the cost of those clutches if I had someone install it? What would be the biggest difference between them? Any thoughts would be appreciated. I also have a gooseneck that I tow from time to time that the weight will get up to 7-8K.



Thad (Ohio)

 

[JKinney]

My clutch has not sliped yet, I tow alot.

 

[johncameron]

I'd say a smarty may slip a stock clutch. I guess it depends on the truck and how you drive it. The smarty adds globs of low end which is what kills clutches. If you do end up buying a clutch definately get south bend CON-OFE. Do it right the first time!

 

[Cummins724]

I have been thinking about getting a Smarty for a while and I will get one this winter after Christmas. I have been considering getting a new 3rd generation dodge CTD, but I think I might be just as satisfied with getting the enigne to produce the same amount of power. I guess I am only shooting for about 50hp more than stock. Will my stock clutch hold or will I need to upgrade? I hear a lot of good things on the south bend clutches. Should I be looking at the Con O or the Con OFE? What would be the cost of those clutches if I had someone install it? What would be the biggest difference between them? Any thoughts would be appreciated. I also have a gooseneck that I tow from time to time that the weight will get up to 7-8K.



Thad (Ohio)

My brother has a stock clutch in his 98. 5. It has a edge comp [120hp] & it doesn't slip at all. I had a comp on my truck with a stock clutch for a year & tow 15k-18k daily. I only had problems with my stock clutch after installing injectors in conjunction with the comp would slip only on stage 5. My brother has a loaner smarty from Bob Wagner & has been running it on level 9 all week & the clutch hasn't slipped once. I think that you should be fine with the stock clutch unless it has a bunch of miles on it & it is barely holding now.

 

[Supermod56]

I towed around 10K and with the mods I have minus the injectors, it never slipped the stocker, I stuffed the OFE in the same time I did the injectors. You should be OK if it's fairly new.



Tom

 

[RobertP]

id say if you tow alot, and still want to know that your clutch wont let you down. that the SBC OFE would be the best choice. it will hold if you decide to turn the smarty up to play alittle. and will give you great towing capability. and do it all with a smile.



Robert

 

[oneshotkyle]

there is no programmer that makes the torque at such a low rpm like smarty does. not even a edge comp on 120hp. it's very hard to exlpain over the net,but i've been told that with smarty you can make some very high torque number by 1100 rpm while other boxes will make the same torque at a much higher rpm. so when you let out on the clutch and mash the throttle at 1100 rpm or so you'll see. that's just from my experience, and i should know cause me having fun cost me a clutch... now the fun begins.

 

[jeepit]

I had the same thoughts about trading up but glad I didn't. I have not slipped my clutch to date. You will like the SmArTy. Go for it

 

[AndyMan]

I have a stock (for now) 99 with the nv-5600. I also have a SB OFE. It drives pretty much like a stock clutch. Between the O and the OFE, If you decide to get a clutch, I'd go ahead with the OFE. It's not that much more, and you'll be set for most all power mods that you might add in the future. I've had a SB FE in my 12v, and didn't like it at all. It would certainly hold the power, but it was a tough clutch to drive.



Another clutch to look at is the Zoom ZVT. Talk to Gary Croyle (GCroyle on TDR). He works for Perfection Clutch (the Zoom people) and is a heck of a nice guy to work with.



I'm considering a smarty and a Edge J/A. Not sure if I'll pull the trigger on a smarty or not. I've driven a stock auto with just the smarty, and couldn't really tell much difference between having the smarty and not having it. We tried several different levels. It did seem to make some low end grunt, but it didn't seem to be worth $650. Everybody raves about them, so I'm sure they have benefit somewhere... "I" just didn't see it on the otherwise stock truck we had it on.



After i do the Juice/Attitude, I may contact Mr. Wagner to see about trying one out to see if it's worth the dough for me.

 

[NoSeeUm]

With the six speed, you will probably be OK. I slipped mine once when I short shifted 3rd to 4th running SW9, but my truck has a 5 speed and the gap is 1000 RPM. As long as you don't do that I would think you will be fine. Especially if you are towing, let the RPM's come up a bit before you shift.



I you decide to go with an OFE you will like it. It has very good manners and the peddle pressure is about the same if not a bit less than stock. However; it does hook up faster and has that performance clutch feel to it. Thats the first comment I get when other people barrow my truck.



Jim

 

[DonS]

My stock clutch was fine with just the Smarty. As soon as I added the injectors, though, it was gone (1800 RPMs, 5th gear, push skinny pedal to the floor == tach to redline, speedo not moving).

 

[JRagland]

My stock clutch was fine with just the Smarty. As soon as I added the injectors, though, it was gone (1800 RPMs, 5th gear, push skinny pedal to the floor == tach to redline, speedo not moving).

I was the same way, except the injectors that slipped it were only RV275s with the old Catcher. It slipped in 5th gear the first time I drove it like it was nothing. Go with the OFE, or similar, if you get a clutch. This FE is wickedly rough. I am the only person I know that can drive it and I look like a fool at least once a week with it.

 

[DixonL]

It sounds like the Con OFE is the way to go... but how much does it cost? I have to have it installed as I have never worked on a clutch before... . so I don't want to learn on something this expensive.



Does anyone have any recommendations for an installer in Ohio or nearby state? How long does it usually take for the shop to install it?



Thanks,

Thad

 

[johncameron]

powerbypoole has them here: http://www.powerbypoole.com/sbc.html#dodge



You will be happy with a SBC.

 

[AndyMan]

South Bend is just over in Indiana. I don't think Peter installs them, but he can probably give you a good reference. Call and talk to Peter about your needs. He is extremely helpful.



For estimation purposes, I'd say $300-500 for RR of the transmission and clutch.

 

[JBlock]

RV275 will get 40-60 HP. there cheaper than a a Smarty, but the smile factor is less.

 

[BRayls]

my zvt is great and Gary is super to deal with.

 

[rubberneck]

I've driven a stock auto with just the smarty, and couldn't really tell much difference between having the smarty and not having it. We tried several different levels. It did seem to make some low end grunt, but it didn't seem to be worth $650. Everybody raves about them, so I'm sure they have benefit somewhere... "I" just didn't see it on the otherwise stock truck we had it on.



After i do the Juice/Attitude, I may contact Mr. Wagner to see about trying one out to see if it's worth the dough for me.

the reason you probably didn't notice much was the stock slushbox and convertor just slipped more as you added the power. With a manual i will gaurantee you will be very happy. You can see my sig to see some of the stuff done to my truck. If I were starting over today, i would buy the smarty 1st no doubt. I have been extremely pleased with the way it runs.