Smarty Jr.best setting for pulling 5th wheel?

[RBellah]

I have only used the #2 towing setting and drove approx 200 miles and it towed really good at that level. I am getting ready for a 700 mile road trip. Any suggestions from you Smarty Jr. guys on what setting I should use for best mileage and temps? Now that I have the built transmission and gauges I will be able to monitor and see the results. Your help appreciated as always. Ron

 

[Motorhead]

I have towed distances with both settings with my '07,5. 9. I don't think that the mileage will be much different with either setting. The 40hp setting seems to run a bit cooler on the egt's. Stock turbos are our Achilles heal.

 

[Bob4x4]

A lot will depend on the terrain as to how much power you can tow with and of course gearing and supporting mods. With the 06 you can lock out od and use higher rpm to keep it cooler on the grades. The stock turbo works good at lower rpm compared to larger aftermarket turbos

 

[Prairie Dog]

Deleted - bad info.

 

[CKelley1]

with the new software set the jr to 2 or tow and the timing to3. i hate auto's but since you say you had it built, you should be able to set torque to 3

 

[AH64ID]

With that built auto I would run SW2 TM2 TQ4 PoD 90

No timing is added at level 2 (tow) so the temps are a little higher I suppose. I tow on level 3 but my TT is less than 8K. I think using level 3 may be a problem for heavier loads since it adds more timing. Maybe someone here can elaborate on timing and towing?

All 3 levels of the Jr add timing, it's the Sr that doesn't add timing on the even level defaults.

 

[Prairie Dog]

With that built auto I would run SW2 TM2 TQ4 PoD 90




All 3 levels of the Jr add timing, it's the Sr that doesn't add timing on the even level defaults.

Not according to the Madds web site for SmJr. - about half way down: http://smarty-jr.com/mads-electronics-smarty-jr-mads-electronics.htm
Or am I misunderstanding something?

 

[AH64ID]

That's not a MADS site, and it's a cut and paste of other software's not the Jr's details. The Jr doesn't even offer a SW0. The Jr uses TM2 as the default on all 3 software levels.

http://www.madselectronics.com/downloadfiles/SmartyJRPUserGuide.pdf

 

[RBellah]

I am going to run the tow setup for a while and may try these other suggested settings SW2 TM2 TQ4 PoD 90. I usually run 65-70 MPH and will monitor the fuel mileage. I am pulling double this trip my fifer and my 4 wheeler trailer.

 

[AH64ID]

The PoD 90 won't effect mileage, or total power but it does make the throttle less sensitive which is good for mileage and trans life.

 

[Prairie Dog]

That's not a MADS site, and it's a cut and paste of other software's not the Jr's details. The Jr doesn't even offer a SW0. The Jr uses TM2 as the default on all 3 software levels.



http://www.madselectronics.com/downloadfiles/SmartyJRPUserGuide.pdf

The link you provided is just the manual (which I have) and doesn't describe individual level attributes but I see where I got shanghai'd = although I did find that the Smarty does offer what I described ~ SW0. etc. on the official Madds site but that function is only for the S03.

The official Madds website doesn't seem to describe exactly what each level is doing other than giving a HP rating.



Thanks for the clarification.



EDIT: deleted previous inaccurate post.

 

[AH64ID]

Yeah I forgot it doesn't detail it.

Essentially what the Jr does is.

SW1: Timing
SW2: Little more timing and little more fuel
SW3: Little more timing and little more fuel

 

[NavyDood]

Here's another POV for ya.

Everyone's driving style (aka common sense when towing) and vehicle will vary. For me, I know my 04 305hp/555tq truck and my driving style. I run my smarty Jr. on the 70hp tune all of the time when running empty and moderate towing weights in the 10,000-15000 lb combined weight. When I tow heavy (18K+ combined weight) I revert back to the 40HP tune. The Smarty Jr is very engine friendly and the safest of any tuner on the market IMO. I have been using my Smarty Jr. for over four years and 100,000 miles on the 70hp tune. I don't race stop light to stop light and don't mash the go pedal from a dead stop, I roll into it. I am still on my original 48RE with 191,000 miles on it. I do 30-40K filter and fluid changes and the bands have never once been touched/adjusted. August 2011 I towed my 5vr from MD to TX going the northern route thru PA, IN, IL, MO, AR and TX. My combined weight was 21K. I had the 40hp tune installed and the A/C was on the whole trip. The outside ambient temps reached as high as 106°F when I was going through AR and TX and my transmission temp never went over 160°F with the cruise set at 65mph and OD on. One last note… the 40hp tune drops my EGT's by 150°F easily when towing my 5vr

 

[WalterJ]

RBellah; After we thoroughly worn out our OEM 48RE @ 198K miles, my transmission rebuild tech reinforced my understanding about using Tow Haul mode when hauling. He showed me how much stronger mechanically the 48RE 3rd gear is, (and the Performance Clutch Pack he installed). If you're on consistent level road (where is that?), OD should be OK.

Another word I got from various diesel tech sources re: modified fueling schedules, e. g. Smarty, Bullydog, Banks, etc. , is that technically speaking the more aggressive 'selections' are likely be the most efficient IF 'acceleration is slow & smoothly controlled'. The reasoning I understand, is that more fuel is admitted sooner, which provides longer (milliseconds) burning/combustion times. My last 5K trip to/fr FL was 2MPG improvement using Banks Lvl 6 vs Lvl 2. HOWEVER, I found myself driving my truck like I stole it, enjoying the power too much. I've since backed it down to Lvl 4 when hauling, mainly because I have NO control of the wildly aggressive cruise control when entering the KY & GA hills, and wished to 'soften' the throttle response a bit. :-laf now you're stuck evaluating this opinion compared to the hundreds you'll be reading, oh well, education ain't never free; it always costs time or money!

P. S. Anyone know of a method to add a "Constant Throttle" option to our 3rd Gen trucks? With long rolling hills, I wouldn't mind dropping 5MPH on the way up, nor would increasing 5MPH on the down side. "Turn Cruise off. " you say? My rig loves running 75MPH, but that's to much for my RV & I struggle to keep proper track of myself--LOL.

 

[CKelley1]

ok with the new 5. 14b software all of the above info is not vallad. i will try a cut and paste. but basically economy changes a lot of parameters but does not add extra fueling, tow changes some more prameters and adds 30 hp extra fueling level 3 adds 30 more fueling and changes some parameters. the total advance on the timing for all three levels is the same with #2 timing setting the most. setting#3 is a little less than #2 and #4 is less than #3. as you increase injector size you have to decrease timing. we run all of our trucks with 50 hp injectors to decrease fueling duration for 2 mpg increse. we found the #2 setting was to much timing, once i changed to #3 my mpg came up and water temp droped down to normal on hard pulls. since he is stock he could try #2 for a trip then change to #3 to see what it does. The power in levels is now more linear and has gained +/- 10% power at peak.
In short, just to mention a few:
• New Base software
• New duration maps
• New timing maps
• More linear power
• Overall driveability improvement
• Better mileage
• The default timing (# 2) is now the highest one.
Timing # 3 is less timing advance than # 2.
Timing # 4 is less timing advance than # 3.
pod is for kids and it does decrease power by the %shown, just leave at 99%

 

[AH64ID]

CKelly1, what info do you think is wrong?

I have dyno charts to show that PoD doesn't always decrease power. On UDC I can run PoD 85 and not effect power thru-out the entire rpm band. PoD 70 only effects power from about 2300 rpms up. It does make the throttle less sensitive, but WOT will still produce full power above PoD85. PoD 85 will develop all of the power of PoD 99, but it will make the throttle less sensitive, which is better for smoke, traction, smoothness and on the powertrain. PoD effects the TPS signal, and since full fueling is commanded (on my UDC, don't recall on SW1 or 2, but UDC uses SW3 base tune) at 82% throttle the last 18% of throttle us useless. If you use PoD at 85 then WOT is now equal it 85% throttle at PoD99, which is just above the full fueling position. That is why power is unaffected at PoD85, and only effects upper rpm power at PoD70.

It has long been thought that timing on the JR for SW1,2,3 (given the same TM setting) was the same, but UDC shows different and emails with Marco state differently. Its not much different, but enough to be clear. They are similar but TM2 on SW3 will run more timing than TM2 on SW1.

 

[Jack in Alaska]

I tow my 5th. whl. (24,400 lb. ) GCW in Smarty Jr. #2 with 99 %. It climbs hills effortlessly. It pulled up the Cabbage Patch on I-82 south of Pendleton, Or. in 5th accelerating up the hills.

W/O the RV I run it in #1. Plenty of power. I tried towing in #3 about 4 yrs. ago in the hills south of Hoover Dam on Hyw. 93. The clutch would not hold the torque. Pulled over and reset it to #2 and have never used #3 again.

 

[Buffalo]

I have an older Smarty JR. in an '03, HO, 305/555 engine & it works very well, for me. I tow a 25' bumperpull Nash travel trailer. Most of my driving/towing is in the mountainous Western US. Seems like you are always climbing or going downhill, out here. My Smarty Jr. has the three settings 1,2&3. My experience is that the #2 setting (towing) works the best. I found that the #3 setting (performance) caused my EGT's to get a little high while climbing fairly steep grades. Never got dangerously hot but, I decided that the #2 setting was preferable because, I have never once noticed that the EGT's were getting dangerously high or even close to high while on that setting. Another thing I've noticed is that there wasn't much, if any, difference in performance on the #2 setting over the #3. So, I can tow without any worry of overheating the EGT's no matter where or what terrain I tow in. On relatively flat surfaces, the #3 setting was fine but, it did raise temps on steep hills.



Around town, without the trailer on the back, I drive in the #3 performance mode because it is more fun & the power difference IS noticable without the trailer on. I must also say that there was a difference between 3 & 2 while towing but, not very much. Certainly not enough to want to worry each time I approached a hill & not having to keep a close eye on the EGT guage.



I do love the Smarty Jr. It seems to be a fine product & I would buy it again.

Hope this helps.

Joe F.

 

[AH64ID]

Buffalo, I suggest updating your Smarty Jr. The recent files are even better!

 

[Buffalo]

AH64ID,

Unfortunately, I am electronically & computer illiterate. I haven't got a clue as to how to update the Smarty Jr. I've heard about doing that but, don't even know if mine is capable of that upgrade. To be honest, I'm very happy with what I have, now. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose!!!! I've read about all the adjustments that can be made but, mine seems to just have a couple of choices available. Things like Torque Management, etc. , I don't see where I would be able to do this with my Smarty Jr. I thought that was only available on the standard Smarty. Not the Jr. I may be wrong. Thanks for your response.

Joe F.