Smarty, the new CaTCHER tool.

[Bob Wagner]

You'll have to call him at Pacbrake! :-laf



Dave

piers is still a tdr member

 

[BPINE]

I would also shoot a PM direct to piers, I doubt the PDR35 was ever menat to be used with a 16cm housing.



Piers will give you a straight answer

Hey Bob I agree with your first response (a stick might be your best bet) LOL I think the PDR HX-35 can be run with any housing, I run mostly 16 housings on all PDR 35's with the exception of some 14's for the 300 hp and below guys with no problems until now.

I think Dave's truck is possessed so I guess I need to get back to work and figure out what is going on with this thing once and for all.

If I am not mistaken it ran fine with the EZ and this turbo and this is a new problem since the Smarty.

 

[DLBurns]

Hey Bob I agree with your first response (a stick might be your best bet) LOL I think the PDR HX-35 can be run with any housing, I run mostly 16 housings on all PDR 35's with the exception of some 14's for the 300 hp and below guys with no problems until now.

I think Dave's truck is possessed so I guess I need to get back to work and figure out what is going on with this thing once and for all.

If I am not mistaken it ran fine with the EZ and this turbo and this is a new problem since the Smarty.

Heck, if I had your and Bob's money I would just by me a new 07' long bed mega cab with the new 6. 7 litre Cummins and a STICK!!! LOL... since I don't, what can I do to fix this pig short of going back to the HY9 and EZ box, which ran and towed without ANY problems!!

You are right Bob... I have had towing issues with the truck since I started "improving" it!!

I have no doubt that Blair can help me figure it out, or in the worst case, help me pick out a new Duramax!



Dave

 

[MCummings]

From the TDR homepage.





"Pacbrake and Piers Harry



Pacbrake is pleased to announce that Piers Harry, formerly of Piers Diesel Research, joined the Packbrake team on May 15, 2006. Expect the unexpected!"





Dave

Guess I need to visit the front page more often, LOL.





Merrick

 

[pcarlson]

Originally posted by pcarlson

Ok I installed the update today but did not get a chance to drive it anywhere today. I will have to post the results later.



Looking for the same results others are experiencing: 1). Eliminating the flat spot/surge, 2). 3-4 shift and, 3). Turbo bark (Don't want to blow a turbo from software).



Bob/Marco, glad that you took our concerns about the flat spot seriously and promptly put out the fix. That is terrific and speaks volumes of both of you

Well I took it out for about a 40 mile trip today and seems well. Flat spot/surge did not appear, trans 3-4 shift is normal, and I did not get any turbo bark, even though I tried.

 

[srgilrea]

Trip mileage

just to let you all know I ran my SMARTY on #5 while driving from Omaha, ne to Navarre, FL. I averaged 13. 5 mpg. No flat spots or surges noted in accelerator pedal. Had to watch the EGT's as she wanted to climb past 1300-degrees and had to feather back the accelerator pedal. So far I am pretty happy will see how I do on the way back home next week.



Rob

 

[srgilrea]

Forgot to mention...

I forgot to mention I was pulling my 5th wheel and grossed out at 19,000lbs.

 

[Bob Wagner]

thank you for the reports, keep em coming

 

[BHight]

average mileage over time

Prior to smarty, the set-up on my truck was such:

BHAF w/ outerwear,5-spd,EZ,tonnue cover,4"Rip's straight exhaust,stock injectors,285/16 tires,HX 35 turbo.



mileage (hand calculated) with this set-up over the course of 20,000 miles empty: 17. 7mpg

Mileage running 6 loads averaging 6000lbs. (net weight) of firewood using a 18' "bumper-pull" trailer with EZ hooked up:13. 2mpg average for 1,500 miles.



At the same time smarty was installed, a SB 13"FE clutch upgrade, and valve adjustment took place. (Two exhaust valves required a . 004" adjustment. )

Everything pre-smarty remains the same. LP pressures included.

Hand calculated mileages as follows:

Mileage running empty on SW#8: 20. 3mpg for 25,000 miles.

Mileage running 8 loads averaging 6000lb. (net weight) of firewood using a "bumper-pull" 18' trailer still using SW#8: 16. 7mpg average for 2,000 miles.



The firewood loads all come from the same mountain area (7500ft. ).

Average elevation "on the flat" is 4800 ft.

I can say that I am quite satisfied with these numbers!

The largest improvement BY FAR: DRIVEABILITY... . peroid.



Prior to this truck, my loyalty was with the General (GM) brand.

I ran a 78 Chev 4x4 w/ 468c. i. bigblock,400 trans,205 transfercase,dana 60 front,14 bolt rear, 4:10 gearing, 285/16 tires.

It had all the goodies to make it run really well at the sacrifice of pi**-poor mileage: empty 10. 5mpg (on a good day falling downhill with tailwind).

When towing same load as listed above, same region, same trailer..... let's not even talk about it... . (5. 5mpg)

I give this information to establish my desire for throttle response and my desire of driveability.

Let me just say that this smarty has given this Cummins drivability that I am accustomed to yet an increase in mileage to boot.

I'll see how injectors along with a turbo interact with smarty when the funds open up.

As for now... . Marco/Stephano/Bob, this product truly kicksa**!

Thank you!!

 

[benhall]

Here is an update to what I have gone through in the past two weeks. I had the dead pedal symptoms happening while going down the road. I put my smarty on level 1 to try out the fuel mileage for my trip to the midwest. With a dying 44, the truck wanted to die on take-offs. I ran it like that for one tank and switched back to level 3 for the rest of the trip. Got back home and went back to stock setting before taking the truck to the dealer for a new 44 and LP. The tech hooked up the OBDII scanner and said the battery had been disconnected not too long ago. Now with the new 44 and LP, and the smarty on 3 again, the truck runs many times better and on the way back from the midwest the past couple of days, I had fuel mileages of 21 and 20 going with the wind and running about 70 most of the way.



Ben

 

[Bob Wagner]

Ben. so the dealer was stand up and replace both pumps? you never did void the warranty.



thanks

 

[benhall]

Yes they did. It also helps that is the same dealership that my mom sells at and that I know both the service manager and the tech that did some of the work on it. The tech wanted me in there to do most of the work so I could get some OJT on how to replace the pumps when the truck goes out of warranty. As far as the lift pump goes, I was able to get the old style, so I do not have the new retrofit pump in the tank.



Ben

 

[Bob Wagner]

right on ben, that is great :

 

[DWeiler]

Smarty milage---today me and the Mrs decided to go for a little run in the truck to look at some rv lots at the lake,took mostly side road,paved but was able to do about 75MPH most of the way. Then about an hour of slow driving around the resort,in and out of switchback roads. Then later on we drove around the lake to look at some other place---60 miles of gravel and then came home on paved road but went a little faster---about 80MPH. Smarty was on #7 the whole way as was the A/C----665KM or for my friends to the south 415Miles driven total. Filled up just before home,hand calculated---21. 7MPG. WOW,and folks i did not take it easy,definetly gave it a good run cause i don't drive it much and felt that it needed it. Bob/Marco---very,very happy. Thanks. :-laf :-laf :-laf . PS this is with Mach 4 aswell as all the other stuff in my sig. Later DW

 

[kscheffler]

Dweiler

What would estimate your MPG was before smarty?

 

[Marco]

JMathena,

to answer your question about the HO timing.

As usually I'm late... :{



I've never believed in the one size fits all thing. Never will.

That's the main reason Smarty comes stuffed with 10 different softwares for each truck, not only 3 like all the others...



Smarty always knows with what kinda truck/engine/transmission he has to deal with.

The timing ( among several other things )for the HO's is different from the SO. The timing for the 98. 5-00 is different from the 01-02. Different trucks, different softwares... A bunch of R&D.



On the mileage side of things. Did you guys ever consider to keep an higher speed than what you would drive usually when you're after best mileage?

Just a "thought"... . Oo.



Marco

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Smarty always knows with what kinda truck/engine/transmission he has to deal with.

The timing ( among several other things )for the HO's is different from the SO. The timing for the 98. 5-00 is different from the 01-02. Different trucks, different softwares... A bunch of R&D.

(EDITED to correct misleading Smarty setting error)



Good info - thanks Marco! Oo.



Best I can figure on MPG, we went 914 miles, 600 of that towing the trailer - 14,000+ GCW - got a bit over 15 MPG cruising up and down grades in OD at a bit over 60 MPH. I was running the Smarty on #2, and the Comp in EZ mode 1x1.



All the power I could possibly use or ask for, and a totally linear, predictable accellerator...

 

[Boondocker]

Best I can figure on MPG, we went 914 miles, 600 of that towing the trailer - 14,000+ GCW - got a bit over 15 MPG cruising up and down grades in OD at a bit over 60 MPH. I was running the Smarty on #1, and the Comp in EZ mode 1x1.

Gary, are you sure about those settings, or are you going for the triple-whammy? :--)



Check the Smarty user guide.

1. Setting #1 (Fuel Saver) is not recommended for towing because that program's timing is "more aggressive" than the other (odd number) timing programs.

2. If you are running a Comp, then you should not be running any odd-numbered programs because you would be stacking timing programs.



That makes #1 + Comp a triple-stack.



If I was your head gasket, I would complain

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Gary, are you sure about those settings, or are you going for the triple-whammy?

(SIGH!)



Sometimes I swear I need a keeper!



You're right - I'm WRONG!



I am using setting #2 on the Smarty - in fact, further back in this thread I had commented on on that setting, and asked for more details on the stated "more fueling" it provides, and where across the RPM band that increase was applied.



I got no reply, and can only observe that whatever fuel increase it DOES provide, seems to be linear, rather than abrupt in the lower RPMs as the higher settings go.



Sorry for the confusion.



I'll go back to my nap now...

 

[benhall]

I saw roughly a mile per gallon rise in fuel mileage. I am one of those that doesn't like to run too much over 70 with my Ram, but if the limit is 65 or lower, I am running +5. If it is 70, I will run ~72/73 and at 75, I stay at 75. I have noticed that I start to lose mileage after 70 instead of the 65 as before. I hope this makes sense to someone. :-laf



Ben