VA 3.1 vs VA 3.2 or Something else?

[HDaniel]

Somebody make up my mind please. I am wanting more and it is time. I am confused as to which box to get. I am looking to get something to give the truck a pretty good kick in the pants, without taring the transmission out from under it. I was thinking about the Smarty last year, (I would love it) but decided against it because I can' t justify the $$$ or only being able to use 20% of the potential. I only want to spend around $500. What is the best bang for the buck. My wife wants smoke... ... I like smoke too, but want power throughout and adjustability. Reliability is nice also. If you guys could chime in with your experiences, (horsepower/TQ, acceleration, economy) I would greatly appreciate it. Any and all welcome and appreciated.

 

[Buffalo]

I have the VA-C 3. 2 on my '03, HO, 6-speed. I've done the "tone ring mod" (does the same thing as your Rockteck), AFE, Proguard-7 System, & a 24" Magnaflow muffler.



The VA-C 3. 2 has 3 settings. Stock, 65 HP. , & 130 HP. , all controlled with an in-cab toggle switch. The HP levels were supposed to be "rear wheel HP", as confirmed by a phone call to VA.



At last years May Madness, I ran it on both the 65 HP & 130 HP levels @ the "dyno days". The 65 HP level produced about 341 rwhp. The 130 HP level produced about 347 rwhp. You will notice that there was only a bit over 6 HP difference between the 65 & 130 HP levels.



I sent the box back to VA & they checked it over & updated the latest software into it. When I re-installed it, there was no difference. However, I do not believe it is the fault of the box.



When driving on the 130 HP level, if I give 3/4 throttle, or more, in fourth or higher gears, I get a "miss" that you can hear in the exhaust note (like a crackle) which, you can sometimes feel, also, right around 2200 rpm's. I think what is happening is that it is temporarily running out of fuel in the CP3 pump. This happens for just a fraction of a second & the truck continues to run. However, I think the VA is causing a fuel starvation issue.



I've heard of other guys having similar issues with other boxes. I think I'm a prime candidate for another, aftermarket, fuel pump.



Personally, from what I've read about the Smarty, it sounds like a pretty nice system. Even if you can only use 20% of it, now, you will probably encounter similar problems with other, higher HP boxes. The Smarty seems like the kind of enhancement that your truck can "grow" with, as you add more products that will let you "safely" run the extra power.



From the reading that I have done on this & other sites, you will probably have to upgrade other things on the truck (transmission, fuel delivery, etc. ) if you want more than a minimal amount of HP increase. It seems that you have to create a "balanced" system if you want more than a little HP increase. That's if you want to do it the "right way", & have a trouble-free, reliable power increase.



The VA C3. 2 is a duration-only box &, as I understand, the VA C 3. 1 is a pressure box. I know very little about the VA C-3. 1, however, I've read of people having problems with too much pressure from boxes. Member DonM has posted pictures of the errosion that takes place on some injectors with high-pressure. The high presssure seems to just "blast away" material from the injectors, For this reason, I chose the VA C 3. 2 box, because it uses no pressure. Just allows the injectors to stay open longer to get more fuel into the combustion chamber.



Some folks claim that EGT's can get quite high with the duration-only boxes. I have not noticed this on my truck.



The VA C 3. 2 really "woke-up" my truck. It even sounds different. My next mod is going to be a fuel delivery enhancement. Hopefully, that will help the miss that I encounter. Probably will get all the power that the box can produce then, also.



Hope this helps.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[HDaniel]

Joe, Thanks for the info. This is the kind of information that I am looking for. Do you know of anyone else running the 3. 2, and if so have they had the "starvation" issue as well? Can anyone tell me of any other boxes that are adjustable, not pressure, and are around or under my $500 limit? On the Van Aaken website it says this about the 3. 1 "Fuel pressure changes are carefully tuned to always work within the operating range set by the manufacturer". Diablo's site says this about the puck "The PowerPuck software works on changing the injection quantities an advancing the ignition curve, it will not alter the load pressure directly. The load pressure is increased due to the increase in fuel volume delivery. This in itself makes for an extremely reliable tuning device with one sole purpose, POWER!". Can anyone break this down for me and tell me if these would be harmful to my injectors. Thanks again Joe.



Bert D.