3rd Gen High Performance and Accessories (5.9L Only) Talk about Dodge/Cummins aftermarket products for third generation trucks here. Can include high-performance mods, or general accessories. THIS IS FOR THE 5.9L ONLY!
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Programmer Questions for a Newbie

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Old 01-06-2008, 10:18 PM
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Programmer Questions for a Newbie

i know its has been asked before but i will ask it again i am lookin for a programmer and wondering which one i should by i like the bully dog and the smarty but i want to know which would work better for me i pull about 12,500 lbs. and have a heavy foot when i am not haulin it is a bit of a toy which souts my setup a bit better i would like a little smoke but is not nessary. Any help is much a preciated just got in to the whole diesel performance thing and any help is much appreciatted.
Old 01-06-2008, 10:38 PM
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Do a search for "Bully Dog or Smarty" or "Bully Dog vs Smarty"...something along those lines....you'll get pages upon pages of reading, including my post where I asked the same question as you

From my own personal experience.....Smarty all the way!
Old 01-06-2008, 10:57 PM
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im gonna say SMARTY also..But the bullydog does have more features... Like said above, do a search...
Old 01-06-2008, 11:06 PM
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Do you want to be able to adjust on the fly? Bully Dog does it.

I never had a Smarty, but I really miss Crazy Larry. I heard Bully Dog is soon going to custom tunes, but you have to pay for them.

I dont like the idea of running around with Smarty on #9 all the time just in anticipation of that D-Max rolling beside you at the light.
Old 01-07-2008, 08:42 AM
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I do agree w/ Matego on that....the great advantage of the Triple Dog was the ability to adjust on the fly....which was really nice. It was great to be able to just plug n' play....hook up the trailer, turn it to Tow/Economy....un-hook the trailer and turn it to Performance or CL to smoke the PowerJoke or DuraTurd next to you

In all honesty, on my truck at least, SW #9 with Mod TQ MGMT felt stronger than Crazy Larry ever did. Just my opinion though...

If Smarty could be adjusted on the fly...it'd be the ultimate....
Old 01-07-2008, 10:40 AM
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I have the Smarty, love it except the no on-the-fly switching of programs. I spoke with a truck performance shop mechanic this weekend at a dyno day and his opinion on the Bully Dog was basically "I won't put one in a customer's truck, but if they want to and then bring the truck back to me in 6 months from the damage it has done, no problem!"

I can't say from experience of comparing the two, but I am sold on Smarty.
Old 01-07-2008, 10:51 AM
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I've had both and prefer the Smarty, and mine is only the Smarty Jr.
Old 01-07-2008, 04:04 PM
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I prefer Smarty. Bullydog seems to be trying to get it back together again, and only time will tell if they have what it takes. I know, no on-the -fly w/ Smarty, but it doesn't take terribly long to download, and it gives you plenty of time to think about what you're getting yourself into as you're cranking it up to #9. Good luck choosing...
Old 01-08-2008, 07:38 PM
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thanks i appreciate the help its was excactly what i was lookin for
Old 01-08-2008, 08:25 PM
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Originally Posted by HarleyHauler
I have the Smarty, love it except the no on-the-fly switching of programs. I spoke with a truck performance shop mechanic this weekend at a dyno day and his opinion on the Bully Dog was basically "I won't put one in a customer's truck, but if they want to and then bring the truck back to me in 6 months from the damage it has done, no problem!"

I can't say from experience of comparing the two, but I am sold on Smarty.
what damage does bully dog cause that other programmers don't? only damage i've seen done is to clutch/trans. from playing too hard on cl. same damage that you'll get from playing too hard on sw 9.
Old 01-08-2008, 08:30 PM
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Probably talking of instances when Bullydog would make the dash look like christmas, and some ecm issues.
Old 01-09-2008, 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted by chipmonk
what damage does bully dog cause that other programmers don't? only damage i've seen done is to clutch/trans. from playing too hard on cl. same damage that you'll get from playing too hard on sw 9.
It was not my statement (I have never used BD products) but that of a truck outfitter / customizer here in San Antonio. Generalized statements were around 'burned up motors', destroyed injectors, etc.

His suggestion was improved mechanical parts to get power, not programmers: things like new cams, injectors, turbos, head studs, etc. Programmers should be used to tune in the power, not to make it - - that was the general sense of his comments.
Old 01-09-2008, 09:10 PM
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I keep the Smarty on #9 and adjust the power on the fly with the skinny pedal.
Old 01-09-2008, 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted by HarleyHauler
It was not my statement (I have never used BD products) but that of a truck outfitter / customizer here in San Antonio. Generalized statements were around 'burned up motors', destroyed injectors, etc.

His suggestion was improved mechanical parts to get power, not programmers: things like new cams, injectors, turbos, head studs, etc. Programmers should be used to tune in the power, not to make it - - that was the general sense of his comments.
Thats a good plain for gas motors our trucks are very detuned from the factory... dose that mean durning our modifying we should always keep that margin of detuned?
Old 01-10-2008, 01:59 PM
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From my experience, regardless of fuel type, there should always be consideration for margin of error. If you desire to use 500 HP, build an engine that can put out 550 HP reliably. Then you won't have to worry about blowing stuff up.

It all goes back to what do you want and then build accordingly. Personally I am looking at more mechanical modifications (especially head studs, tranny, and turbo) to get the next level of HP increase. The tranny is the weak point in the drive train of these trucks so I am always wary about increasing the HP output without matching it to a reliable tranny.

Just my $0.02...
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