Blake Clark

Well, as most of you know I gave up on the Smarty for my 2011 quite some time ago. Went with the H&S cause I was tired of driving stock. I stated that I wasnt going to spend the money on the Smarty, and I havent, but, I find myself with a Smarty tuned truck again. Been driving with it for less than a week now.

My original S67 that I ran on my 08 was passed along to my lil bro for his 07. He has been itching to try the H&S Tranny tuning for a while now, and we were able to meet up last weekend, so, we did a tuner swap. Here are some quick overall impressions I have of one versus the other. Now this is for the XRT Pro and S67. We all know H&S has a bigger selection of tuners for what needs you have, ie MiniMaxx for gauges etc, but, Im an analog gauge kinda guy.

H&S:

H&S's customer service goes a long, long, long way. Its top notch. That counts for a lot in my book.

H&S has quite a few additional features that the Smarty does not have, a really nice plus.

Smarty (the S67):

You get a wider range of power selections

MADS customer support is quite a bit less engaging, but, to be fair, I have never had an issue that required me to contact MADS customer support. Never had one with H&S either, but, nice to know its there.


Driving impressions:

H&S I found it was a bit chattery, timing wise, til I ran the Smarty. I find the Smarty has even a bit more timing rattle. Nothing to be overly concerned with on either, but noticable, and a bit more so on the Smarty.

Fuel economy seems to be on par with each, but neither is really impressive right now. (Dang S467 )

I find that the H&S pulls hard in the mid RPM range, around 2100 to 2400 or so, the Smarty, it pulls hard down low. 1700 to 1800 and its trying to make G56 soup out of my tranny.

The one thing I was really unsure about giving up with the H&S was the torque management. I know it will come eventually with a Smarty update, but man, Im not sure if I would want to turn it off. I kept it off with the H&S and it pulled like a train the instant the go pedal was touched. The Smarty pulls almost as hard with the TM on!

Spool up seems to be quicker with the Smarty. Not by a much, but its there. 45psi was common with the H&S, I had to stretch it out to hit 50. With the Smarty, 50 is just a grin away, and its hit a few psi over that at times.

I find that the Smarty just runs smoother than the H&S. Like the engine isnt working at hard to make more power. If that makes any kind of sense. Like I said before, the H&S pulled hard, but when the Smarty pulls, it feels like it wants to rip the hood off my truck.

So, so far, initial observations:

1. Both are great tuners, either will plant a smile on your face.
2. The H&S has better customer service and features, a good choice for guys who want a go to all around tuner that will perform reliably.
3. The Smarty is better suited for performance. Hard parts really multiply this effect.

That is all for now.

SOhappy

Thanks, great write-up! Doesn't the Smarty cost about $400-$500 less than the MiniMax? Would pay for gauges.

Blake Clark

Pretty close. The S67 is 685, you could get gauges for around 500 bucks. Couple hundred over. Now if you went with the Smarty Jr you would be a tad under.

simoniz

Nice thread!
Since you did the S67 against the XRT Pro. Would the Smarty Jr and the Mini Maxx be a fair comparison?

simoniz

I got to listen to a truck yesterday that had a mini maxx. It was alot louder than mine at idle. Seemed to have a alot of timing rattle. Is that the norm?

Blake Clark

Well, Comparing the Smarty Jr to the Mini Max is not quite apples to apples. Different power levels, different style tuners etc....

A tuned truck will be a bit louder, and have more diesel clatter. Especially if deleted. The EGR systems goes a long way to quiet them down. My truck sounds like a diesel of old. The valves tick along happily and you can hear the combustion event clearly.

Dodgetracker

Ok so I'll ask, which one do you like better? Hope its not putting you on the spot, no pressure . BTW I still go back and watch the vids yoou made, love that sound!

Slade Clark

Ok, So I was running the Smarty and have since changed to the XRT Pro. There are somethings that ill point out, dont have much time but I figured id add some imput.

Im not to good at this stuff but Ill just point out what difference I noticed in the two tuners.

Smarty vs XRT Pro:
While running the Smarty, it was very very smooth. Smooth idle, smooth throttle response and acceleration.
The XRT Pro is ALOT more "raspy", Engine sounds totally different, from a "chug chug" to a 2-cycle.

With Smarty i was averaging roughly 16-17mpg city, 19ish highway. XRT Pro BLEW MY SOCKS OFF!!! 18-19 city, 23 highway....Yea, blew my socks off.

I believe both tuners are awesome, both are well worth the money. Both run very very different. Smarty seems to make my engine run smooth, XRT Pro should come with another set of engine mounts and bushing, cause when you stomp it.....You kinda want to wear some eye pro due to the fact that it gives you the impression the engine is gonna blow out the hood. XRT Pro winds up ALOT faster then Smarty. Alot faster.

While running Smarty I felt...Excuse the Pun...Smart. I felt factory. The XRT....I feel like im going to break something. At any minute. EGT's are now a concern. BIG concern. My Pyrometer is getting one hell of a work out going from 700 to 1600 in a matter of about, ooooo, 3 seconds.

With Smarty I was running #7 (130hp??) and with XRT Pro im running Wild (120HP)

All in all, I enjoyed both tuners and would run either one. I don't believe one is "better" then the other. Just different paths of achieving the same thing.

I know this is rambling and such, but if you guys have any questions please feel free to ask.

P.S. XRT turns on my exhust brake, I like that.

RunningM

I have a 2011 G56 SRW and was running the Smarty Jr for about 10k miles. I was having issues with the truck going in to limp mode (I had to reload the tune every few days) and Smarty couldn't get it figured out so I switched to the XRT Pro. Here is what I found:

Smarty Jr on stock power: very smooth/even power curve with decent mileage (16-17 empty and 13-14 towing 10k) Was very happy with this setting when it was working.

Smarty Jr on SW1: I felt the power curve was uneven. seemed smooth on the lower end put would come on and then off drastically above 2,000 rpm's. Mileage was slightly better then SW0 but to me, I was much happier with SW0 overall.

XRT Pro at stock: Power is just slightly better then it was prior to the deletes but the power curve seemed fairly smooth. Mileage sucked! 13-14 empty and 10-11 towing 10k.

XRT Pro on Mild: Very strong but I agree with the engine sound comments. Even with the torque management turned on the throttle is very touchy compared to the Smarty. Mileage is great! 17.5-18.5 empty and 13.5-14.5 towing 10k.

My overall opinion. . . I was happiest with the Smarty set on SWO but a lot of this has to do with the fact that I don't have guages or an after market clutch :-)

simoniz

So from these couple of commits, it sounds like the Smarty Jr. is just plain smoother but the XRT is producing better fuel mileage and more punch (with the expense of more noise and vibration)...

simoniz

Sorry to alter the subject somewhat. But can someone explain why they would they XRT over a mini maxx? I look at the min maxx as a good value because of the gauges. I'm assuming that is the only difference but I have not had time to really research.

Lil Dog

Good write up Blake.. Not many get the chance to do both tuners. If Smarty did tranny tunes, I would be totally set.

Any comment on smoke levels? I know Smarty does VGT control and that would make the boost levels much more responsive as well as control smoke. I've kept right up with other tuned trucks that smoke much more than mine which with the overhead gauges, makes it look stock..

Thanks!

Blake Clark

I would honestly have to say, from a performance standpoint, as it is now, and still remains so, the Smarty is King.

The H&S does have some nice additional features though. The auto on exhaust brake mod, the high beams with fogs, etc. Little things that make it a great value.

And yeah, I still run with the windows down in town to listen to it talk. Diesel music!

And you are?



Well, the MiniMax does have a few additional features. You can get the MCC tuning with it. You can get the DVD/Nav unlock if you wish. Shift on the fly tuning levels is nice too.

To be honest, I find the H&S was a tad bit more smokey than the Smarty. But, both cleaned up really really quick soon as that S467 starts spooling. That thing will move some serious air quick. Im currently running SW5 on defaults and at low boost it will puff real quick, and a light puff too, barely as much as a stock 5.9 will, and then when its starts really spooling, its non existent, not even a haze.

Slade Clark

Ok Blake, Time for your big boy undies. I was running SW7, (130) and now I run XRT Pro Wild (120). and that's on STOCK 68RFE. STOCK Studders, and STOCK PSSST PSSST.

Yea yea Fuss all yall want. I got more luck then sense.

But remember, first one to blow it up wins and remember, its TRANSMISSIONS were blowing here.

Slade Clark

Well, Depending on how deep them pockets you got are, I can be whoever you want me to be.