I see the last entry on this post was in Sept. of 05.....just wondering if there are any updates or new technology that might be here or in the works.

 

How did the previous engines cope with cats without the third event? Has there been a cali truck that did not have a cat?

 

I think a guy on dieselram.com named oregonpharmer has found a way to disable the 3rd pulse. He no doubt has done it in the software. He has some sort of small volume vehicle manufacturer or modifier license from the government, allowing him to do this at least experimentally. He has taken a few trucks and done a bunch of stuff to get better mileage. Resetting pinion depth in the axles for less drag, replacing all driveline fluids with synthetics, and several other things are on the list of stuff he did. I don't know if he does this any more, as he's terribly busy. I also think you had to know him to get him to do that stuff to your truck. I pm'd him one time asking about it, with no luck.

 

IIRC, OP's work was on the 555 engine and only had the 2 events. He revamped the whole fueling curve to make a single event and changed cam timing to make things work right.

From all the info available I have a pretty good idea the 3rd event is at least partially, if not wholely, part of the power stroke. The valve overlaps and openings were changed to accomodate a late ignition burn and use the power generated. It doesn't seem to be viable to just turn off the 3rd event without redoing the whole injection scheme. Since the pre 600 CARB trucks had a CAT it doesn't seem reasonable that event was just for the CAT. It is more likely it is part of the power stroke and a way to keep cylinder temps low enough for emissions. Thats not to say it can't be done but there are more variables and factors to look at to make sure more problems aren't created than was originally there.

 

Oh, looks like I got it kinda mixed up. I wonder what kind of results he got, and exactly what he had to do to do all this legally (which I remember reading, he did)?

 

There's a dude by the name Marco working on the 3rd gen trucks as we speak to get better fuel milage. Don't know if the 3rd event thing is part of what he's working on but I can guarantee if he claims better fuel mileage he'll deliver it.

 

OP was modifying the engines under a limited EPA emissions grant so he could not do them wholesale or big brother was gonna get upset. The last I heard he took his ideas south of the border where they were a little more open to alternatives.

By all accounts the mods were a huge success. Reports of consistent mpg in the mid to high 20's, and, one report of 31 mpg pulling a 30' toy hauler. I wouldn't call BS on the numbers but there was not a lot more than just that number posted. There is no doubt that getting things right in the drive train and retuning the engine will make a big difference, but, I think a lot will depend on driving style, terrain, and environment.

Time will tell what Marco will come up with. Sounds like he has a good system for the VP44 trucks but he has not really layed out the plans for the 3rd gens and what he can accomplish. Yet.

 

From the man himself.

To keep you updated.

The "footprint" the downloaders leave in the ECM are not only the "key count". There's more to it than that single number! The duty cycle and trip information are also important. We have that all worked out by now. An ECM will display exactly the same information about all the above after an update with Smarty.

We save all that data and write it than back into the ECM once the update is finished. Total miles, trip miles, total used fuel, trip used fuel, key counts, duty cycles. just to mention a few are ALL saved and written back into the ECM. An ECM will appear as Smarty has never been there!

To answer a few of your questions.
The third gen Smarty will adjust the ABS tire height exactly like the second gen does. Smarty will display the DTC's in plain text. Smarty will have the latest softwares on board and if new ones become available, update via USB.


Smarty will deal with the torque management, no doubt! Lower horsepower gains? I DON'T THINK SO!

See, the second gen Smarty squeezes out everything possible from the VP without "tapping the wire". The Hp limit is the VP not Smarty.

Things are somewhat different with the common rail system. Much more power can be gained than with a VP....

Now, the big question, WHEN???
Hmmm, good one! It requires a somewhat long answer.
From the hardware side of things we could release Smarty today. Yet we would release a product that's not completely finished yet. Our product would be about as "good" (or not) as the competition.

Others have released their product partially completed. Sometimes in late summer they'll have an update...
Now, in my eyes a paying customer has the right to expect a completely working unit from the beginning, not more, not less. There are no shortcuts for quality. Sure it would help our finances to sell today rather than tomorrow but I don't feel it would be correct towards the customer if our product would do less than expected. From the very beginning, NOT sometimes later, whenever that might be.

Pay full retail but get half of the features. No, thanks not our way.

Furthermore, we here don't believe in the "one size fits all " thingy. In order to provide the best and fastest product possible we have changed a lot of things in the hardware too. Tailored specifically for the third gen ECM. More speed , ease of use... Higher production cost? Less profit? I couldn't care less.

The situation as of today ( What's already done and working. )

-All third gen years in one unit.
-Ten different CaTCHER softwares on board.( Plus of course the stock SW )
-No "footprints", Smarty is invisible to the DRB or Starscan.
-Download speed! We've got the 06 update ( the longest one ) down to about six minutes! ( FYI, others do it in 13-18 minutes...)
-DTC's in plain text.
-ABS tire height adjustment.
-I'm sure I've forgotten something...

We're working on:
-Fine tuning of the CaTCHER SW's ( HUGH job! )
-Bootloader for recovery mode ( 'nother HUGH job!)
-Minor things like high idle & PTO. ( minor...)
-I'm sure I've forgotten something... ( OPS! :-)

When? When ready!
Serious now. ABOUT another month to beta testing.

Marco
__________________
Marco
www.madselectronics.com

 

Marco, let me be sure I understand you: You're ABSOLUTELY SURE that a smarty is COMPLETELY UNDETECTABLE to the dealer, assuming of course that the original data from that truck is reloaded to the ecm before service?

 

BTT? Marco?

 

The post was a cut and paste. Go to his link in that post and ask.