I have a late 06 2500 5.9. the engine is stock. Have low miles(13000) and only use for small farm, not used always towing. My question is would a smarty or other be GOOD for the engine/truck and WHY. I do not need speed or towing power. I want to know if it is better than a stock motor and why.

 

my first response to the initial question being is a smarty better than stock would be to say "does a bear poop in the woods?".

my question to you would be why would you be wanting any performance mods if the 06 truck only has 13k miles on it and is a farm truck.

If anything, get a smarty jr, put on SW2 and leave it but also needed to be asked, how heavy you towing, do you have any gauges, auto or manual transmission etc....

 

So is the only reason to add a tuner is to go faster. The programing of a tuner does not really help a cummins motor and could in fact mess it up.

 

I do not know the answer to youir question. I am in the minority here. I also have a late 06 5.9 (sold as a 07). I have 75000 miles on it dead stock mostly towing 6500 lbs. I am perfectly happy with the way it performs. Maybe I am just lucky and insensitive. With the low miles you drive I can not imagine getting much of a payback from any modification.

 

I have a 2006, 56K on it, I have the Smarty Jr, set it on SW2 the day I got the Jr and have run that program ever since.

The truck gets better fuel mileage, EGT's are lower, and it runs smoother and the engine is really quiet.

I tow a lot, tow heavy, it has made a tremendous difference in my towing experience too.

Sometimes it is not about having something pay its way and justify having it, sometimes its about increasing the fun of what you are driving. With the lower EGT's it has lessened the worry that goes with high EGT's.



CD

 

^^^^^

Q: Is smarty better then stock.
A: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Smarty is awesome. Like Cbrahs said, by smarty jr, put on #2 and LOVE IT.

 

Can I say A He-- yes not just for power but just better running. So ***** in your court

 

when i would run my truck in fast idle which kicks it up to 1100 rpms my truck would have a slight surge to it though not noticeable on the tach. After I loaded smarty onto my truck the surge is gone and the truck runs a lot smoother. I'm running SW1 TM4,TQM at default, and POD set at 50. So right now my truck is de-tuned even more from the factory

 

Do to persistent smoke issues,I removed my Smarty Sr. which I only ran at sw#1&3. I do miss the enhanced driveability,but love being able to use full throttle under load without smoke.

 

I too have a Smarty Jr and run it on level 2 and love it

 

I have had the Smarty on mine for over 100k..
All kinds of settings and versions.
Very Happy with it.. Never used it closed to stock settings for to long..
Only warning will be if the truck is stock, tranny just use it sensible so you are not over powering the Stock powertrain.
Best of Luck..

 

A smarty is better than a stock "tuned" motor in the performance area, i.e., acceleration and power. But, for a stock truck that lives on a small farm that has no need for speed or power as you say, then no, a smarty isn't better than stock. Stock is the best thing for what you need and that is reliability.

 

I have had the Smarty jr for about 85,000 miles now and would NEVER remove it. The truck gets better mileage, runs quieter, has much better throttle response, and more power.

I figure the Cummins engine has three injection events to help quiet the rattle, and has to be tuned to minimize smoke at the cost of power, and mileage takes a hit in there somewhere too because a Smarty jr instantly changes all that.

Besides, people that run the jr seem to get longer happier lives from their engine. Probably because they are now tuned the way Cummins would have liked to tune them if they could have!

 

The only thing better than stock for your engine is better fuel filtration, remove your exhaust cat and muffler for a free-flow muffler and maybe a turbo timer. If your happy w/ stock power, leave it alone.

 

Well......

Being that the factory tune is determined to meet a zillion specs and run in a variety of conditions, I'd say it would be extremely easy to modify the tuning and mechanics to perform better across the board for an individual's taste.

Changing the exhaust is a waste of money and time unless you are putting big power through the engine. On a dyno a stock motor will produce the same power with the 4" stock exhaust as it will if the exhaust is completely removed after the turbo. So free-flowing isn't very important with stock power.

Besides, the jr increases mileage and throttle response, and lowers EGT's. The extra power is just a benefit. I'd run the jr even if it had no increase in power.

I'll throw this out there: I bet VERY FEW people who have installed a jr would EVER run without one. Whereas some tuners blow gaskets, shred engines, toast electronics, eat trannies, and void warranties, I've never heard someone on this site ever say a Smarty jr ever did any of these things.

Just sayin'. They are a really nice little perk-up for the Cummins. All benefits, none of the drawbacks.