.boB

I have no intentions of modding my truck in any way. It's all bone stock, with no changes. It even has a Dodge air cleaner. And I plan on keeping it that way. It makes plenty of power for my application; I'm after low cost operation and longevity. I also have an extended warrenty I need to protect.

I've been driving it over the last 5 months. Mostly around town, but some longer trips around the state. I have a pretty good feel for what it feels like in a variety of situations. Sometimes it feels just a little bit sluggish at highway speeds. Not underpowered, but not as crisp as I would like it to be.

And, I'v learned a few things over the years. Fuel injected, computer controlled cars and trucks come from the factory with programming that is very conservative. They sacrifice driveability and performance for whatever reason - there are lots of reasons. In any case, these vehicles can often see significant gains in performance, longevity, economy, and reliability with some reprogramming. It's a little bit of a hassle, changing programs according to application/use. But it's generally worth the effort. That's why I decided to buy a programmer.

I started by reading everything I could on this board, and in a few other places. It seems like the Smarty Jr w/ POD would be the perfect choice. I ordered it last week end, and found it on my door step last night. 3 days by FedEx.

This morning I had a few hours to mess with it, and do a little testing.

First off, reprogramming is a slow process. The ad says less than 2 minutes. Not even close. More like 7-8 minutes. That's not a big deal, though.

I started by programming for towing. SW2, TM2, TQ2, POD 100. I drove around town a bit; definatly an improvement. Crisp throttle response. Significant decrease in turbo lag. Almost no smoke. I would say that it smokes even less than the stock tune. Felt much better driving around town. I drove it up the highway and back about 30 miles, 75-80mph. Overhead computer says 18.6mpg - which really means 18.1.

Then I switched over to an economy setting - SW1, TM2, TQ2, POD 70. Drove it around town a little bit. Again, a distinct differance is easily felt. No turbo lag, but a little less throttle response. You could feel that it didn't have as much power. That's OK. In stock trim it has more than enough power to move the truck along in good fashion. I immediatly took the same highway trip - 17.5mpg, which really means 17.1mpg.

I would also expect that the lower power settings would make it easier to drive on snow and ice.

According to the instructions, lowering the POD setting only saves fuel while driving around town. Since there's a noticable differance in feel, I would expct that to be true. I was a little surprised to see worse mileage on the highway, though. I think 1mpg on a short test drive would be within the margin for error. We'll see how it goes.

Another advantage to lowering the POD is less power. That also means less strain on parts like the transmission. With my goals being longevity and reliability, that can only be a good thing.

Did I do the right thing? Yeah, I think I did. I have to tow a medium weight trailer over the week end. And I have a long distance trip coming up the following week. We'll see how things go.

CRToney

Do the PSM buick airbox mod, Coolhose, and intake horn for more HP and MPG. Change the muffler to a big donaldson for quiet HP. Cheap simple mods to optimize where cummins and dodge cheaped out. Add a FASS or Airdog if you like but your stocker will do fine. The JR works well. Do your research and you'll mod appropriately.

Stovetop535

How do you know 18.6 really means 18.1? Do you hand calculate your mileage and is it always about .5 off??

.boB

Yes, that's exactly what I did. I checked the speedometer against the mileage markers. Then checked gallons used vs. miles traveled. A little algebra, a gentle wish, some magic words, and an eye of newt. Viola! 18.1mpg.

Stovetop535

haha ok. I have seen way to many overheads read ridiculous numbers. Just wanted to make sure there was a method to the madness on the calculations.
You might consider looking into a better filtering unit for your fuel and possibly an oil bypass kit. Never hurts to make sure you have properly filtered oil and fuel running into the motor. Those two things will probably be the next two things I purchase for the truck. I am not too impressd with the stock fuel filtering system dodge put on the truck. Between the water in fuel light never working and only beening able to drop in a 5 micron fuel filter, I feel bad for my injectors.

.boB

Yeah, I'v looked at some better fuel filter options. In all my vehicles, I try to use the best filters I can get. Clean oil, clean air, and clean fuel - those are all good things. I'm reluctant to make too many changes from stock. I've never heard of anybody having trouble with their stock fuel filter set up - than than only a 5 micron filter cartridge. Too many aftermarket parts makes it tough to repair on the road.

Not so sure about the oil bypass kit, either. It seems to be an excellent option, but not sure it fits my needs. The big advantage is that it extends the oil life. If you drive 20K a year, that's a good thing. A bypass filter and quality synthetic oil = once a year oil changes. The kit will pay for itself in no time

But I don't drive the truck a lot, it's not my DD. I doubt that I'll drive more than 5-6K miles a year. That means I'll change the oil every year, no matter the mileage or oil type. I'll just use a quality oil filter and oil, and be done with it.

Keep it simple, keep it reliable.