Any suggestions on programmers for better fuel mileage and the occasional encounters with those pesky rice burners?? Don't really want to have to do any mods though...... any advise?

 

I have the Quad race on my 2005 and love it. All you need to decide is
1. box or downloader
2. Change on the fly or pull over and change( could make you look bad, hey buddy wait at the light until I download another tune)
3. How may options do you want, Quad race has 5 setting and you can download some other specialized tunes. Smarty on the other hand will let you change almost ever parameter on the truck. This is just 2 brands, sevral to pick from.
4. The more power = greater chance for damage if you rip and tear, guages, transmission the lit goes on and on.

Run a search, many links available.

 

I was thinking about the smarty jr, but after reading through a few posts it seems like there are alot of settings and it may be hard to get it just right.......

 

Smarty Jr is easy to set. They have adjustability if you want to adjust but, the default settings are fine for most. Helps egts, drivabilty and MPG. Set it on tow and forget about it. You can also mod a bit and the JR can handle that as well. You just won't be setting dyno records or beating every at the stoplight.

 

Can you leave it on it's highest setting w/out adding any mods?

 

Also, if you want to use it on-the-fly, do you just keep it plugged in the port under dash??

 

not with a stock auto trans.....it'll wear it out if driven hard on the highest setting....

and all the settings are a good thing once you learn them...offer lots of adjustability....

 

I don't have the Jr version, but I'm going to say that you are not going to be able to use the smarty to it's full potential without supporting mods. You aren't going to be able to use any chip/programmer to their full potential without supporting mods. Thats why we all add mods. You can get your mileage, but without doing any other mods I doubt you are going to beat any rice burners down the road. It's just a fact of life.

As far as using it on the fly, I don't believe you can do that with the jr, only the POD.

 

I thought that I had read that the JR now came w/ POD, I may be wrong..

 

You're correct. New Smarty Jrs come with the REV software and POD adjustability. Older Jrs, like mine, can be upgraded to the latest REVO/POD softweare via a download available for free on the Mads website.

 

So, to use it , do you just keep it plugged in?

 

I wasn't aware of that. Thats why I stated that I didn't have the Jr. Thats good information to know.

Of course, POD or not, it doesn't change the fact that he will not be able to run it on max settings with no other mods. I try to stress that fact because if someone tries it they will end up with a repair bill around $14,000 and go around screaming about smarty and dodge being junk etc etc

 

What sort of mods are recommended w/ smarty jr on high setting??

 

torque convertor and valve body

 

I would also recommend a set of gauges. I know a lot of people don't like them because they clutter up the cab, but they are essential. Although I don't know a lot about the 3rd gens from what I have read they are like the 2nd gens in that with a programmer you can run down your fuel pressure and kill your lift pump, which in turn will kill your injection pump. EGT's are important to watch as well. Also the smarty will increase rail pressure (I believe) and an increase in rail pressure bears a risk of a cracked stock injector, which can score a piston pretty quickly, and you'll find yourself with a very costly repair.