Hello , Everybody , I have 2004.5 Dodge Quad cab longbed . Auto . I'm looking for the best bang for my buck . I tow a 10k 5th wheel . And it's my DD. What would help me the most ? A chip , like a smarty jr ? Air intake system ? Exhaust ? Or an intake it's self ? I would love too see better fuel mileage but wouldn't mind some more power . What's your thoughts ? Is there a good combination that works good ?

 

Smarty sr or jr , Intake I like my. AFE II and an exhaust farm boys diesel has a nice cheap kit just a starting
Point

 

I agree smarty jr. is a good buy, seeing how you have the 04.5 you already have a 4" exhaust so just a replacement high flow muffler would suffice if you are not looking for big power. IMO the stock air intake system is pretty darn good, you could remove the baffles in the tube going to the turbo, but there is not really any performance gain IMO. Gauges are the only thing that I see you didn't mention good start is EGT, Trans Temp, and Boost. Maybe a fuel Pressure if you want to monitor it but I don't think it would be that important with the mods you are wanting to go with. Just my .02

Jason

 

EGT guage, Smarty jr. Easy on tranny, if auto.

 

smarty sr for your programming you can get a used one for a good price.

 

What about K&N in the stock air box , smarty jr or sr and a set of gauges . with a cat back exhaust would yield a mid set -up ( safe set -up for towing )

 

I'd start with the gauges!!! EGT and Boost are a must IMO... If you don't have state inspections I'd get rid of the CAT and buy a replacement muffler, other wise your exhaust is already 4"... Thats good for 20HP Dynoed in NC on a friends truck... I did all my air first, Intake and exhaust, then the Bully Dog and then to the Smarty Sr. Then ATS exhaust manifold and turbo and arch flow and on and on until you see what I have in my Sig.... It's like once you get some you want it again and again more and more...

 

Now time for my 2 cents. Smarty JR, stock replacement AFE Proguard 7, PSM Airbox mod (or Home depot), Donaldson muffler, intake horn (of your choice, FASS, exhaust manifold, and on and on. Gauges are a must. Stay away from K & N as a filter you can see through doesn't stop much dirt. Stay away from pressure boxes as they are hard on injectors.

Just a smarty JR would fine the rest don't increase power much but it is fun to customize. I tow and want a good reliable tow rig and made my mods to suit that end. My fuel economy has improved some too but the payback will take a while.

 

What about a S&B cool air intake kit. I have seen them with filter , box and intake manifold . For like 469.00 .. I have read a lot of threads and most all the people seem do a cat back on the exhaust because it already has a 4 inch on it and 5 would not yield any more power until I reach 500 hp .Is this true ?

 

A 5 inch exhaust will not help with HP gains for a fair amount above 500hp... but it sounds really nice.

 

Stock airbox is good for 450hp. Cold air intakes are not all cold and are kinda a waste of $$ in my opinion. Aftermarket exhaust only add like 4-8hp maybe. The '03's and early '04 benefit because they only have 3.5". Its your money and the aftermarket is built on CAI and exhaust. They are the two most common mods. Both might sound cool but if power and milage are what you are after money can be better spent.

 

- Gauges first.
- Free flowing muffler (Donaldson or Nelson)
- CAI (S&B are good without costing a lot)
- Since we're talking "best bang for your buck", for the price of a new Smarty junior you can get a used BDTD, get you intothe 450 HP range running Crazy Larry but you'll need tranny or clutch and lift pump upgrades.

 

Here's what I did in order of priority when I went from a 8.5K to 13.5K 5th wheel
1. EGT, boost and Fuel Press gauges - Need to know what's going on. I was exceeding EGTs flooring it up grades with my 8.5K trailer and I never knew it! Also diagnosed an unseated intercooler hose in 5 min after I lost power on the grapevine grade in SOCAL...boost dropped to zero!
2. Smarty SR - Couldn't tow 13.5K W/O it in my 235HP CA model
2. PakBrake - tied w/Smarty. Great control (no brakes on 5-6% grades, no joke!)
3. Tire pressure monitors for 5er.
Tied for 3. Airdog (in parallel w/stock lift pump but disconnected it...Now it's a spare, already plumbed)
4. Airbox and intake - (probably not needed) stock probably would have been fine
5. Just put in airbags...no opinion yet.

 

Ok,one more question for the group .I looked in the classifieds and seen there was a smarty jr an sr used . How do you know that they are in good working condition ? Which one would be a good buy ? Not every person you run in to these days are honest. I going to order a set a gauges from Summit unless you guys know of another place where they are cheaper ?

 

I got my gauges from Geno's Garage and couldn't have been happier with the customer service and price. They came with all of the stuff I needed for the install as well.