Hey Guys,
I've been reading up on 3rd gen performance stuff for a while now. I just joined the site today. I wanted to get some background before I went asking stupid questions! I'm looking at a 04 CTD with a 6 speed for my new work/daily driver truck. My question is about what tuner to run. Obviously I'll have some kind of intake, a turbo back, and probably a higher flow manifold. I have read about the Edge with Hot juice, some like the preditor, and I have read alot of rave reviews about the smarty, though its kind of pricey. I also read a few guys had driveability issues with the smarty. I have also read mixed opinions about stacking boxes.... What choice is going to give me the most power for my money? Also, which ones are switch on the fly?? I had a switched chip on my old Powerstroke and loved it. Economy when driving but I could change to haul *** mode if I wanted to mess around with someone on the street!! Eventually I can see modding the CP3 and installing a lift pump of some kind, but that will probably be it for mods. Its going to be my daily driver and I don't plan to go crazy trying to make max power with it. I doubt I would ever go as far as turbo or injectors. This site is great! I have been reading as much as I can about 3rd gen Cummins performance for a few days now. There is a huge knowledge base here for sure!!! Thanks for any help.

Jason

 

If you want adjustability on the fly, then you would want a plug and play like edge or Quadzilla. Just be sure to get at least an EGT gage in before you start (I'm sure you already knew that).

I have both the Smarty and Quad, and though the Quad is adjustable on-the-fly, the Smarty is a much better product. So if I could have only one, it would be the Smarty. The price difference is not too much either. Quad Race ran me about $510 while the Smarty is $685 (free shipping and a 100 grand bar) with a lot more features and free upgrades.

 

^^^^ x2 on what he said. There are other products as well that are good in their own right, I just happen to agree with the above. Smarty, I think, is the most effective one on the 03-04 engines. It will give you room to grow if you decide you want more power down the line too. With Smarty, you'll need a DD clutch at some point if you decide to run it on higher levels.

 

i got a diablo predator a while back and so far love it. if you have any warranty, you wont after the predator. other than that mine runs pretty good on extreme, but on the higher levels its pops and sputters. im pretty sure im draining the rail. i got mine for 200 used. for sure get an egt gauge!!! it tends to get hot. free internet updates and free higher hp programs from their website. mine takes about 5 min to change programs. thats all i know about my perdator

 

I just like the idea of switch on the fly so I can have my economy but easily switch to extreme performance mode if a another diesel guy pulls up and wants to mess around! What kind of mileage gains over stock do you see with the smarty and in what setting? I know every truck is different, but some idea would be nice. No I'm not buying a diesel truck for the mileage, but as a daily driver better mileage would be great obviously!

Jason

 

also what other mods go along with the stuff I listed? Do I need a boost fooler, I've read about those and saw many different opinions. Sorry I've got so many questions, but what I knew about Ford diesels (my powerstroke had quite a few mods) isn't really applicable to the Cummins engine!

Jason

 

If you purchase a Smarty it has a Boost Fooler built in,so no. I don't know about the others. You can't run one with a Edge.
Every Truck is different,you have to find the one for your truck.
My truck loves the Smarty,yours might be different

 

Don't apologize, that is what this forum is for. Ask questions and get answers.

The questions you are asking though are more opinion, not necessarily fact. If you want shift on the fly, it has to be a box/module. Quad/TST/Diablo all make a good product. Find the one that works for you. When I first put on my Banks I got about a solid 1mpg. Funny thing about that is I could run it at 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 and the mpg was the same. Not really any "economy" setting. Adding the smarty got me another .5-1 mpg. So with banks off I see a solid 1.5-2 mpg increase from stock with Smarty alone. This is running on sw7. The lower settings acually gave lower mileage for me. You will have to experiment with whatever you get to see what works best for you.
You may need a boost fooler, you may not. It depends on what you get. With a lower fueling box/programmer, you will not becuase you won't fuel the turbo enough to spin it that high. Other power adders will. Some of those do their own boost fooling. (like Smarty with aftermarket turbo program). Just do some research for yourself and keep asking questions-- just don't get too caught up into "I have this and you should buy it too 'cause it is great for me" syndrome.

 

I don't know what your supporting mods are (tranny, fueling, etc..), but my HOT juice and predator on my 03 play really nice together.
With just the TOW program and the HOT set on "5", I am able to hit (according to the monitor) 0-60mph in 5.1 sec. This is with a 2wd, so no boosted lauches and I can't pin the throttle till halfway through 2nd gear.
EGTs with this setup, at least on my 03, are very manageable!

 

If you want bang for the buck and plenty of manageable power that you can adjust with the touch of a button - Im gonna have to cast my vote for the Edge Juice with Attitude. It has all the guages you need built in and plenty of safety features like cold engune protection and defuel settings to keep things under control. Mine has been flawless so far for almost 25,000 miles and it is very easy to install. Plus, if its not enough you can get the HOT upgrade for only 100 bucks and lay down a hefty amount of power. Can't beat the features, quality, customer service or the price if you ask me but this is just my opinion. Good luck and remember... no matter what you tell yourself - it'll never end and you will always want more!

 

What kind of power difference is there between an Edge Juice with the HOT upgrade and a smarty at the highest level. Bighornram, what kind of mileage increase did you see with the Edge? Thanks all for the imput.

Jason

 

I went back and forth on a programmer also I did a lot of reading and bought my smarty yesterday..

 

Yeah I'm really leaning towards it, but man its pricey... Maybe if I can find some other stuff in the clasifieds and save some $$$ on other mods I can fit it into my budget. I've got about a grand to spend maybe a little more if I can get away with it. I just bought a house that I'm renovating and thats priority right now...

Jason

 

i have the diablo and like it so far. you have to have an EGT and boost gauge, a freeflowing exhaust and air intake will help with temps. the boost fooler will fix most of the egt probs.

 

I had a preditor for a SVT Lightning that I had. I was happy with the results and they give free upgrades too. For half the price of the smarty, I could used the $$ saved to get a lift pump from Glacier Diesel!