Waited 6 weeks for Smarty Jr ME, and still not in. Ordered a Race ME tuner from a different distributor, and it's supposed to be delivered to me tomorrow. Is the Race ME a new version of the Smarty Jr ME? Is it reliable?Would I see any mileage gains with full deletes, and Race ME set on stock (0 setting)?

 

In theory the RaceMe is the same tunes its just a different company that "gained popularity" after the EPA crackdown, you should see the same mileage gains that you would with a smarty, depending on driving style. Deletes will always help with mileage, there is more to be gained with a wee bit more timing thrown into the mix but that has a whole other set of concerns to go along with it haha

 

Sounds good. I don't plan on adding any changes to timing or torque. Not adding gauges at this time so intend to drive it like I always have, and did with my 03 and 05's. Just want to get rid of all that extra baggage, and the potential problems that come with it.

 

Tuner arrived UPS. Truck goes for surgery this week!

 

Well, at least the same 'type' of tunes. IE: identicle cousins.
As an experiment, I tried loading Smarty files into a RaceME tuner, and they do not load in it.

 

Raceme is a totally different tuner.

 

Truck is at dealer. Mechanic says the trucks he has deleted (many) he has set on level 1 (40hp on Race ME, 60hp on H&S) have not had head gasket concerns(stock timing and torque). Would I be risking head gasket on level 1-40hp? (I had been thinking of staying stock he until he suggested Level 1) Opinions? Experience?

 

I've been deleted now for just over 3 years and 70,000 miles at more power than that, lots of it with the mini maxx on high. No reason to believe I have a looming head gasket issue and haven't seen any ill effects thus far, the best piece of advice I was given was to drive it like you are the one paying to fix it, at that power level it will run a long time without hurting itself.

if you have an auto it will absorb the slight bump in power better than a stock clutch will in a manual if you do much towing

 

Thanks for the reply Mega. I tow a 28' fiver about 8000km a year. Loaded with everything its between 9-9500lbs. Have you added any different head studs, gauges to monitor?

 

I use my mini maxx to monitor the EGT, Fuel Quantity, exhaust back pressure and the trans temp.
no head studs or other internal mods.

I don't tow that heavy on a regular basis, but when I do its a 24' stock trailer that is loaded more often than not, when towing I turn the mini down to the tow setting to add a wee bit of fuel and timing just to keep my trans happy

 

Deletes are complete! Truck runs smooth, sounds really good, and smells like my ,03 did lol. Read my service order just now and it says the tune was set to level 1 "which is fuel economy". Level 1 would be the 40HP as I understand it. I really didn't notice a huge power gain, but wasn't really getting into the throttle a lot. Did notice better fuel mileage on the overhead. If I tow on that setting I might invest in the Insight gauges next. (Did not change the timing at all, and don't intend to.)

 

works better if you bum the timing a little.

 

I have been running the ME tuner at SW2 for a while, then went to the SW0 setting and it seemed to actually make the fuel mileage drop a little. I just now tuned it again to the sw3 setting to see what that does. Doesn't the timing change also due to the built in default settings, or do I need to tinker with the timing myself?

 

If I recall, the even number setting have no timing change and for running with other add-ons that have their own timing changes. Odd numbers include timing changes. Adding timing helps with MPG. I run SW3...

 

I have been deleted for over 3 years and 100k + miles and have had no issues. I found out that the best fuel mileage is when it(smarty jr.) is set to performance(100hp) and the pod set to 99. In other words turned all the way up! I can gain about 2.5 mpg going from economy to performance setting. Obviously you have to stay out of the go pedal and when towing set it to towing.
I know the JR. is a little different than the Race ME. But the point i guess im trying to make is dont be afraid to experiment if trying to get better fuel mileage, just be nice on the go pedal and you will be surprised!