I am currently using an older programmer that is probably 10-12 years old that came with the truck when I bought it and I can barely even notice a difference when programmed in the "performance setting". The truck is a 2002 ram, 4X4 6 speed, I just put slightly larger injectors in it and have 4 inch exhaust and a K&N filter, but other than that it's stock. My question is which programmer is getting the most HP & torque out of these trucks? Which programmers have a good reputation and will not damage my IP? I have heard bad things about tapping the IP and am leary about it, so any insight on that would help to. Thanks in advance for ya'lls help.....

 

.........The Smarty is supossedly the new hot set up........sold in the dtr store..........kim........

 

All depends on how much $$$ you want to spend. Smarty is going to give you the most options, but if you're leary about tapping the pump you probably don't want to be changing settings. The smarty is also going to be the most expensive. Another couple of options are going to be te edge ez and diablo power puck. These are both timing boxes and plug into your map sensor. You can pick a diablo up for about $200 new. All 3 of these are going to be around 60rwhp, so you're not going to see a huge bump in power. Something else to keep in mind, since you have and HO pump you're only going to see a max of 90rwhp from a box even if it did tap the pump wire. The pump itself isn't capapble of the bigger numbers of SO pump. Since you have an 02 I would feel comfortable tappin the pump. The newer pumps were much more reliable then the older ones. Not to say something couldn't happen. Another thing to keep in mind is with the bigger injectors and any type of box/programmer, you've reached the limits of the stock clutch.

 

Since you have a manual, I say Smarty. The Smarty and autos dont like each other real well from what I have read.

They are $$$ but if you keep your eyes open, they show up in the classifieds in the $450 +/- range. As long as it's not vin locked, you would be good to go.

Now, the Smarty isnt a dyno queen. You will actually lose some hp/tq on the dyno. BUT it more than makes up for it in drive-ability.

When I went from an EZ to the MAD Ecm (Original Smarty), my butt dyno said I gained ALOT more hp. I had an entirely different truck. The dyno jet said I lost about 10 horse.

Where my EZ would fall on it's face winding shifts out past 2300 rpm, the Smarty pulls well past that.

It fuels from idle and can be a bit touchy to get used to, but thats a non issue.

Also, I have ran the TS MVP for a bit. Very strong box for a plug and play. But, mine came in at 7 psi boost and with the box turned up, it was a HIT. Holy annoying on cruise control and towing.

The only way cruise control was possible was turning the box down. That came out after a while. It did post up good numbers though a little more than the Smarty, but I expected that.

I dont have experience with any other plug and plays. The Quad XTZ+ seems to a decent one, but I am just partial to the Smarty.

Good luck

 

I always say Gauges before fuel!

EGT and fuel pressure.
I run a Smarty and a TST Pm3 with 50 hp injectors.

I only turn on the TST to play, as the truck has enough power without it.

I had a built by me trans.

Even a Smarty will eat a stock trans because you can tune around the torque management that is stock
You will be wanting a better clutch in time.
I like the smarty because I can read codes, and fine tune what I need.

 

I agree and do the same.

For grins and giggles, I scrounged up some dyno sheets comparing the EZ to MAD ECM and MVP to Smarty.

The "Toe" box is an EZ.



Mvp, MVP/Smarty stack and Smarty stand alone.

 

On my dyno runs I would loose about 10whp with the smarty compaired to the the diablo or ez. But, on back to back dyno runs the smarty hp and tq would start about 300rpm sooner.

 

Very interesting comments, I must say I was suprised that the Edge JWA was not mentioned. I know very little about any of these programers but must say I am intrigued with the edge JWA because it can show several guages on the CS, and to me this would save me money. I also like that you can adjust on the fly, or at least I have heard this. Do you need to tap the IP with the Smarty? I know with the Edge JWA you need to. I'm also suprised at what these programers are claiming in HP/TQ numbers, is 150 HP gain even remotely accurate on any of these programers? and can some of these programers be used in conjunction with one another? Thanks in advance for the great info, I trust the opinions of real life users much more than advertising claims!

 

If you reread my first post I've already mentioned that since you have an HO you will not see the advertised claims. If you had an SO pump you would see close to advertised HP. With the HO pump you will not see more than a 90whp gain from any box no matter the claims.

The smarty is the only "programmer" that has been mentioned thus far. The edge JWA, EZ, diablo power puck, TST are all boxes. They don't do any programming. You could stack the JWA with the smarty and use the even numbers which do not add timing.

I've never really cared for Edge. IMO a TST box or Blue Chip FMS would be money far better spent. I understand wanting to have everything in one package. I'm against this. If one thing fails the whole thing is shot. At least with mechanical gauges you can replace the one part that is bad.

 

You asked about boxes that would not damage the IP. IMO, the only boxes that are close to that claim are non wire tap boxes. Once the wire is tapped, anything is possible, even if remote.

The non wire taps are 65 hp give or take.

Ram is right. The smarty programs in at the OBD port. The Superchips also is a programmer. The other non wire tap boxes connect at the data link and map sensor on the motor.

I also agree about separate gauges.

 

Thanks for all the information, I am just realizing how little about this subject I know. I was thinking a box and a programer was one in the same. I also didn't realize there was a difference in the IP on the high output version of the cummins, I thought the only difference was a bit more compression. The price of the smarty is still almost 300 cheaper than the Edge JWA, so that is a plus. So does the Smarty require the IP to be tapped?

 

No, u do not tap the VP with a smarty. The smarty plugs into the obd2 port and reprograms the ecm.