Dr.Dizzle

I believe you would be very pleased with a smarty jr. I recommend you purchase it through the DTR store. http://store.dieseltruckresource.com/

mattwv88

^^^^ I agree. He shipped mine to me in like two days. Granted I am in the same state as him but Larry is really cool. I called to ask him a question and we ended up talking for about 15 mins.

mattwv88

Yes it is a handheld tuner. You plug it in to your computer port program your setting then put in back in the carry case. It does not stay plugged in or anything. Others that know way more than me can chime in but I think you can get it at anytime of modifing. I am pretty sure there are guys on here that have bone stock trucks but have a smarty. Take a look at it. That may answer allot of your questions http://madselectronics.com/SmartyJR.html

DodgeChallenger

If you go with the Smarty products please remember that you must download the program back into the Smarty handheld unit BEFORE you go anywhere near a Mopar dealer. Even if it is for something ekse they may find that your computer needs or didn't get a prior flash update and they seem to do this without your permission. If this happens with the Smarty sw loaded in the ECU then you just blew the cost of the Smarty system and will have to buy another. The instructions tell you this anyway. It's easy and you simply load everything back in after the dealer has done their stuff. I carry my Smarty case with me under the seat so that if something goes wrong on the road I can still upload back to Smarty. Hope this helps.

MikeyB

Actually the later model Smarty's have the POD feature, and if you leave the unit plugged into the OBD port you can adjust the power level on the fly.

MikeyB

VP_07SRT8

yeah thats how it is for my diablo for the charger and the SCT for the cobra. always upload the stock tune to cover your butt for any reason plus save the ecu

regert

so looks like the Smarty is the way to go, I'm suprised that no one said Bully Dog I see that there pricy.

Update: I had the truck at the dealer to get computer flashed and a couple recalls looked at, it seems the old owner didn't have any tune in it but I do have a issue with the waste gate selenoid they said it's $600 for a new one. Where is this located, is it bolted to the turbo? I'd want this fixed before I get in to more boost and have issues.

C Schomer

I got the U7130 5 yrs ago and still no regrets. Smarty still had bugs at the time. I don't know if smarty has gauges but I already had them and didn't want to pay for them again. Another big reason I went with the Predator is because their econ tune is 100 hp - not 30 or 40 like a lot of them. I get 21+ with my 4.10 R&P on 100 hp. I think the 7130 is also for the 05s. You already have a bigger turbo and exh. than my 03 had. I had to change mine to get to where yours already is. The econ/100hp tune is perfect for towing. Max egt is 1225 so I don't need to worry about watching the pyro all the time and it pulls the mtns like all the new diesels, or better. My 6 spd and clutch can take it just fine. Later, I got the Puck to stack but I never use it any more. MPG goes down with it too much and the Pred does everything by itself anyway. $200 is the cheapest I've seen. I would recommend finding a 120/12v power supply and 9 pin cable to download updates. I've read you can get those at radio shack. I've also tried every one of their downloadable custom tunes and put a stopwatch to every one of them and I still go back to the packaged tunes in the Pred. I run 2 of their tunes... the 100 hp 99% of the time and the stack Performance tune (without the puck) to play with. Actually, the Puck along with the stack perf tune was as fast as any of the custom tunes but I prefer the stack perf by itself for driveability and it still blazes. I've even tried towing on the regular perf tune but I really had to watch the egt. It sounded like a jet engine under the hood and my clutch still took it. I think the stack is up to 200/400 and I believe it. I can read and clear codes and that was priceless when my tps went out. Craig

regert

Nice that it's a good unit, I might get it first to try it out. I'm sure if I don't like it I'll beable to sell it for about the same cash.

Lost Lake

Good luck with that 'other' tuner. I've heard too many guys fried their truck with the other guys. And what about leaving an imprint on your ECU? Smarty guarantees they leave no trace. Oh I suppose if a tech were smart he could find evidence of overboost and timing changes, but not definite footprints of a tuner.

Lots of guys like the other tuners. I have buddies I can't get to buy a Smarty, they have their BullyDogs or whatever, then they lose an injector or two, or the truck runs poorly and they disconnect the tuner and it runs better... Whatever. Did the programmer cause the problem? Hmmm?

I just haven't heard of anybody having a Smarty problem, and again, if someone has please post it. I've had mine for 115,000 miles and never a hiccup.

You can find a friend with a Smarty and he can download a tune to your truck so you can try it. You will notice an instant difference.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

soulezoo

^^^^ Full Disclosure statement:

I am and will remain a faithful smarty guy...

However, to be fair, I know at least a few guys that "claim" smarty trouble. I won't speak for them or validate their concern. Just thought I'd be fair in the statements made.

That said, to the OP, I would get smarty 06. Fried ECMs are a concern you want to beware of; especially if you consider getting one tuner, decide you don't like it, sell it and try another to find out it won't download and now you need a new ecm. Remember that all "stock" downloads are different versions of software from dodge and not backwards compatible in most cases. Meaning, it is possible to download a smarty tune, run it back to stock, try another programmer and it won't work because of the wrong version date of the software. That is when ECMs get unhappy.

Just a heads up and not intended to steer you in a particular direction.

C Schomer

I'm sure there's some gamble with any of them. Call Mark, the owner of TST Products, if you want to hear about smarty problems and you will hear it directly from a distrubutor. I talked to a mechanic a month ago about scanners. There are different layers of scanner information and any chip/tuner can be detected if they scan deep enough. It really doesn't matter to me which one you buy. Diablo told me that if the stock tune is put back into a truck, it can then be sold/used on a different truck but I wasn't about to take any chances. I bought mine spanking new. Craig

VP_07SRT8

Diablo, if you upload the stock tune and settings again it cant be detected, thats why most of the charger guys use them and the only time people have had problems is when they thought they knew what they were doing and changed timing, fuel input etc.

mykaos

How I did it: bought a used Bully Dog Triple Dog w/ Crazy Larry, $200 shipped to my door. I run it on performance "most times". I don't tow much. Not saying its the best, just it works AWESOME and got the best "bang for the buck". A bit of risk, yes, but so is dropping 2-4 x's that and not like.

regert

I don't care about a imprint as there is no warranty on the truck. I do most of my own repairs. As fas as loading a tune and having the computer blow up I haven't come across that one yet. I think I'll locate a spare computer as well just in case as I work at a Auto Wreckers.