So i have been driving my 1999 cummins for about 2 years now. I havnt done anything but exhaust. I am wanting to do a little performance modifications now, and wanted some input. I see there are so many options out there...
I want better fuel economy, at the same time more power. i see lots of electronics claim to do this. Who should I go with? This is a daily driver truck, and will be. i dont want to tear up it, moderate mods will do. Please give me your input on different things that will help out on this, and what you have experienced in your changes. thanks

steve

 

Get some gauges first.

 

your gonna want to get gauges before you do anything. and what are you shooting for.

 

what # is your block.

 

gauges yes, already have them in the garage. Im not looking to go extreme. A little more power will make me happy.

on the block #, I have never looked. Out of curiousity, why?

 

53 block has cracking problems.

 

ik have a 53 and have 133,000 miles and my origional vp44 so from what i have come to is that the crack is because of the amount of heat cycles the steel goes through not the horsepower. they m,ake a fix that helps to prevent the 53 block from cracking.

 

well back on subject, you say a little is nice but alot is eventually going to come. i would say go with a smarty. it will help with throttle responce and fueling,timing, help spool your turbo and not make your trans hate you. pm me i will give you a link to a close friend for the smarty.

 

I have an Edge EZ, and IMO, it is a good choice for additional power in moderation and is easy to install.

I would be a little skeptical of any huge increases in MPG for any box/chip/tuner. It just doesn't happen in my experience. A box/chip/tuner WILL fool your overhead computer into telling you you're getting really high MPGs, but pencil and paper say different.

I gained 0.5 - 1mpg maybe with the Edge EZ. I had a Superchips tuner before that, and it made me drop 1-2 mpg when on the high setting. The SCMT also made my truck throw codes.

Superchips customer service leaves something to be desired as well IMO. Edge has been great to deal with, had to get a jumper from them, they sent me two of them just in case - cost $0.

I've read lots of positive comments about the smarty too, but I have no personal experience with them, so I can't comment.

 

i would still go with the smarty, you can stack it witha tst when you want more power which your gonna. they are expensive but they are worth the money.

 

pm sent, thanks