Diesel tuner

[pedalsteelpicker]

does any body use any kind of diesel tuner and if so any brand recommendations?My TV is a 2009 Ram 3500 dually with 6.7 Cummings and 6 speed manual.My trailer is a 2013 Alpine 3700RE,I have only pulled the trailer from the dealer to home (about 5 miles) so I really don't know what to expect from my truck.My first trip will be in about a month with a lot of mountian driving (Snoqualmie pass/tiger mountain and all the uptanum ridges heading towards Yakima Wa).Is it worth my while to add one before the trip or should I just wait and see how the truck performs as is and go from there?

[Festus2]

pedalsteelpicker -
I've travelled this route a number of times - over both Stevens and Snoqualmie passes. While my 5th is considerably lighter than your Alpine, our TV is fairly similar. I haven't had any concerns about towing the Cougar over any interior WA passes - the GMC Duramax does very well.
If I were you, I'd wait to see how the truck performs. Remember you have a fairly long and steep climb ahead of you so don't expect the same kind of performance that you noticed in your short trip home from the dealership.
When climbing, I don't push it - I am sure your Dodge - as is - will handle the climbs quite well as long as you realize you are heading uphill for a long way.

[pedalsteelpicker]

thanks for the advice Festus2!I will post a follow up after the trip!

[LittleJoe]

With the new 6.7 Cummins there is no tuner you can add that is not detectable......ie: it will void your warranty.

The best tuner for the Cummins is IMO the Smarty jr(for mild increases, mainly in that towing EGT are lower than stock). For injector longevity, you do not want a programmer that (fools) raises rail pressure.

All that being said, with the 6spd manual that you have,(Mercedes built aluminum case) I would not go above stock power (which is factory limited with this trans compared to the auto)

The 6.7 pulls very well in stock form, and will happily pull up to and over its CGVWR. The harder it works, the cleaner the exhaust system will stay.
YMMV.

[rnkburg]

Smarty is a great one I agree with above. H and s also makes a good one. But if you do make sure you get all the essential gauges, with every action there is a reaction and egts can get pretty high when adding a tuner, not to mention taking out your clutch. Take it from experience on the action reaction. We have done several of these trucks, its fun but be careful

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[rhagfo]

You have a lot of truck, and a darn nice unit, go stock the first trip, you should do fine!
If you feel you have issues with Snoqualmie pass, then cheat on the way to Yakima and take the river route from Ellinsburg , two lane lots of twist and turns, but a beautiful drive!!!

I run a DS Power Puck in my 01, gives me about 285 HP and about 610 Ft. Lbs. I pull a 05 Copper Canyon at about 11,500# GCVW last trip 18,500#. I still pull the Oregon coast range at at least 55, with 250K on the engine.

Enjoy your new unit, your Cummins will do just fine!!

If you want help on the tuner look here lots of good advice.
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/

[Jay Pat]

I agree with take it easy. When I do easy, I give about half throttle and the truck seeks it own speed. No pushing, muscling (?).... Just enjoy the ride!
Oh!...Right lane!!
Pat

[jsmith948]

I hope that the other truck drivers out there will agree - you want to always "save a little for tomorrow" - by that I mean that back in the days of 5spd main boxes and 3 spd brownies we always pulled a hill one gear below what the truck would do. If you are pulling the mtn with your foot in the pump you're a gear too high - IMHO- let the youngsters with the jacked up 4x4's go around - it's their money they're spending

[Jim W]

Originally Posted by pedalsteelpicker

does any body use any kind of diesel tuner and if so any brand recommendations?My TV is a 2009 Ram 3500 dually with 6.7 Cummings and 6 speed manual.My trailer is a 2013 Alpine 3700RE,I have only pulled the trailer from the dealer to home (about 5 miles) so I really don't know what to expect from my truck.My first trip will be in about a month with a lot of mountian driving (Snoqualmie pass/tiger mountain and all the uptanum ridges heading towards Yakima Wa).Is it worth my while to add one before the trip or should I just wait and see how the truck performs as is and go from there?

I set my truck up for towing a 5er and to last a minimum of 300,000 miles on the engine. I have a 2008, 2500HD 6.7L Ram Mega Cab with the 68RFE 6 sped auto, 4X4, 3:73 gears. I have installed the Smarty S67 with the 23ME update program (they are now at 28ME the last I checked). I am operating on level 3 with all parameters set to default except Torque Management which is set to level 2. I have all so installed a Mag-Hytec Transmission oil pan and Mag-Hytec differential covers these all add extra capacity for cooling and fluid.
I also have added an A-pillar Tri-gauge mount with Boost, EGT and transmission temperature. I have extra filtration in the fuel system of 2um which is after the stock 5um filter but ahead of the CP3 fuel pump. Air bags for leveling truck with load with an on-board compressor.
With all of these extra features I have never seen the transmission temperature above 180F when towing, engine cooling temperatures are never above 200F. The differential temps are never above 140F (IF heat gun measurement). I am also able to achieve between 11 and 13 MPG, towing my 5er hand calculated fuel mileage last year towing out west in the Rockies.
So my answer would be YES, if you want better fuel mileage and longer longevity of your engine.
The stock clutch which is a DMF type clutch can handle up to 60HP increase without adverse effects anything above that horsepower increase will require an aftermarket clutch.
Jim W.

[Clanton24v]

Let us know how the trip goes i'll be going over that pass in August. With my 2001 6spd cummins.
Just went through the north cascades last week and the statement of "don't expect the same performance" is true that was the steepest I've pulled a trailer through. But I've only had a travel trailer for less than 2 years and have only had my current 2011 hideout 31bhswe since FEB.

[SAABDOCTOR]

HI In stock trim your truck will pull a house of the foundation! before you go messin with it try it. As Festus said he had no issues. i have an 05 td 5.9 stock 4wd auto and have no issues pulling with that over the mountans. i do have a bigger transmission cooler thats it. enjoy your trip.

[Keeper]

Originally Posted by Jim W

I set my truck up for towing a 5er and to last a minimum of 300,000 miles on the engine. I have a 2008, 2500HD 6.7L Ram Mega Cab with the 68RFE 6 sped auto, 4X4, 3:73 gears. I have installed the Smarty S67 with the 23ME update program (they are now at 28ME the last I checked). I am operating on level 3 with all parameters set to default except Torque Management which is set to level 2. I have all so installed a Mag-Hytec Transmission oil pan and Mag-Hytec differential covers these all add extra capacity for cooling and fluid.
I also have added an A-pillar Tri-gauge mount with Boost, EGT and transmission temperature. I have extra filtration in the fuel system of 2um which is after the stock 5um filter but ahead of the CP3 fuel pump. Air bags for leveling truck with load with an on-board compressor.
With all of these extra features I have never seen the transmission temperature above 180F when towing, engine cooling temperatures are never above 200F. The differential temps are never above 140F (IF heat gun measurement). I am also able to achieve between 11 and 13 MPG, towing my 5er hand calculated fuel mileage last year towing out west in the Rockies.
So my answer would be YES, if you want better fuel mileage and longer longevity of your engine.
The stock clutch which is a DMF type clutch can handle up to 60HP increase without adverse effects anything above that horsepower increase will require an aftermarket clutch.
Jim W.

Jim, I have a question for you. In reading your post it's clear that you're well informed and know more than I on this subject. I thought about making some modifications to my truck (see sig) but decided to keep it stock. I have all the power I need but, like most of us, I'd like to get better MPG. Here's the question, and I'm not asking this to be a wise a**, I'd like to know if the cost of the mod's you've done is worth the gain?

[Jim W]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Jim, I have a question for you. In reading your post it's clear that you're well informed and know more than I on this subject. I thought about making some modifications to my truck (see sig) but decided to keep it stock. I have all the power I need but, like most of us, I'd like to get better MPG. Here's the question, and I'm not asking this to be a wise a**, I'd like to know if the cost of the mod's you've done is worth the gain?

In my humble Opinion; yes the mods were worth the cost.
Now I would have done the Mag-Hytec diff covers and transmission pan regardless if I was deleted or not, I also have added the gages before I deleted the truck. In my opinion the gages are required with any turbo diesel truck. The gages are required to know what is going on with the engine as far as operating condition when towing. I do not like idiot lights.

I had operated the truck for over 12,000 miles in the stock configuration averaging 11.59 MPG in all driving conditions. I have an Excel spread sheet which tracks all fuel mileage from each fill-up and averages a year result. Each year I have added on an additional 12,000 miles in operation. So far my mileage gains have been between 13 to 14 MPG per year, in all driving conditions. This is a 60/40 split between city/highway and my highway mileage is mostly towing miles with the 5er.
Jim W.
P.S. PM if you need more information.

[msp2jxr]

I am currently in the process of adding an AFE magnum SI cold air intake to my 2008 F-250 PS. It should arrive Tuesday. I will let you know if I notice any changes with my truck. I picked the SI because it is a Sealed Intake and is supposed to keep your truck quite. Personally I feel the world is noisy enough. I hand calculate every tank on my truck. Granted some tanks are a little skewed if you fill with only a few miles on the tank being even a few tens off will mess with your fuel mileage… Me I am in it for the long haul so I look at the average over numerous tanks not just a couple so it should eventually average out. My mileage gauge lies to me all the time. Running empty it will tell me I am getting between 20 to 21 mpg at 65. Not one tank have I gotten that kind of mileage. Most of the time my mileage is between 17 and 18 mpg. I am hoping I can get to 20 mpg but I really doubt I will get there. I would even be happy if I added .5 mpg. In six months if anyone is interested I will post my thoughts on this product and what my results are. I asked if cold air mods helped on this web site and got no replies so I decided I would try myself.

[Diesel Dude]

Hands down the best tuner for a 6.7 is an h&s. Great power shift on the fly and monitoring ability. I had one in my 08 and have one in my 12. Yes I have tried the smarty but it does not compare.

[Jim W]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dude

Hands down the best tuner for a 6.7 is an h&s. Great power shift on the fly and monitoring ability. I had one in my 08 and have one in my 12. Yes I have tried the smarty but it does not compare.

I do not like the H&S tuner because it stays in the truck and if the H&S tuner is stolen the truck cannot be return to stock since the tuner has been lost.

I agree the Smarty may not be the best tuner if you want to do shift on the fly programming although MAD's has just released POD for their S67 model. But here again the tuner is left in the truck and can be stolen.

Now if you are the type who wants to run larger injectors like 100HP over stock and a different turbo on the 6.7L truck which some users are doing than I would recommend EFI Live for your truck.

My son has used the Smarty POD for his 06 5.9L Cummins since new (06). He just recently sold the Smarty and bought the EFI Live for his truck. He told me the other day that it smokes less when he gets on it and the Cummins engine runs better.

His set up is a dual turbo system with 100HP injectors, milled head with ARP head studs and forged connecting rods with high performance pistons. He will be on a Dyno later this summer to tune the EFI Live for optimization on his system and to see what the engine is making in RWHP.
Jim W.

[Diesel Dude]

H&s offers a unit they call the xrt pro. This is a plug in tune and unplug unit.
Smarty is old school tuning and offers no phone customer service since they are located in Italy. I've run both tuners on my 08 and hands down h&s tuning.