So I was looking at the smarty tuner site, thinking about a tuner, and trying to figure out which would be best for me and my truck. I like the price of the JR. better than the S06 and I'm wondering if I really need the bigger tuner. I got this truck to pull my TT and some day I might go up to a 5er. I will tow my Harley and maybe a boat. So that's the extent of the weight. It's also my daily driver. Not planning on using the truck for any commercial purpose. I won't be building a race truck and I don't want the truck belching smoke. I have a Flowmaster muffler and an airraid intake tube.If I have to change injectors I will probably go with the Smarty 50 hp injectors( which is another thing I don't understand. 50 hp injectors give me 50 more hp? So a tuner set on 100 hp setting plus 50 hp injectors give me a 150 hp boost?) and that's all I plan on doing. Well, maybe a smoother intake.Both tuners do the things I like, but do I really need 200 hp? Another thing is what does advancing the timing do? How much HP can I go before Im going to need a bigger lift pump?

So help me figure this out.

Edited June 7, 201411 yr by Diesel

I would go with the jr. And for intake either find a stock intake or get a bhaf because the aftermarket intakes arent worth the money. Also reusable filters start breaking down each time you wash them allowing more dirt in

Why would you go JR.?

I had the same kinds of questions when I was trying to decide what to do for a tuner.  I read everything I could find about the options and as many reviews as I could find also.  I learned that not all trucks were the same or could be expected to act or perform the same.  There are so many variables that come into play (i.e. tires we  run, speed we drive, weight we pull, geography of where we drive etc., etc.) The list of unique characteristics between our trucks is nearly endless.

 

So my goal was to get as much mpg improvement as I could get for my driving style and what I do with my truck.  It isn't all that important to me to make as much HP as possible.  So it came down to personal preference for me. 

 

While there are many that use the Jr and are very happy with the results I chose the S06 because it gave me many more variable parameters to adjust and play with to see what did better on my truck.  As an example I have many more timing options to change on the S06 than on the Jr and the same goes for torque mangement etc.

 

Timing advancement can improve mpg's and hp.  As an example I found that my truck gets improved mpg's in town when I run SW9 with timing on 2 and torque management on 1 (but I don't use the power than SW9 enables, but the timing is a big plus).  On the road (empty) I got my best mpg's using SW5 with timing on 2 and torque management on 1.  The setting is different when I am loaded and carrying my camper.  If I was using the Jr I am sure I would have seen improvements and found something my truck liked better (than just operation in stock form) for my driving style but I would have had many fewer choices to try with the Jr than the S06.

 

Nothing wrong with the Jr and it costs less then the S06 but it just couldn't provide me with as many choices in my quest to improve mpg's.

I am wanting to boost my mileage. And I noticed the ability to change timing with the SO6. From what my research is telling me, that is a good thing. That is really my conundrum. As I understand it the jr doesn't change any timing, and if you really want the truck running right you need that timing change. Kind of like my bike. When I changed my intake and exhaust I got a programmer that only changed the fuel air mix. It was OK. But when I got the money I had SERT and dyno tune done. That changed timing also. Made a heck of a lot of difference as far as rideability went. The fueled made more power, but the SERT mad more power and the bike was smoother.

I just don't want to get to crazy, so does the timing make that big of a difference?

Sorry I meant to say sr. I was thinking faster than i could type

By sr you mean the SO6?

Since your a wrench I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts as to why.

Yes S06. I like the adjustability with it so that you can find the sweet spot

Thanks for the clarification.

So far 100% of the vote is going for the SO6. I've got a feeling, because of how technical the members of this forum are, that that trend will continue.

JR POD here, it has more than enough adjustability for me. I don't have the time or patience to wait 10 minutes every time I want to change things. I miss the simplicity of the comp on my old 02.

2to1. Do you think you could get better mileage with a timing adjust?

Yes, timing advancement can lead to improved mileage and performance assuming you are driving for mileage.

 

If you don't use the right driving habits - then your mileage will vary!

Yes I'm looking for better MPG. And better power. So the more I check into this the SO6 looks like the way to go.

So I'm curious. What is a safe HP number to run with a timing adjust on a truck that is pretty much stock? HD single plate clutch. Flowmaster muffler. Stock intake except for an airraid intake tube. Stock fuel pumps. Stock injectors.

With my JR I dynode at 407 hp &732 tq at max power and torque setting before doing the POD update and I tow at this all the time I run the timing one level past stock or "Mild" as it is called. I am still pretty much stock other than a muffler delete and PSM cold intake mod to the stock air box and running a deeper pleated air filter. 115K on it and no issues even the tranny is untouched.

The POD update was awesome, before it would pollute the world at any setting while even just daily driving and if a trailer was in tow it hadf a constant haze but now it is clean unless getting after it to get it to kick down since the 05 doesn't have the ability to lock out OD.

 

I made a 4500 mile trip to Arizona and back a few years ago and averaged 19.8 overall and could have easily broke 20 mpg if my wife wouldn't have driven a lot of the time, she has a heavy foot.

 

Difference in the JR and the SO6 is the JR has 3 settings for each of the 3 parameters besides stock where the SO6 has 9 for each.

 

With your wants and needs and seeing what you have I do not see the gain in going with an SO6 over a JR, like I said for me it is just that much more headache trying to play and the fact it takes almost 10 minutes to reload every single little setting change is a real pain, This is why I like the simplicity of the JR.

But that is just my  .

So the JR does timing also?

Yes, 4 settings if you count stock.

 

Power, torque and timing all have 4 settings counting stock setting plus the 99 levels of POD.

 

Like I said before JR is the same as the SO6 just has 3 adjustments of each parameter rather than 9 and none of them take things into an unsafe area like the SO6 can, all the settings of the JR are for just what you are looking to gain.

I just ordered the SO6. I'm thinking it will do whatever I need now or in the future. Hopefully I made the right decision.

Can I even run the 160 hp setting or will that melt the pistons down? Can I even get enough fuel with the stock pumps to run that setting?

You would have to ask those with an SO6 and gauges to answer that.

I would be more worried about your clutch. You also should look into lift pump and 2 micron filter setup before running the high settings for too long. I woul start with 2micron first because dirty fuel eats injectors. You can also do a bag-o-parts for your cp3 to help it keep up

I just ordered the SO6. I'm thinking it will do whatever I need now or in the future. Hopefully I made the right decision.

Can I even run the 160 hp setting or will that melt the pistons down? Can I even get enough fuel with the stock pumps to run that setting?

The new current software updates for the S06 (SW9) is listed at 210hp and could be more depending on mods you have on your truck.

 

I run on SW9 for my local driving because I get the best mpgs in town on that setting, but I am not using the power.  I have learned to control my driving with my right foot.  I think most of the recommendations you would get from Smarty is to not go above a certain power level if you haven't done some upgrades to the trans or clutch.  But if you can control your right foot then you can certainly use the higher power settings without doing any expensive mods to the truck.

 

Reasons why you might want to run at the higher SW levels is because the timing is incrementally advanced as you go up in the SW levels.

SW9 has more advanced timing than SW7 and so on. However, if you want to play with the new found power at the higher SW levels then you better understand that unless you beef up the trans or clutch then you could very well be setting yourself up to be spending a good chunk of change for repairs and/or upgrades.

 

I run stock lift pump and stock CP3 and have had not problems.  Both of these pumps are good solid performing pumps and provide more than sufficient fuel for the truck unless you are going to be really pushing the truck as in racing or hot rodding.  As I said I run the upper SW levels and I have 50hp injectors and have never seen a problem for lack of fuel.

 

If you have a set of guages in your truck so you can watch the vitals, then you won't have any trouble with melting pistons.  Again, if you want to push the hp and drive the truck like there is no tomorrow then all bets are off.

I do have a single disk HD clutch. I've also gone with the 5 micron Baldwin filter recommended by AH64.