I have a Smarty to play with for a couple days

[dodgedieselnewbie]

I borrowed a friends Smarty S03 to see if I like it. I don't think I will be comfortable enough to run the Edge and Smarty at the same time. If I do get the nerve.. I know enough not to run the Smarty on advanced timing settings. Any advice on what settings to try? There only appears to be one setting with boost fooling. Does this mean that any of the other settings.. that I should not be able to obtain boost levels over 20? I ask because I already tried the fuel saver mode for like 5 minutes and got my boost gauge to 30 and didn't think that could happen. 

[Me78569]

The smarty rewrites the upper limit for boost in the ecm fueling tables so you don't need a boost fooler.  

[dodgedieselnewbie]

Do you know if that upper limit is the same for each setting or what that limit is? Would there be a difference in the one that states boost fooling vs the rest?

[Me78569]

I think all the smarty settings raise the limit, but I am no smarty pro, Maybe CSM will chime in.

[CSM]

Don't stack timing.  Read the back of the smarty and don't use the +timing tunes with the edge.  The smarty adds a minimum of 60hp on a stock truck regardless of the level.  The higher the number the more agressively it gets that extra hp.  With injectors and turbo/exhaust mods, you will see more than 60hp... possibly a lot more.  

For driving I really like the catcher on 3, then mess with Revo settings.

• Start with torque management on 1 or 2, get a tune you like, THEN adjust torque management.  i find the trans gets really unhappy at higher torque management settings.  
• Adjust duration up if you want more fuel.  You can adjust timing a bit, and at your altitude I might try 3 and see how it runs. 

A lot of it is just tune, drive a couple miles, retune, etc.  It will take a few iterations to find something you like.  The theory behind it is long winded and complicated. For a simple method I start with fuel, and add fuel til I am happy with the throttle feel once the turbo gets spooled. You don't want too much timing, so it really knocks a ton as that is overly hard on stuff.  However, you don't want too little, as your EGTs will get too high if the fuel doesn't have time to burn.  Too little timing is really evident at higher RPM it seems with the VP44/smarty.  Then after adding timing, I usually add one level of fuel, see how it drives and then drop back down if it is not smooth or is too smoky.  

The key is one step at a time, think about it, and then one more step change.  Write the revo settings down with notes to keep track. Then, once it is all done, adjust torque management out of 1 or 2 and see how badly it shifts.  Then go back to 1 or two... mabe three... haah.

[dodgedieselnewbie]

Thanks for the info. I'm wondering how boost will react.. I can easily achieve 42psi with the edge. Will the same be so with the Smarty?

[Me78569]

no the edge fuels 2x more than the smarty will.

 

Boost is driven by fuel input. 

[dodgedieselnewbie]

Something tells me I'm going to be disappointed with this Smarty.. especially ran by itself. Seems like it might be a lot of work to find something you like. Opposed to just pressing a button on the Edge. 

[CSM]

It isn't for everybody.  The smarty, well tuned, is how the truck should have come from the factory.  It isn't plug and play.  

If you want to stack, play around with the catcher levels and the edge levels.  It will push a lot harder off the line with the smarty than with the edge alone.   

I like the TST - smarty stack.  I have the smarty tuned for a really nice daily driver, but the TST can add crazy fuel if necessary for whatever. 

[dodgedieselnewbie]

I played with the Smarty a little.. Started on level 3.. timing set to 2.. duration set to 2 and torque management set to 2. Then I changed it to level 5 and left the left where it was (not sure if you need to change the other settings for each level or they carry over?)... then changed it to level 7. 

I don't feel any more power on take off than I do with the Edge. It's a damp morning and I couldn't get the tires to spin. There is definitely way more power with the Edge up at higher speed. What I like about the Smarty is that it is more subtle... my boost doesn't sky rocket and EGTs seem to be a little lower.

I have more playing to do..  I don't know exactly what each setting (timing/duration/torque man) does or how they correlate or what the highest setting I would dare to choose.. I don't wanna blow anything up. If I stomped on it I got a little black smoke but cleared up immediately. 

Here's a little video of my dash and gauges going though the gears.. moderate throttle. I think you can tell how snappy the tranny is in this video... it snaps like this with light throttle too. A little annoying.. it just feels like it's hanging and shifting too late to me. 

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by dodgedieselnewbie

[Me78569]

Remember comparing the edge and smarty is apples to oranges. 

 

Boost / EGT's will be noticeably lower with the smarty as it is not a wiretap box.   The smarty does move the power band lower than the edge, but that is not as noticeable in an auto truck.

 

[notlimah]

Dude I had a mini panic attack for you! I had to go back and watch the video in a higher res because I thought your fuel pressure was way low, especially for your mods! But, you have a 0-40psi gauge so never mind! haha 

I'm looking forward to trying out Tyler's smarty whenever I get to borrow it. I just don't have the nice transmission like you do!

Edited March 15, 2016 by notlimah

[dodgedieselnewbie]

6 hours ago, Me78569 said:

Remember comparing the edge and smarty is apples to oranges. 

 

Boost / EGT's will be noticeably lower with the smarty as it is not a wiretap box.   The smarty does move the power band lower than the edge, but that is not as noticeable in an auto truck.

 

I understand. thank you

I played some more.. by changing the level from 7 to level 9 and also moving the torque management setting up to 3. IMHO... there was a major difference.  Quicker response and more pep.. Not sure if it was just the level 9 setting or if the the torque setting had anything to do with it. I believe (based on my research) that there is no torque management in my truck. So is the torque setting even doing anything? 

I was getting more smoke in level 9.. I think that I read the duration setting plays a part in this but not sure. 

I turned it down to level 7, torque 3, timing 2 and duration 1. This seems to be a decent setting with no smoke but I can definitely tell a difference between 7 and 9.

I believe I read that one should not tow with added timing... so.. would it be okay to tow in SW8 (stock timing)?

 

[CSM]

It is vague what torque management does on the early autos... it may change how the PCM shifts and it may change the fueling at low speed.  As it is supposed to work, torque management reduces the fuel below 35mph based on a multiplication factor.  It isn't as big of a deal on manuals, but can make autos shift early and hard.  It can really be hard on things, but can make it faster.  It requires you to drive the shift points with your right foot carefully at times. I like driving lazier so I keep it at 2 and just turn on the TST if I want mongo power.

Duration will allow you to fine tune the injector pulse duration from a given catcher level.  basically more or less fuel.  

It is fine to tow with added timing and in fact better, just don't start with revo at 4.  However, it is hard to add too much timing with a VP44.  I would test it out and add timing to 3 and see how it sounds.  It shouldn't be too knocky and sound like a 12v, but I can hear a difference between 3 and 4 timing, so I keep it at 3 max for my altitude.  Just don't run on odd catcher tunes with the edge turned on.  

I think i am running as follows 

high altitude 6000 ft tune SW 3, TM 2, Timing 3, Duration 3 

Low altitude < 1500 ft tune SW 3 or 5, TM2-3, Timing 2, Duration 3

With my 62, 125s, and low stall torque converter it is mostly smoke free and good spooling.  At low altitude it was near instant spool and very good power.  

Edited March 15, 2016 by CSM

[dodgedieselnewbie]

Thanks CSM... I will be playing with it some more tomorrow.  I've only had a few hours to play with it but in that short time.. it seems that it would be a better choice for towing. I might hook up the camper over the next couple of days to test. If I like it... call me crazy but... I might trade the kid my Edge for the Smarty. I don't really need the go fast part that comes with the Edge and feel like it might get me in trouble sometimes :-)  If the Smarty would be better suited for towing.. that's what I'm after. Another thing.. my "lie-o-meter" has gone up a mile.. so if it gets me better mileage.. bonus for me.

[CSM]

Personally, I like the smarty when properly tuned.  I hate it when it is off.  The owner/designer of the smarty really hasn't said anything about how it really works.  All we know is from testing and guessing. 

I do find that it needs more at high RPM when I am horsing around though.  I would try odd numbers and your edge too, that isn't a bad stack, but I never found a tune that I was happy with.  

Edited March 15, 2016 by CSM

[dodgedieselnewbie]

8 minutes ago, CSM said:

Personally, I like the smarty when properly tuned.  I hate it when it is off.  The owner/designer of the smarty really hasn't said anything about how it really works.  All we know is from testing and guessing. 

I do find that it needs more at high RPM when I am horsing around though.  I would try odd numbers and your edge too, that isn't a bad stack, but I never found a tune that I was happy with.  

I agree.. It's way different than the Edge at higher rpms/speed. If I try it stacked.. I might want both! lol  When I probably only need one or the other. Anyway.. I think you meant even numbers... Thanks again

[CSM]

my bad.  Even!

[Killer223]

i thought the s03 only added like 65 HP, the different levels was how fast it got there. weather it's all down low in the RPM or at the top it's still only 65 i thought.

[Me78569]

It is.

 

I have never driven a truck with an edge comp on it, but the difference between the smarty and my quad is beyond night and day.  I didn't tune the smarty, maybe csm needs to show me whats up with the smarty.