Need Help Here Guys

01MOOSE

01MOOSE

The Mooseanator
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
9
Hey Guys,

I've been trying to figure out what to do. I have a quad on my truck now but I'm trying to figure out which to programmers or boxes will work together to make some good power. Basically what have ya'll found that works on the VP-44 trucks? I've tried the smarty but it didn't do anything didn't even seem like the tune was working. I've been looking at the TST powermax box to though but I need to know what works and what doesn't. This type of question may have been beat to death but I didn't find anything in the search bar. Thanks in advance guys.
 
Which quad do you have now?

There are a lot of different combinations, but there seem to be a few tried and true combos that work well.

I personally hate driving a manual transmission truck without a Smarty. There is nothing on the market (that I've found) that will fuel on the bottom end like the Smarty will. So, I always start with that. Since you have an automatic (at least I'm assuming an auto from your sig), you may not care as much about the smarty.. All personal opinion.

The Smarty / TST has been the combo that seems to dyno the highest (at least on the trucks I've been around). The TST can get a pretty nasty shutter when it defuels after a hard run, but over all is a nice box. The smarty provides good low end and timing. Great combo.

The Smarty / Edge Comp (HOT) is another great combo. It will be extremely close to the same peak numbers on the dyno. Street manners are about the same, with maybe a little less defueling shutter. Another great combo.

Smarty / F.M.S. is my personal favorite. Smarty gives the low end and the timing, the Blue Chip FMS gives the fuel. There are a few different versions of this box, including a competition style box that can pull higher RPM than most VP boxes. The regular FMS won't do the high rpms, but will provide about 67 different settings and a bunch of variables you can change. I've never had the defueling shutter with the FMS box, so it seems to have the best street manners... But, the big (BIG) downside to this box is the cost. Even used, expect to drop somewhere around $800-1000 for one.

What are you goals for the truck?
 
Thanks for the info buddy. My goals are to one day get compound turbo chargers, fire ring the head and stud it. I'm just having a hard time finding a good combo of programmers or boxes for the set up I have now lol. Yes I do have a auto trans so maybe that help decide which two to stack and get the best perfromance for now ya know.
 
I forgot to mention that the quad I have now is the 180hp box and when I tried to stack it with a smarty it had no power or didn't seem to have any more power than it did. I'm still new to the cummins perfromance world and I'm still trying to learn more and more on what to do perfromance wise. I do know that there are a ton of products out there for the cummins but I just need help making the right decision ya know. Thanks in advance guys
 
If you are planning on stacking on a stock turbo...expect some high EGTs.

If you are going to get a TST product, get the Powermax3 or the Competition version that MD referred to.

I found that with 150ish sticks and moderate levels on the Powermax 3 and Smarty that I could control EGTs, but under moderate to heavy acceleration my EGTs would shoot right up, and I would wind up driving by my pyrometer.

Also keep in mind the TST boxes are fuel only which would allow you to run timing with the smarty, but it is not recommended to run the Edge Comp with the timing levels on the Smarty.

The smarty won't put down a whole lot more for power when it is stacked with anything. Some say it will reduce power on the dyno, but I am not surprised to hear it didn't feel like it added any power with the Quad. I ran the smarty because it made my 6 spd more fun to drive.
 
Completely agree with j-rod.

If you are looking for all out performance, the TST comp stacked with the Smarty is going to be hard to beat.

You may also want to research some of the debate about Firerings (there is pleanty). Some folks say they are fine for a daily driver, while others have had serious issues after only a few heat cycles.

Finally, if you plan on going all out, I would look at a p-pump conversion. The adjustability of the VP is nice, but the dependability of a p-pump is hard to beat.
 
Sounds good guys thanks for the replies. So if I decide to go the p-pump route what should I do? Like what should I do for nozzles, chargers, etc. Give me some pointer's to look for/at and then do lol. Also if I plan to stick with the ole' vp44 what are some pointer's there also? again thanks in advance
 
Injectors will need to be set to p-pump pressure (you can't do this by just replacing the nozzles). Depending on who you got the nozzles through, they might be able to help you. Otherwise, expect to send them out to an injector shop (several to choose from) and get them reset.

Chargers? Well... The sky is the limit. How much you want to spend is the only thing keeping it grounded. You can get an off the shelf setup, or build something completely custom. No need to change (unless you decide to go much bigger) if you decide to p-pump.

If you stick with the VP, make sure it has contanst fuel pressure and good fuel. Most people also run an additive. I personally like to run a little 2 stroke with every tank, but there are pleanty of other options out there. The easiest to find is Powerservice. You can pick that up at pretty much any napa, schucks, or walmart.

Once you have a budget in mind, people can offer much better advice. If you can afford to go out and do everything at once, you will get 1 set of opinions. If you want to slowly build up, you will get another set of opinions. Just depends on how much you want to spend and when you want to spend it.

If money is no object, tell us how fast you want to go, and we'll tell you how much it will cost to get there! :hehe:
 
Ok I tell you what my goal is to make 700hp thats as simple as I can put it lol. Now I'm not a money bag lol but thats my goal. Now what should I do to get to that goal reliably and not make the truck a trailer queen? P-pump? Compounds? Hot Rod VP44? Nozzles? Please Throw every idea you can think at me cause I'm listening lol. Again thanks in advance
 
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