What I really need is someone that is up on the latest news on tuners for the 3rd gen Rams. I have looked at several threads including the ones specifically for tuners and most of the info seems to be old. Is there anyone out there that has recently looked into this and can help me decide?

I have a 2006 Mega Cab with the 5.7 and they don't have MDS. I am looking for which tuner will give me the most bang for my buck on this truck. I was originally going to go with the Superchips 138650 Vivid Linq since I have and will always have an android phone. However, I was dumb and started looking around to make sure it was the best for me and now just need some other peoples opinions.

I am considering all brands but even unsure which Superchips I would go with now. They have four my truck:
1. VIVID LINQ PN. 138650
2. Cortex PN. 3950
3. Flashpaq PN. 3842
4. Flashpaq California Edition PN. 3841

I'm unsure of the advantage of the California Edition but as I am in CA I would like to know if there is a reason to buy it. From what I read it seems like it has tunes that you can leave on and still pass smog. I would assume they would be weaker tunes and wonder why I wouldn't just get the regular Flashpaq 3842 and change the tune back to stock when I smog it.

Any help with this decision would be greatly appreciated!

 

Where did you get those numbers from?
Cortex 3950 is correct, but I always thought the Flashpaq was 3865??

Best bang for your buck. --->Get the cheapest tuner they sell = Flashpaq!

I would not get any California edition. You can simply put your truck back to stock a week prior to your yearly inspection.
If they tell you they cannot ship it to Cali(doubtful), then I'll buy it and ship it to you for the cost of shipping.

 

Dirty Dog, thanks for the reply.

I got the part numbers straight off the Superchips site by using the search by vehicle at the top of their home page. After seeing your comment I checked to see if there is a difference between MDS & Non-MDS; both pull the same model numbers I had. I don't even see a 3865 listed on their site anymore; only on other sites like Amazon. I'm thinking they may have updated and the 3865 is now old stock on these other sites. I wonder if anyone out there can confirm this.

The Flashpaq and Vivid Linq are the same price on the Superchips site but Amazon has the Linq for $279 which is by far the cheapest. I just really want to know if I will miss out on features which ever way I go. The site is a little vague in exactly what each tuner does. It is also hard to compare to other brands; I have zero experience with tuners.

Your thoughts on the CA edition match mine exactly and it is really only every 2 years here. I really appreciate the offer to help get it if they won't ship here and will keep it in mind. I was thinking that might be a problem my first thought is to explain that I am active duty military and while I am stationed in CA the truck is not a CA truck and I am not a CA resident. I hope that will get it taken care of but they may know that I still have to pass smog checks here even though I don't plan to mention that. I will let you know if I need to use your offer though.

Thanks again, hopefully more people will weigh in too.