We have a 2006 Dodge 1 Ton 5.9 HO engine. This truck was bought second hand (used) to us. The original owner said it was stock. It’s obviously not. It has in creditable horsepower. We have taken to the dealership and to US Diesel Parts, Inc. neither one can tell what kind of tuner has been used but they swore it’s been altered, it’s pulling 418 horse at the rear wheel. Any suggestions to find out how it has been altered or what tuner was installed any suggestion would be greatly appreciate. I don’t want to do anything to lose the horsepower just what to change it so it doesn’t smoke so much, during acceleration or on the lower end.

Curtis Fitzgerald

 

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lighter right foot?

it is a diesel...you aren't going to get high horsepower without smoke on WOT runs...

I would be lying if I said my truck doesn't dump smoke if I floor it... but I have learned to drive reasonably to keep smoke to a bare minimum. light haze on take off and its clean as long as I control my right foot and keep rpm's higher to give the turbos a chance to clean it up...

 

Actually, this weekend had it Dyno tested in Dyno days in Missoula. Stock 898 torque and 455 horse stock, now just an issue of smoke and made needing to change injectors

 

injectors are very spendy on common rails...

are you wanting more power from the injectors, or what is your reasoning for changing them?

 

Just looking to reduce smoke without losing horsepower. 50 plus female, 1st time diesel owner. Thought maybe I could learn some through advise and mechanics that deal with diesels. Love the truck not looking for hotrod just a sweet ride at peak perforamnce as for fuel mileage for towing, horsepower and least amount for smoke. Smarty S6 right now, Smarty S6 pod tuner maybe, new injectors maybe? How did you get 538 horse out of little modifications while still pulling (towing) any advise? Different generation I have 06??? Please keep it simple I am not mechanically inclined. Thanks in advance for your help and input!!!

 

haha "slightly modded" is an exaggeration

my truck is an older 2nd gen 24v vp44 truck which takes a lot more work and modifications to put down the kind of numbers I am putting down..

basically I have a fueling box, large injectors, compound twin turbos, a double disc clutch with Heavy Duty clutch hydraulics, 5" exhaust, 150 Gallon Per Hour fuel system, full set of gauges (trans temp, fuel pressure, exhaust gas temp, and dual boost gauges for both stages of the turbos because I have twins), added tranny coolers, etc...

I can still tow with my mods, but I turn the truck down to 400hp (by changing power levels on my fueling box) for towing. it's not that I can't tow at 500+hp, its that the engine cooling can't keep up with the heat output of the engine towing for long durations at that power level. Not to mention it is just stupid and unsafe towing at maximum power. 400hp is more than enough to get a maximum rated load moving with ease and pull hills without ever bogging down. about 95% of the time I drive at a 400hp level anyway. no need for max power for just cruising and maintaining speed on the freeway. I only turn it up when I need to put someone in their place or pass someone a bit faster than normal and all it takes is the push of a button to go from 400hp to 500+

I'm actually changing out my injectors very soon for a custom built set that should help my turbos spool faster, run cleaner and smoother, and hopefully have less haze at idle. I'm guessing the truck will be high 500 to low 600hp range at that point...won't know till after some tuning and a few dyno runs are done.

unfortunantly without having the tuner they used on your truck, there is no way to reduce smoke without having your ECM reflashed and getting a tuner of your own.

I would suggest EFI-Live since you have an 06.

EFI-Live will let you custom tune your truck to your needs.

you can likely get a shop to help you with the tuning and have them set it up to have ideal injection timing for fuel economy, and get the power up where you want it to be, but have it gradually added based on boost levels to help keep smoke down to a bare minimum.

the smoke usually happens because the engine is injecting too much fuel before turbo boost catches up with it to clean it up. That can usually be corrected electronically to a point. I have never messed with EFI-Live tuning personally, so I couldn't tell you exactly what settings to change. based on countless reviews I have heard about it though, it is definitely the way to go.

you might want to do yourself a favor and create an account on cumminsforum.com

there is a wealth of information there about the performance products and truck builds, etc. they actually have the diesel categories broken down by generation, and even further broken down by performance parts, power train, non-power train, etc. for each generation of cummins diesel. traffic on the site is also 100x more than this forum...the diesel section of dodge forum is a ghost town compared to cumminsforum which is like a metropolis lol

 

Ok, I'm a bit confused. You don't know what program it's running, or it's running Smarty?

You're stuck right now, you need to get a clean factory flash before you can put any other programming on it; if you were to plug a Smarty in and try to tune it, the Smarty will say "Unknown Software" and will not load a tune. It needs to recognize it's own Smarty programming (Smarty becomes VIN locked to your truck upon loading a tune; no other Smarty can remove that tune nor will yours tune any other truck without first removing the tune from your truck).

Here's my suggestion: take the Smarty you have, and sell it. Now buy EFILive V2, pick your tuner of choice, and they can send you a clean factory program to flash into your truck, then upload your EFILive tune. Or, keep it real simple, and go to your dealer, have a clean file flashed in (this will eliminate the tune in it now...) then read your ECM, send that off to your EFILive tuner, and they'll send you a tune that you then flash in. You will a) gain power most likely, b) help your engine to live a longer life, and c) be nearly smoke free.

I'm just over 500hp on mine with a basically stock truck, and the thing is damn near smoke free. I can jump on it pretty decent in town and there's not much more than a slight haze out the pipe and she's gone. In other words, I have to really make a conscious effort to make it smoke; it simply won't do it just running around town.