Programmer options for 2004 Dodge cummins

[skippy]

I have owned my Dodge for a little over 3 years now, It is bone stock and up until now it has been fine. I am currently in the market for a a gooseneck trailer to haul both my rigs and with the added weight of two rigs and a heavy trailer I am looking for a chip of some sort to help with the power. Whats everybody running and what kind of EGTs are you seeing. I would like to keep the stock exhaust and the stock intake (I really like the quiet ride) if I can keep my EGTs in check.

Chip with gauges is a must.....

 

[anderson750]

I ran an Edge Juice with Attitude on my 06 5.9 but am running an H&S Mini Maxx on 11 6.7. They both are good, but H&S gives you the ability to do custom tunes if you are so inclined. As far as EGT's go, if you are going to increase performance, you are going to increase your EGT's and the stock exhaust and intake will limit your abilities to use that performance to its fullest extent. Air flow is key to diesel performance and the stock intake and exhaust are going to be a little restrictive.

 

[LT.]

I have owned my Dodge for a little over 3 years now, It is bone stock and up until now it has been fine. I am currently in the market for a a gooseneck trailer to haul both my rigs and with the added weight of two rigs and a heavy trailer I am looking for a chip of some sort to help with the power. Whats everybody running and what kind of EGTs are you seeing. I would like to keep the stock exhaust and the stock intake (I really like the quiet ride) if I can keep my EGTs in check.

Chip with gauges is a must.....

Okay, you are going about this all wrong. You cannot simply add a programmer to your truck and not address the air flow. Doing so will skyrocket your EGT's and ruin a turbo or over heat and ruin the engine. You dont build a house without a good foundation. Your intake and exhaust should be your first modifications. Adding a programmer without these two mods and then pulling a heavy gooseneck trailer will spell disaster for your truck.

I highly encourage you to reconsider your idea.

To address your programmer question, take a look at H&S Performance mini max. Edge products is the home town favorite since they are based out of Ogden, and they do make a good product. Bully Dog is another option as well. The best bang for your buck comes from Mads Electronics or EFI live. But, you will still need gauges. Max sustained EGT's should not excede 1250 degrees. You can spike around 1350 or more if it is just for a few seconds.

On the intake side check out S&B Filters. They make a high quality product at a reasonable price. Get the intake and the intake tube. If you want more cold air then the under bumper scoop may help your EGT's as well. Exhaust is up to you really. Lots of good companies out there. Living in utah i would encourage you to get a T-304 stainless exhaust system. Life time gaurantee on the products.

LT.

 

[flexyfool]

Try the Edge Mileage Max ($280) or the Edge EZ ($380) at the lowest power setting. Both add 25 HP, 50 ft-lb, +5% MPG. No gauges. No engine mods. Stock low-noise exhaust.

 

[AaronPaige]

I have a 07 with 5.9 afe intake and full exhaust and all kinds of motor work but I agree, if you like the quiet ride avoid the intake I know it's important for temps and power but I noticed most of my noise when I installed that first, now when pulling hard it sounds like the wife is going to get sucked through the fire wall

 

[jackjoh]

The Edge and what LT and flexyfool said. Have not experienced that sucking sound with K&N of course I have hearing aids.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

Being a 2004, you cannot do EFILive or H&S (2006 and newer can but use a different computer).

You are limited to all the others; Smarty, Edge, Banks, Bully Dog, and a bunch of others. Notice that I have listed Smarty and Edge first.

The Smarty hand-held is going to be your best bet for tuning and power. You can manipulate multiple variables to 'fine' tune your truck to match your current mods (none) or any mods you add in the future. You can add power without getting wild EGTs. There is an issue with the Smarty's causing the Grid Heater light to come on, and I don't remember much about what the cause/solution was. Along with the Smarty you get UDC tuning (do a web search for it). It is the next best thing to getting EFILive (that isn't available with the 2005 and older CR Cummins).

I have the Edge Juice with CTS controller. Plug and play. No jacking around with tuning/testing since it has already been done. A tap with the finger allows an increase of power on the fly. Has a built in boost fooler (~37psi). The downside with the Juice module is it runs hot; all the tunes are hot. EGTs definitely need to be watched. A nice thing about the Juice is that with the Attitude/CS/CTS gauge displays is that you can set limits for boost and EGT so that the unit automatically defuels (to stock) as you approach the limit that you set! On my CTS I have multiple alarms set (high boost, high EGTs, High engine and trans temp, high fuel rail pressure) so that I don't have to 'watch' my gauges on every hard pull. It beeps and flashes and turns red the parameter that has exceeded (or fallen below) my set point. Really nice feature. Plus, the CTS will accept a backup camera! On top of that, you can get a turbo timer (shut off based on EGTs or by time).

If my truck didn't already have the Edge/CTS when I bought it, I would have went with the Smarty with a standalone CTS for gauges.

With mild tunes, keep the stock exhaust. It is 4" and many are running 500hp+ with the stock pipe.