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Old 05-14-2018, 01:45 PM   #1
BilletGarage
 
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2005 Cummins Tuning - What should I know?

Just picked up a 2005 QCSB with some bolt ons and a Bully Dog GT tuner. The consensus seems to be that I should throw the Bully Dog in the trash. Soooo....

I know good tuning options for the '03 - '05 trucks had been limited but HP Tuners jumped in a few years back. So my question is this: What is the best tuning option for someone who wants a reliable tow rig first and foremost but wants to be able to hot rod the truck around a bit without a trailer?

I should note that I have the HP Tuners Pro Software Package that I use for basic tuning of the GM LS platform. Not entirely sure if my MPVI will work with the Cummins. Can anyone confirm? And I am a newbie tuner so I am probably not going to write my own tunes for the Cummins. But I figured having the software and interface may make loading someone elses proven tune easier and more cost effective.

Current performance mods on the truck:

MBRP 4" Turbo Back
AFE Cold Air
Banks Intercooler, Piping, Hi Ram
BD Diesel Flex Plate

It is lifted 3" on 35's.

The trans seems like it's had something done to it (shifts are firm) but I have no idea what. The previous owner twisted the center out of two flexplates before going with the BD Diesel one. The shop that replaced the first flex plate told him that the converter was not stock but no other info.

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
Old 05-14-2018, 01:59 PM   #2
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Mm3 in my opinion is the best option for custom shift on the fly tunes.
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Old 05-14-2018, 02:34 PM   #3
ramthiscummins

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justappumped24v View Post
Mm3 in my opinion is the best option for custom shift on the fly tunes.
MM3 does not offer shift on the fly tuning. There is a new HP tuners device that is supposedly two weeks out of release date and will have bluetooth connectivity. (not sure why they are so quiet about this device??)

I would still lean towards HP tuners for the 03-04, the price cannot be beat, if you already have HP tuners, it will work with your cummins you just need to buy credits for the cummins, you can use a tablet (or eventually your phone) to data log in real time.


If you are looking for a tuner, I would recommend Firepunk diesel, paul cato of mavericks diesel, silver bullet tuning and there are many more I am missing just use the search function.
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Last edited by ramthiscummins; 05-14-2018 at 02:37 PM.
 
Old 05-14-2018, 02:48 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramthiscummins View Post
MM3 does not offer shift on the fly tuning. There is a new HP tuners device that is supposedly two weeks out of release date and will have bluetooth connectivity. (not sure why they are so quiet about this device??)

I would still lean towards HP tuners for the 03-04, the price cannot be beat, if you already have HP tuners, it will work with your cummins you just need to buy credits for the cummins, you can use a tablet (or eventually your phone) to data log in real time.


If you are looking for a tuner, I would recommend Firepunk diesel, paul cato of mavericks diesel, silver bullet tuning and there are many more I am missing just use the search function.
What about HP Tuners for 04.5 and 05? Any link to the new device from HP Tuners? Thanks for the info!
 
Old 05-14-2018, 03:20 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramthiscummins View Post
MM3 does not offer shift on the fly tuning. There is a new HP tuners device that is supposedly two weeks out of release date and will have bluetooth connectivity. (not sure why they are so quiet about this device??)

I would still lean towards HP tuners for the 03-04, the price cannot be beat, if you already have HP tuners, it will work with your cummins you just need to buy credits for the cummins, you can use a tablet (or eventually your phone) to data log in real time.


If you are looking for a tuner, I would recommend Firepunk diesel, paul cato of mavericks diesel, silver bullet tuning and there are many more I am missing just use the search function.
Mm3 does shift on the fly... I do it everyday.
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Old 05-14-2018, 03:24 PM   #6
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Mm3 does shift on the fly... I do it everyday.
Are you actually switching tunes on the fly or just POD levels within the set tune file?
 
Old 05-14-2018, 03:27 PM   #7
ramthiscummins

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I was told not for 03-04
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justappumped24v View Post
Mm3 does shift on the fly... I do it everyday.
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Old 05-14-2018, 03:29 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by BilletGarage View Post
What about HP Tuners for 04.5 and 05? Any link to the new device from HP Tuners? Thanks for the info!
I would still recommend hp tuners for 04.5-05. I saw the device at ucc but haven't seen it online at all. Since you already have hp tuners that is what I would do

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Old 05-14-2018, 03:42 PM   #9
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Didn't you post another thread asking this question?
HP tuners or Smarty MM3 would be your best bet. Find out whats in that trans so you can throw more power to it.
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Old 05-14-2018, 04:10 PM   #10
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Quote:
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Are you actually switching tunes on the fly or just POD levels within the set tune file?
Throw out typical smarty! I have 5 custom tube files from Innovative Diesel that load onto the tuner and get pushed to the ECM. The MM3 is purely a interface communication device and also has a decent set of gauges like a Edge CTS
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Old 05-14-2018, 04:10 PM   #11
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Didn't you post another thread asking this question?
HP tuners or Smarty MM3 would be your best bet. Find out whats in that trans so you can throw more power to it.
Not that I'm aware of? The only other thread I started was that I bought the truck. This thread is specifically about tuning.

I understand that HP Tuners and Smarty are the preferred tuning platforms for the 2005. I want to know WHY and actual experiences with both. Furthermore, who are the best tuners utilizing this software and is that a reason to go one way or the other?

The trans is definitely on the list of things to address. Will likely just have it built since there is no way to know what's inside short of taking it apart.
 
Old 05-14-2018, 04:15 PM   #12
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Throw out typical smarty! I have 5 custom tube files from Innovative Diesel that load onto the tuner and get pushed to the ECM. The MM3 is purely a interface communication device and also has a decent set of gauges like a Edge CTS
I gotcha. So, you can select between Eric's tunes on the fly? You don't have to do the typical download with truck off? That is definitely attractive. Are you happy with the monitor? The CTS2 is hard to compete with in terms of resolution but I am ok with my current Bully Dog as a monitor and I don't think it is anything special.
 
Old 05-14-2018, 04:18 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BilletGarage View Post
Not that I'm aware of? The only other thread I started was that I bought the truck. This thread is specifically about tuning.

I understand that HP Tuners and Smarty are the preferred tuning platforms for the 2005. I want to know WHY and actual experiences with both. Furthermore, who are the best tuners utilizing this software and is that a reason to go one way or the other?

The trans is definitely on the list of things to address. Will likely just have it built since there is no way to know what's inside short of taking it apart.
Oh we covered the tuning and stuff in the other post but I gotcha. HP tuners is basically a custom platform to tune the truck to what you want it to do. The Smarty MM3 is canned tuning with the option to do custom tuning as well. In my opinion either one is great being that you don't have any big power mods you can run the base line tunes with the option to customize it later down the road.
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Old 05-14-2018, 04:30 PM   #14
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I gotcha. So, you can select between Eric's tunes on the fly? You don't have to do the typical download with truck off? That is definitely attractive. Are you happy with the monitor? The CTS2 is hard to compete with in terms of resolution but I am ok with my current Bully Dog as a monitor and I don't think it is anything special.
No need to shut the truck off can change with the truck on, cruising, stop light, towing doesn’t matter. Takes 5 to 7 seconds once the command is given and the tune is loaded. The display graphics are not as fancy as edge but it monitors all the same Pids, I actually like the alarm feature better on mm3 then my old edge.
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Old 05-14-2018, 04:31 PM   #15
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Oh we covered the tuning and stuff in the other post but I gotcha. HP tuners is basically a custom platform to tune the truck to what you want it to do. The Smarty MM3 is canned tuning with the option to do custom tuning as well. In my opinion either one is great being that you don't have any big power mods you can run the base line tunes with the option to customize it later down the road.
We did touch on tuning platforms, true. I wanted to get more in depth on, what appear to be, the two top platforms though. Pro's and Con's, tuners utilizing each platform, driveability impressions from people who have used one or the other or both, possibly power numbers, EGT numbers, towing impressions, etc. It does help that I already have HP Tuners Pro and I am familiar with it on the gas side. So that obviously is a plus. But Eric at Innovative tuned my '05 Ford 6.0 and I was very happy with his tunes. So, if he uses Mm3/Smarty tuning and people with 3rd Gens are happy with it, maybe I would go that route.

I appreciate the clarification.
 
Old 05-14-2018, 04:33 PM   #16
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No need to shut the truck off can change with the truck on, cruising, stop light, towing doesn’t matter. Takes 5 to 7 seconds once the command is given and the tune is loaded. The display graphics are not as fancy as edge but it monitors all the same Pids, I actually like the alarm feature better on mm3 then my old edge.
Good to know! Thanks for the information! Eric tuned my '05 6.0 and I was very happy with the tunes and his service.
 
Old 05-14-2018, 04:57 PM   #17
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Good to know! Thanks for the information! Eric tuned my '05 6.0 and I was very happy with the tunes and his service.
Mm3 can also add on a pyrometer too.
If I had a choice between efi live vs mm3 I’d go efi live, but hp tuners vs mm3 I’d go mm3 all day long. I was skeptical at first but Innovative broke it down for me and it was a great purchase for my truck.
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Old 05-15-2018, 09:15 AM   #18
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I have seen both in trucks, the HP Tuners truck had the edge insight Pro I believe and the other was a Smarty touch with mm3 UDC pro tuning. MM3 has switched on the fly which is a very nice setup whereas HP Tuners trucks have to be turned off to change the tuning.
 
Old 05-15-2018, 09:26 AM   #19
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I have seen both in trucks, the HP Tuners truck had the edge insight Pro I believe and the other was a Smarty touch with mm3 UDC pro tuning. MM3 has switched on the fly which is a very nice setup whereas HP Tuners trucks have to be turned off to change the tuning.
Good information. Thank you!
 
Old 05-15-2018, 03:50 PM   #20
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I would go HP, and since you already own it, time to get your feet wet in the diesel tuning side. There's plenty of info floating around here to help you get started. Also not sure why people get hung up on being able to switch tunes on the fly, one good tune will cover 99% of what you do with your truck. And since you don't know what's done to the trans I doubt you'll want a dedicated race tune.
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