Programmer question
 

If I want to put a programmer on my truck, I understand that I need a stronger lift pump than factory to be successful. Instead of just buying a tuner and a lift pump i thought Id see what combinations of the two all of you have had luck with. I was looking into just getting a raptor 150 and a new quadzilla adrenaline or the xzt. Thoughts? I haven't seen or heard anything new online about the quadzilla brand since they have reopened. Thanks for the insight!

I run the smarty. I like the smarty just because it's simple and reliable. Just plug it in to the obdll port and update the ecm. No running wires and tapping into the harness on the vp44. But if you want the ability to adjust on the fly then I'd go with the edge juice with attitude. The 150 fass airdog definitely would work with either nicely. What's the desired horsepower you want to achieve and what's the plan for the truck daily driver, sled pulling or what?

The smarty looks awesome too. And forgive me cause I am still fairly new to the diesel world but if I were to run a smarty wouldnt I need to buy gauges to moniter egt's, trans temp, ect? As far as power and horsepower goals I wasnt looking for anything too crazy. Mainly look to maximize my trucks potential with a better fuel pump and a reliable tuner without damaging my truck. If I get a quad, smarty or edge juice im not going to be runiing it on the highest setting because I dont plan on building the trans. Just looking for safe moderate power to add to the truck

I would look into FASS. I have heard airdog is picking up with quality again, BUT I would go with something I could put my finger on for quality.

If you add anything you need gauges and aftermarket lift pump first, transmission 2nd, and then you can start adding power. Out of all you listed the quad will be your most powerful. Smarty will be your least powerful.

But if your not planning on building the trans I wouldn't get a programmer. I would get gauges and lift pump and call it a day.

So if i were to build the trans What kind of kit ahould i be looking at? How difficult are they to install? Thanks for all the help

What do you have? Manual or Auto? Manual I would recommend stouter clutch with upgraded input shaft. Auto, depending on power levels, you could get away with torque convertor and valve body to full competition. I would est starting price for each roughly $1000 and climbing quickly.

Adrenaline has my vote!

What if I got a new fuel pump and put a fuel pressure gauge in and just added the quad xzt? I cant imagine thay could do much damage to a stock auto trans can it? Like i said im not trying to blow smoke or add crazy horsepower just something to liven the truck up a bit without hurting a mostly stock truck

You would be surprised what will destroy a stock auto transmission. A little more than stock will short the life span a good bit.

Plenty of people around me are running quadzilla adrenaline and edge comp box on a STOCK 47re automatic. These programmers are adjustable for a reason. If you drive your truck like an asshole on level 10 then yes your trannys life will be shortened , but if you stay on a fuel economy tunes and stay easy on the pedal you should be just fine. For your situation I would get the smarty so3. It will give you a nice increase in power but not too much, also fuel economy, it's very adjustable and also has the high idle feature for cold weather

XZT is 1/2 the cost of Smarty and does 65HP. XZT offers options for aggressiveness of the tuning as well.

Better to go with an adrenaline and get teh gauges and capability of more HP when your trans is strong enough.

I know you don't plan on a "built" trans... but you're going to end up finding out the hard way you need one.
Unless you never tow anything and just use your truck as a car, with mild driving style, the stock 47RE auto trans is THE weak link in these trucks. It's not a deal-breaker, it can be fixed to be terrific, but adding extra power to a stock one rarely ends well.
$3500 to $5500 will buy you a nice stout trans that holds up under power and will make your truck feel 1.4 million times better than the mushy, inefficient stock one.
I know, it's too much money... I couldn't afford it either... but you're gonna have to.
Putting a tuner on it first is gonna bring it on sooner.

As for what trans to buy, that's a whole hotly debated topic, but all I've got to say is you can search high and low, far and wide, and find NO ONE with anything but high praise for Firepunk. Goerend was a favorite but they stopped building transmissions, only sell parts. Suncoast has a good reputation, and ATS is a biggie but there are an awful lot of negative stories about them. I can find ZERO reports of anyone being less than thrilled with Firepunk.
The owner is a great guy, and runs a Cummins race truck that wins events.

First thing you should do is get a fuel pressure gauge and a good lift pump. The stock lift pump is garbage, and if/when it fails your injector pump will fail too. You don't want that.
Even if the stock one doesn't fail, it doesn't make enough pressure to keep your injector pump cool and happy.

It sucks, you have to spend a bunch of money on stuff that doesn't give you any fun first (well, the trans will make it feel like a different, better truck) before you can add power.
I'm not even talking about "bombing" the truck into a hot rod, I'm only talking about what it takes to make it live with just mild extra power for regular daily use and maybe a little towing/hauling.

So: with a 24 valve VP44 truck, generally those are your first things. Transmission and lift pump + fuel pressure gauge. After that pain, then the fun can start.