Standalone gauges or Tuner with Monitoring?
 

I'm a newbie in the Diesel world so don't beat me up too bad! :)

I've been reading up on modifying my truck, without fail - everyone says gauges are first. I understand that loud and clear.

After researching my trucks needs (and my preference) I decided to start with a 3-gauge dash pod with autometer factory match series boost, egt and trans temp (48re)

That was a (reasonably) easy decision, Until I discovered that some of the tuners also have monitoring capability built in!

I'm looking at the specs for an Edge CTS with added sensor modules. This seems like a cost effective way to get both a programmer and gauges.

Goals for my truck are modest, I bought it to tow my 35' enclosed car trailer to/from the local race tracks. It is an '07 Ram 2500 QCLB 5.9l with the only mods being a K&N CAI kit.

Is there a real reason to buy standalone gauges? Or jump right to something like the CTS or Banks iQ?

Thanks,
John-

Stand alone gauges cost less than an Edge CTS by at least half. But, they don't give any power, read codes, or any other of the features. If a budget is limited, gauges by themselves are a good way to monitor the vitals. If you have the money, the route of an Edge CTS is a great "all in one" package.

Personally I would go with the cts, reads codes, has a ton of gauge options, and is not that expensive compared to normal gauges

Thanks Guys for the advise, looks like I'll just jump straight to a tuner. The next question is "Which one" ??

I'm looking at the edgeproducts web site and see that the Juice with Attitude module is advertised as their " premier product " but the "Evolution CTS" seems to have the same feature set as the Juice. The main difference I can see from the marketing bs is that:

The Juice wiring harness is inserted between the truck's computer and all sensors/controls and then modifies fuel/timing commands to the truck 'on the fly'

The Evolution CTS accomplishes the same by directly modifying the OEM computer's fuel and timing tables with a flash download.

The Evolution is a good bit cheaper than the Juice, I've always been a fan of KISS and it seems the Evolution has fewer moving pieces to go wrong. I just don't want to overlook some important function/feature.

:humm: [EDIT] I just ran across the Banks sixgun with iQ module. hmmmm rear view camera - and - GPS [/EDIT]

Thanks,
John-

From what I've read, consensus seems to be that the Banks products aren't the best quality. The comments about customer service aren't very encouraging either.

Edge it is:

Juice - or - Evolution?

John-