6.0 mods

Was wondering fo anyone has any suggestions for mods to do to my 04 6.0 to increase mpg. Have a buddy that put aftermarket 4" exhaust and diablo chip, said he is getting 19-22mpg.

I have always used the Banks Power stuff, they offer many different packages that both improve performance drastically and give you better MPG while keeping the EGT's lower. I also noticed a slight jump in MPG when I switched all my lubricants to amsoil synthetics.

i'm looking into doing something with my '02 7.3, how does the banks compare with the edge w/ juice? currently i'm running the superchips programmer, which i'm thoroughly impressed with, but i'm starting to crave more power. i've already got 4" exhaust from turbo back, and a k&n intake, and i like the edge because of the extras, (digital pyro & boost gauges, gps, and rear view camera). but i know very little about the banks, and bullydog systems. any suggestions/info?

I myself would choose the banks stuff over the others. Banks is very through in doing there r/d before ever releasing any of there products. I use and have used many of banks products without ever have a problem. I have friends that swear by bullydog or edge, yet they have had several problems...blown head gaskets and unacceptable egt's. The bottom line is that many people have the knoweldge to alter your computer for performance gains, which works fine for minor gains. These guys that are selling high hp chips are just giving you crazy high egt's and damage to you engine over time. Banks has much more than just a simple program/chip. They have the right kits to compliment their chip/program to get the most power and torque while staying very safe with the egt temps, and increasing your fuel milleage. You can view all of banks products at www.bankspower.com I would look into the powerpack for starters, you can always add to it later if wanted. There stuff may be a bit more pricey, but like with everything else, you do get what you pay for.

You may also want to check out www.dieselsite.com Bob sells many hard to find products as well as many of his own that are available only from him. He is very good with these engines and everything I have ever ordered from him has been top quality with excellent instructions.

thanks rngmstr, i'll check it out.

Hey rngmstr, wondering if you know if just the exhaust will add some milage gains. I know its lame but Im having a hard time talking the wife into letting me do a chip and an exhaust right now.

if you're lookin for an inexpensive way to open up your intake, as long as the intake pipe between your airbox and turbo is 3" inside diameter, get a k&n filter for a '97 chevy 350, it a cylindrical filter approximately 5" in diameter, by about 12" long. they're about $56 at oreily's the last time i looked. remove your stock air box and filter, and get a 3" thinwall sewer pipe coupler, (about a buck) you'll need to put the coupler inside the intake pipe to prevent it from colapsing when you tighten up the hose clamp. when you get the new filter in place, you can take some aluminum sheetmetal, and form a new box around it, similar to the airaid boxes. this worked for my 7.3 . i'm not sure if it'll work on a 6.0 because i haven't spent much time under the hood of those, but maybe it'll help with some ideas. i don't think a freeflowing exhaust will help much if you leave the intake stock. i would definately yank the catalytic converter though. i have no idea why they put them on a diesel. it's just another hastle. but anyway, good luck with everything.

I would not in any way alter you air intake on a 6.0L! For one, you have no airbox! Second, the filter the 6.0L comes stock with is the best and longest lasting airfilter available. The set up that you currently have on your 6.0L costs approx. $300 to put on a 7.3L. The only thing I would recommend to do to your air filter is replace it with the amsoil/donaldson direct replacement filter when it comes time to replace it. There filter is the same design as stock, but a slightly better filter media. I believe it's a few bucks cheaper also. The air filter on your 6.0L is (depending on your driving conditions) good for at least 30,000 miles. I just changed one out with 23,000 miles and I cut it in half to find that only the first two inches of the approx. 10 inch filter was dirty. Dusty conditions would obviously shorten the life a bit, but still well over what any normal style air filter(stock or aftermarket) could ever hold up to.

Now, to answear your question, a exhaust that flows better will help you MPG slightly. Again, I would recommend Banks. There monster exhaust will improve the MPG slightly, improve mid-range power by approx. 10-12 hp and lower your EGT's a bit. I don't remember the exact numbers right now, but there monster exhaust cuts the backpressure by approx. 95%-98%. There exhaust also fits perfect and looks very, very nice and will only help you out if you ever do decide to add a programmer/chip.

If fuel milleage is what your after, I would recommend changing you engine oil, trans fluid, and rear end lube over to a good quality synthetic. If you have four wheel drive, do your transfer case and front diff. also. It's not a huge gain, but every little bit helps.

Thanks for all the info.

Three words about 6.0 mods. DONT DO IT. The 6.0 is not a 7.3. This engine is not made to take any modifications. The turbo tolerances are closer, and the head gaskets will not take the increased cylinder pressures that come from overboosting. Installing larger exhaust without mufflers or cats decreases backpressure. Exhaust backpressure is the single most important control of this engine. Without proper backpressure you thow the whole system off.

Bizbad, where do you get your info? The 6.0L handles mods quite well and long as you do not try to go overboard, like the ones blowing the headgaskets. It seems that these days everyone wants a chip/program and expects high numbers, which thay may get for a short period of time before thay have the problems that you stated. It's common sense, you get what you pay for. Anyone with a bit of knoweldge with programming can alter your vehicle to make drastic changes in the performance, however doing so, in that way, isn't going to do anything but kill your engine. There are people out there who make stuff for the 6.0L that gives you the numbers and is very safe, however it cost more so people normally don't go that route. I have personally installed pretty much everything Banks offers on 3 different 6.0L's and have had nothing but excellent results. As with everything else, you get what you pay for and there is a reason the price is what it is. Bottom line is the 6.0L handles mods quite well if you choose the right mods.

Well, I work on them everday, so I see what happens when people start trying to modify an engine that isn't designed to be modified. High flow air intake systems let in to much dirt. They eat the fins on the turbos, causing the cylinders to get dusted with aluminum, destroying the cylinder walls. Programmers overboost the turbos causing the fins to uncurl and rub on the side of the turbo with the same result. Along with the fact the head gaskets cant take the higher cylinder pressures developed by the programmer.

I don't agree with the higher flow air intake systems on the 6.0L either, as stated in my above post. The 6.0L has one of the best stock air intakes available. However, 6.0L DO handle mods quite well. I also work with them often. I see them on the dyno's just about every day and know what they are capable of and also know what is safe. I have had many conversations with the engineers who are doing the dyno runs about what can and cannot be done safely. We also had a few of the 4.5L 6-cyl. diesels that were designed of this engine that was supposed to go into the smaller trucks. I agree 100% that SOME of the aftermarket intakes with certain filters will allow too much through and cause damage to the turbo, ect..., but there are many mods available that are very safe and give signifacant gains. Again, if you actually read my above post, I also do not agree with the chips/programmers that offer high numbers with no other changes, like you said they will and do cause problems, again, as I stated in my above post. Basically what it all comes down to is, if you want the higer numbers, you will not achieve them for very long just using a chip or programmer. They just are not safe for your engine. If you decide to sped the money and do it right, much higher numbers are very easy to obtain while doing so in a way that is not killing your engine. I would recommend that anyone looking for any mods that increase power, no matter the amount, first start with some accurate guages, you need a decent pyrometer and boost guage. Without them you cannot moniter any other upgrades.

In my opinion, I would not touch a 6.0, I understand what you are saying but, I have to disagree. I will not doubt that maybe you have had good luck with things you have done. Most do not. I can honestly tell you, I see two a week that have engine damage due to modification. I have never spoken to anyone at Ford that has told me that these engines work better with any kind of mod. It is complete taboo according to any Ford engineer ,tech, or instructor I have spoken to . If Ford could have added horsepower and gas mileage just with simple modifications, without sacrificing longevity, don't you think they would have? You may get by with it, but some people live with cancer into their nineties also. I am not arguing with you , I respect everyone's opinion, this is just what i have seen and experienced.

just for your info, the dyno's that I spoke of, all of the engineers and techs that are running them and myself are all Ford employees who see the engines and there capabilities a bit more than you could even believe, day after day, all day. If any givin engine was put out with it's max power from the beginning of it's use, there would be no room to step up the numbers when the competion does so each year or so, it's all a numbers game between the different manufactures.

Wait till the 6.4L twin turbo comes out! All kinds of mods are possible and will work, regardless of what your sources might tell you... when they get there hands on one.

Well I am glad the engineers are seemingly telling a select few, different things than they are telling Ford employees and Technicians. Looks like they are keeping the people who work on them in the dark. I guess I better call Willie Clay direct.

Not sure what you are being told, or by who, but I am a Ford employee as are the tech's that I work with and all of the dyno's I am speaking of are Ford dyno's at a
Ford location.

I am sorry, but you could be a 20 year old community college grad and I will never know. I never speak of who employs me on the internet. I find it an insult when anyone claims to be someone in the know, as there is no way to prove it. This is a forum that anyone can access. I could be a 70 year old derelict talking out my a**, as you could be also. People who frequent these forums want advice. I for one, offer what I know to be true and skip the posts that ask questions where the answers are not cut in stone. This post is about mods. Modifications to a 6.0 are not advised by anyone at Ford. I would gladly answer any phone calls at work from an engineer informing me otherwise. How about this, you pm me their ford.com addresses and I will get in touch with them that way. I am sure the local FSE would love to be filled in on how your engineers know something he wasn't let in on.

thats right bizbad if they allowed modifications then they wouldnt void warranties when problems arise from they would they.we always been told at our dealership no mod at all period right from ford.....

bizbad, are you really that stupid or just not up to admitting that you are wrong? People do come here for advise, only the advise you are giving is not true. I really do not care what you think of me or what you do. Modifications to any and every Ford vehicle are not advised by anyone at Ford, for warranty reasons, yet each and every vehicle has much more potential available through different mods that are safe to do.

hockeyhitman69, if you cannot read or understand a subject, don't post something that doesn't apply. No one every said anything about Ford allowing mods or your warranty being voided due to mods. What they allow you to do under your warranty terms and what works to enhance the performance of your vehicle are two different subject.

Your bogus. Come up with some e- mail addresses or spew your crap elsewhere.

email addresses for what? Like I said before I do not care what you believe or do not believe. You are obviously one of the people that believes everything there owners manual or dealer want you to believe and thats it. You are nobody to me and I do not have to prove anything to you. I post facts, if you choose to dissagree, thats your option. People like you must live a very boring life always trying to put other people down due to your own ingnorance of the subject. Did you join this site to talk shi* and blow smoke? Because thats about all you seem to do!

Who is putting who down? You claim to know engineers testing these vehicles? I would like their Ford.com addresses so I could find out what kind of testing they are doing. I do know engineers and I can provide e-mail addresses for you. I dont base my argument on what Ford warranty says. I base my argument on what the engineers say. You obviously do not. Engine longevity suffers with mods and that is a fact. I am done arguing with you, so you can go back to dealing disinformation to these people in peace.

you sure are presistant on getting your false statements out there. Why in the world would I give you the contact info for the people I work with? Are you not all there? You seem to believe whatever your owners manual wants you to believe. I work in one of the new product development buildings and deal with this stuff every day, but I know, your manual says it will void your warranty, so you want to continue with your FALSE comments.

You are absolutely correct in your statement about moding the 6.0 powerstroke engine. It will significantly increase the probability of problems and will void the factory warranty. I have yet to hear of any aftermarket company that has actually payed for repairs, no matter what they claim in there advertising. These motors are already reprogrammed by Ford for more power than International. By increasing them even more with programmers, its exceeding the limits of system design even further. All I can say is, programmers=trouble, sooner or later. You can look forward to fried EGR coolers, failed turbos, blown headgaskets, especially if you tow. Even so much as a non factory air filter that does not meet or exceed factory specs can void the warranty. Losing the the 5yr 100k warranty, is it worth it? I'll back you up in your statements.