2005 6.0 Upgrades? mpg and horsepower? - Diesel Forum

emhowi0104 · 10-14-2009, 03:27 PM

I'm new to the diesel world and I have a stock 2005 f-250 6.0 extended cab lariet 4x4 with around 100k miles on it. I am looking to do some upgrades to it. I want to get good gas mileage and more power out of it. I want to do an exhuast (turbo-back but not sure what size?), intake (k&N???), and programmer(superchip or sct?) to start but I'm open to any other upgrades. Anyone have suggestions?

Rccarps2 · 10-14-2009, 04:21 PM

Congrats on the purchase....

Exhaust - Most people go for a 4inch turbo-back, MBRP makes some great units.

Intake - Stay away from them. The stock unit flows more than enough air than you will need unless going to serious HP. Plus the filtration of the stock unit is top notch.

Programmer - They put out tons of power but can easily cost you tons in repairs. If you go with a programmer be prepared to do head studs since the stock TTY bolts tend to stretch under the increased HP.

I am sure others will be more knowledgeable than me and give more advice....

One last thing, I recommend a good set of gauges. I personally use the Edge Insight and love it.

RC

lubbockguy1979 · 10-14-2009, 11:50 PM

For mpgs good luck. I have heard that ficm tuning will give you about 30hp and better mpgs. If you want to gain mpgs the best way to do that is to work with the skinny pedal. Tuning might help but gains will be very minimal. I will stress this if you want a tuner for mpgs don't you will be dissapointed. If you want more power then you will be pleased.
For power... I'd choose the sct x3 with custom tunes only. Stay far away from the edge, banks, bullydog and any other generic tuner. They don't offer the ability to tune you specific truck based on the strategy (computer calibrations) or properly tune the tcm or tranny. Shift on the fly specifically means no tranny tuning which equates to tranny problems.
The stock airfilter is good for up to 550rwhp. To acheive that kind of hp though you will need a lot of mods so save the money spent on the a/m intake.
As for the exaust I would pick the mbrp or magnaflow 4" turbo back or straight pipe it. the 5" exhaust I would avoid unless you are looking to go for high hp later on because the 5" exhaust will effectively raise the power band of your truck.
Now for montoring I would strongly suggest you either run a set of analog or digita gauges to keep an eye on egts specifically. Also other items to watch are the tranny ( the dash display is a dummy light and not accurate) next is the eot engine oil temp and the ect engine coolant temp. The reason to watch these two temps is to help diagnose egr problems. They should be with in 15* after the truck is a operating temps.
Everyone is different and so are the trucks. I run fairly hot tunes and am still using the stock egr system and tty bolts. I drive my truck reasonably and have had very few issues.

emhowi0104 · 10-26-2009, 01:48 PM

Thanks for the helps guys. I think i am going to stick with the stock intake. I am prob going to order the mbrp 4inch turbo back exhaust and do the sct programmer. Any suggestions for livewire or x3? i thought with the livewire i would not have to get gauges also....... appreciate the help!!!

emhowi0104 · 10-26-2009, 01:49 PM

Oh and where can i find someone to do the best custom tunes?

lubbockguy1979 · 10-26-2009, 11:26 PM

The popular choices are innovative diesel performance (eric's tunes), or brians truck shop aka bts (cale's). Other options are dfuser, rivercity diesel (rcd) elite, to name a few. Who is the best? That is up to you. Each has their style. If it were me I would talk to them and tell them what you are looking for.

alcook59 · 10-27-2009, 12:24 AM

AFE makes some really nice intakes, anytime you open the exhaust you should open the intake IMO. Eric at innovative makes some good tunes from what I've experienced.

lubbockguy1979 · 10-27-2009, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alcook59

AFE makes some really nice intakes, anytime you open the exhaust you should open the intake IMO. Eric at innovative makes some good tunes from what I've experienced.

when the intake does not flow enough this is true. by removing the stock air intake and filter you are actually reducing the filtration. the advertised gains on most if not all aftermarket intakes is in the 3700rpm range. so you will get a boost in power there which is beyond what a stock truck is going to see typically. so to sum it up if you are looking for the asthetics of the a/m filter and want to reduce the amount of dirt that will be filtered get one. there is alot that could/can be done to further improve the stock intake with out reducing the filtration of the unit if you are seeking power. there is very little gain to be had for the $300+ price tag

HeavyAssault · 10-28-2009, 10:39 AM

For the $300+ you would spend on an intake system buying gauges is a better choice.

KBennett · 11-04-2009, 09:22 PM

I also suggest getting a coolant filter. Thedieselsite.com has a nice set up this is where I got mine. A good set of gauges is also a good idea. As far as mpg your best bet is to keep a light foot staying under 2000rpm. Some say a 4" exhaust will help mpg and some say it won't. Also I suggest keeping the factory filter it flows good enough for 500hp and filters better than any of the aftermarket ones (but they do look better!)