what are some safe mods i can do to a 05 6.0 without worrying about head gaskets?

i know not to go with a tuner, getting mixed answers about an exhaust, and not really many answers about intake.

what kind of MPG increase/decrease did you see with the mods?

 

Exhaust is about the only thing I would do and the reason most are not saying much about intakes is because is if you are not going to break the 500hp barrier the stock one fitlers and flows just fine. Save your money for when the injectors and turbo need to be replaced cause it aint cheap.

 

8" lift on 38s is very safe

 

Exhaust is the only thing. You could add a very tame tune, but that's still playing with fire.

 

definitely not going with a tuner, dont want to run the risk of messing anything up.

whats a good exhaust system? want to be able to blow a little black smoke, right now it wont blow any. dont have to much money to put into it like i did my old truck.

and no david, no 8" and 38s

im getting 16.4 mpg city right now, so definitely loving the new truck.

 

OK maybe I need to subscribe to this thread

Why are people saying NO tuner? I just bought an Edge Juice w/ Attitude, it's not here yet but I planned on just using the economy tune on it for better mpg's.

 

The tuners increase the cylinder pressure and cause head gasket failure on the 6.0 unless you have head studs installed. The head gaskets on these trucks are a weak link and dont survive long with a tuner. I have 141k on my truck and I am just waiting for the head gaskets to pop and have it studded and then all bets are off I am going to have some fun with the truck.

 

Is it really that bad w/ just a mild tune like the economy one on the Edge?

How much is it to do head studs? Now I'm scared, should I get rid of the Edge?

 

You should be ok with the econ tune on the edge and its about a $1300 to $1500 bill to do head gaskets because they have to take the cab off the truck to remove the heads.

 

that's a pretty penny. Is this something you would have done at a performance shop or the Ford dealer....I guess what I mean is it aftermarket head studs or factory parts?

 

alright, thanks thats what i wanted to hear. if/when my head gasket goes definitely be upgrading head studs. $1400 isn't as bad as i was thinking, but still isn't cheap.

dsq, is an exhaust system ok? just wanting a little black smoke.

 

You can normally work with the dealer and they will put them in while they have the heads off. The studs are about 500 and I saving for a set right now and I am going to leave them in the console of the truck when I get them.

 

Get ARP Headstuds. My buddy thought he was safe to run an Edge on his 6.0 and leave it on a low level... Til his FICM bit the dust. Same thing happened to another guy. Running an Edge.

 

Off topic

Z, what all have your done to your 7.3? (besides the front end, Edge, exhaust, stereo) You ever fix your bed issues?

 

I would say the only safe mod is exhaust/intake. But of course no mods are safe to stay under warranty, depending on how mod friendly the tech is who looks at your truck.

All my truck has is exhaust with an sct tune. I use the sct pre-programmed performance tune on the sf3, its no where near as drastic as the piston melter custom tunes people like to use which destroy 6.0s. Been running it for about 10000 miles with stock head bolts with zero problems(knock on wood). But of course I don't flog the crap out of my truck either and I keep an eye all on my gauges(exhaust, oil, coolant, trans temps).

One thing people forget is that 6.0s go through head gaskets, egr coolers, FICM's, injectors, etc, on a bone stock truck. Mods aren't always necessarily the cause.

Btw 06yz250f depending on how updated your flash is on your pcm you'll never be able to blow black smoke with out some kind of performance tune.