Hi there, I'm a new member, and new 6.4 owner. I picked up a 08 f250 a few weeks ago. I'm pretty new to diesels, but I'm learning. I was actually going to buy a Ram 2500 with a hemi, but this Ford was only $3,000 more with the same mileage and warranty. After driving both, it was a easy decision.

Well onto my questions... I was talking to some of my friends that have diesels. They insist that the DPF system is garbage and must go. I was told a 4" turbo back with a small muffler, DPF delete, and EGR delete until the warranty is up, then completely remove the EGR system. Soo I started doing some research. There is a local guy that specializes in custom exhausts that I was directed to. I contacted him and he said a 4" turbo back, stainless steel exhaust would be no problem. He said he does at least one of these jobs a month, just for this reason. He also went on to say to keep the stock setup in my garage so I could put it back on if I needed to take it back to stock for the dealer. As far as being illegal, I contacted my local mechanic and he said in PA passenger diesels do not require emissions. Does this sound right and like a good idea?

As far as the tuner set up goes, what would you recommend? I just picked up a Superchips 1808 for a good deal, but I haven't messed with it yet. It was cheap enough that if I can't stack a DPF/EGR delete with it, I could just sell it. But for the same reason, I would like to use it if possible. So I'm open for suggestions. Thanks.

 

I'm going to strongly suggest you spend a few hours reading throughout this site. There has been some strong conversations here about warranty issues and different tuners. There is an endless amount of info. Many have been reading, writing, asking for years and still aren't 100% sure when it comes to the 6.4.

To vaguely answer a few questions.

There's no guarantee that if you tune, you can get warranty repairs by going back to stock. Actually, chances are very high that you'll be denied by Ford. Best words to live by... "you have to pay to play." if you choose to modify your truck against the manufacturers recommendations, be prepared to spend big $$$ fixing it if you mess it up.

Stacking... Not really possible from what I know. Not very many superchips being ran that I know of. Spartan & H&S seems to be the two favorites now.

Emissions is not just a state thing. Bottom line, it's EPA, Federal, $10,000 fine if your caught modifying emissions equipment for on road use.

I hope this is enough to get you started.

 

Take the superchips back. Not a good tuner for this motor.

Spartan
H&S
DPF R

Warranty is at risk though.

Or go with a DPF on tune. Spartan and H/S and then there is Banks.

Banks only does DPF on tunes and they are the cleanest for that application. That is the route I choose as I travel cross country and should I have an issue with my truck out west it will be easy to remove that tuner.

 

Thanks for the replies. My Ford warranty is up in one year. I think I'm going to wait to modify the DPF/EGR until then. In the meantime though I'm still going to buy the tuners and get the exhaust made so I have everything ready. I don't really plan on modifying this truck too much. It is powerful enough. I just want the stupid DPF system off. I have not heard of one benefit to the system being on your truck. It hinders power, turbo performance, gas mileage, and it is a few more sensors to worry about. So next December it is gone.
@Senix- Thanks for the reply on the tuner situation. Would I be able to use this DPF delete Gear Box Z DPF-R Ford 4.0 Programmer GBZFD40 with the Spartan?

 

I think so but what would be the purpose? Spartan can do it all.

 

I was not aware of that. I haven't read much into all the tunes the Spartan can do. It looks like the Spartan it is when I get my tax return back.

 

A word of caution about tuners. Be sure to get a tow tune.. If you tow anything

 

I'll be towing my 16' boat, which doesn't weigh much and my 6 x 10 trailer that I load 4' high with firewood and occasionally gravel or top soil, though not 4' high with the heavier stuff. Do you think any of those would require a tow tune?

 

Probably not...my rule of thumb is anything under 10K I tow with my banks on what is called level 2. An additional 50 or so horses.

Anything over 10K I tow in stock power only

Those are my rules..

Most will tow tuned higher than those with a tow tune.

 

Ok thanks for the help. This forum has been a lot of help.

 

I've towed 12K with my 300 tune. No issues. However, most of the time I'll drop to no additional power when towing.

You may consider H&S since they offer shift on the fly.

 

I did look at the H&S too. The cost is lower. Not sure which one I'm going to go with. Either way I have to wait until after the holidays. I just put a good bit down on this truck, so I have to build my play money funds up some.

 

Do your homework. There are pros and cons of each tuner. After hours of reading read again before deciding.

 

Yeah, your not joking there. I knew there was a lot you can do with a diesel, but never knew there would be so many options. You can go from daily driver, to work horse, to a weekend race truck, all with the same motor without too much modification. It's pretty crazy what the technology is capable of. One more reason I'm glad I didn't get another gas truck.