then would say get to pulling them inner fenders... its amazing how much easier it is to look and work on the sides of theses engines with them out... ironically theyre as much of a pain to remove as it is to work on the engine without removing other things.. but does save some headaches..

 

Anyone running the Atlas 40 FICM tune and custom ECM tuning? I’ve got custom tunes but a stock FICM that needs to be fixed soon. Should I spend the extra for the Atlas 40?

 

I like them both being tuned.

As for gains with the 40 and custom tuning? This is from FICMRepair.com:

PHP Tunes

Also see:

10. I already have a tuner from SCT, Bully Dog, Spartan, etc. Is this FICM tune compatible?

8. Should I be concerned with my head gaskets with these tunes?

Stewart

 

Thanks Stewart. I have seen most of those. Wanted to know people’s personal experiences.

 

Being new to the platform I feel the need to qualify my responses, so forgive me if you felt I was being condescending in any way.

Stewart

 

Dropped my valve covers off at the shop this morning so they could finish up my injector swap Might get it back tomorrow!!!

 

Replaced the rear wiper motor on the Ex, all I can say is somebody was in there before and butchered the studs. Another simple job buggered up.

 

Took her on a 500 mile round trip drive pulling the Wildwood to PA for warranty service. She was a happy 6.0 the whole way.

 

It depends on what you're looking accomplish...

I've had both tuned and it turns your truck into a serious monster.

I ran the Atlas 40 with Matt's SRL+ and my truck put countless others to shame. It improved the overall performance of the truck because the latest stock FICM calibrations are the cause of some serious lag time. They have some limiters built in that purposely limit fuel. This is why guys like Matt have to artificially lower ICP to create more power and make the FICM dump more fuel. You don't know how many times I've mashed the pedal and had to yell "Come on, come on, come on! " and THEN the truck would take off. It then belched a bunch of black smoke everywhere before things finally caught up. With the Atlas 40, I don't have that problem, even with an earlier flash (VXBC3) that would run circles around the latest flash, the truck definitely has more ***** to it. SRL+ with the Atlas 40, hang on...that's all I'm going to say.

When towing heavy (anything above 8K), I run Matt's unlimited tow (stock power modified shift strategy) and a stock FICM which for me is an earlier flash (non-inductive heating AMZ2AL11) so I don't have to think or worry about EGTs.

Bottom line: If you know you tow heavy then consider the Econo FICM flash. Otherwise if you occasionally tow heavy or rarely do, then go for the Atlas 40. It makes these trucks run THAT much better.

My only word of caution: The Atlas 40 retains the inductive heating strategy that is known to cover up and compensate for bad injectors. So make sure you have a healthy set of injectors that don't mind the cold weather before you invest in the Atlas 40 and wonder why you're not seeing any gains.

 

Thanks TD! Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I have an extreme tune from Tony Wildman and it’s a beast, but like you said I often romp on the pedal and it takes forever to kick in, then belches a big puff of smoke. My injectors are less than two years old and don’t mind the cold. It doesn’t get all that cold here anyways. I occasionally tow an 8k travel trailer but other than that just my dirt bike and hauling rock, dirt, concrete, etc for short distances.

 

Then go forth and get the Atlas 40 you shall not be disappointed

 

how bad is the smoking with the Atlas 40 and SLR+?? one thing i hate seeing is the "rolling coal" thing. or when people romp on it at a light its like a big fart of coal smoke. then takes off...

while ill admit i like when i can floor it going down the road and "smoke" someone thats been a **** in front/behind of me for miles on end.. i dont enjoy wasting the fuel everytime i get on it.. theres time ill get on it and theres no smoke at all. and other times little puffs of a thin hazy cloud.. which seems to depend on what the outside environment is being when it does what..

I know DTR said he was loading his FICM's with the latest ford strategy when i got mine just before his accident.

 

Unfortunately this is how mine is unless I'm judicious with the fuel pedal from a stop. If I just put the foot down I generate tons of soot and I really don't go anywhere. My time off the line is actually faster if I feather the throttle some until I'm 5mph or so.

I haven't found that ECM or FICM tunes make much of a difference to that.

 

i just have a canned street tune for mine.. with about the same experience.. little lag then its like the turbo kicks in and off like a rocket.. but then theres other times ill romp on it and can roast them duallys back there.. never understand why its not consistent.. but ive always blamed it on the turbo possibly sticking..

 

As I've learned, a big part of it depends on your strategies...

PCM:

Certain versions of VXCF4 are very smoky, VXCF4X3 to be precise and some aren't like VXCF4HB.

The same applies to every family of strategies.

In the case of my truck, the latest VXDB1MZ is terribly lazy and smoky. Whereas VXDB1M3 and VXDA1M2 play VERY well with SRL+ and the Atlas 40. They don't belch out smoke and yield good fuel economy.

VXBC9NH and VXBC9BB play are complimented quite while with the Atlas 40 and tunes.

Earlier PCM strategies fuel better and as a result, play well with the Atlas 40 even when tuned. They were designed with the earlier non-inductive heating FICM calibrations in mind like:

AKZ2AH19 - 2003
AMZ2AL09- Early 2004
AMZ2AL10- 2005
AMZ2AL11- 2004
AMZ2AL12- 2006/2007


FICM:

The later ones are LA-ZEEEE! I ran hot tunes from Gearhead and KEM with ARZ2AL10 and it didn't matter that one lied to the ICP sensor and one didn't, the limiting factor was the FICM. On both, the truck would belch out black smoke and then take off. With the Atlas 40 and even the non-inductive heating flashes, you avoid all that....when you step on the pedal, the truck fuels, spools the turbo, and you're gone. Little to no smoke.

The OTHER part of it is how your truck is setup. Since the Atlas 40 allows for more fuel, if you're tuned, you need more of something to make sure that fuel is properly burned. That something is: air. Not everyone on FTE or otherwise are a fan of intakes; I, however, am. I ran my truck with the stock intake, the Atlas 40, and SRL+ over the course of 2 years and while each strategy I ran responded differently, the one thing they all agreed on was that they liked more air. My truck performed better and rarely smoked when I had an intake on. This is why I currently run an AFE Stage 2 SI with a dry filter.

If you're running a stock strategy with the Atlas 40, sure it'll love more air, but you can run well with the stock intake.

Last part:

Allowing things to come together and to themselves...

Alot of people slap on the Atlas 40 and/or a PCM tune and just expect it to go and not have to adjust as we did with the 7.3. It doesn't work that way with the 6.0...

Despite what people say, the engine, transmission, and programming behind them are incredibly smart. This is a engine and transmission that are programmed to adjust and refine themselves to one another and that takes time, drive cycles, and some miles.

Case in point:

Discovering that I have a leaking headgasket on the driver side due to improper torque, I'm running stock programming from a TBS5 PCM combined with the Atlas 40, to buy myself some time before I do the work. It took my truck 3 tanks of fuel which equates to about 2000 miles to adjust to the Atlas 40. Once it all came together, it runs beautifully and they understand each other quite well.