I ran into a gentleman at a show that I recognized as the owner of a truck that smoked by me earlier. Upon talking to him, he was telling me that he had upgraded (actually upgraded his entire truck) the fuel system. Did larger injectors, larger fuel lines, beefier fuel pump, and a high voltage FICM. I do not remember the exact voltage, but it was something in the 50s.

What I am wondering,

1. Whats the rationale behind the FICM upgrade?

2. What are the pros/cons or doing that kind of upgrade to the fuel system?

Thanks!
Cheers,

 

I wouldn't do a FICM upgrade like that. I would do more of a tuning upgrade on the FICM then actually trading out parts. Main reason being is that I would be worried about quality of parts. There is a huge difference between quality of parts in almost every type of industry out there. Cost trimming is huge and I can see cost trimming and getting inferior parts. May or may not have done that, but that's what I would be worried about. Tuning the FICM can achieve really good results without the same risk.

The purpose of a fuel upgrade is for bigger supply and a more consistent supply.

Now depending on how he did all of his upgrades, he might have done well, but then again he might not have. I don't know enough of the specifics to say one way or the other.

However, I do hope he upgrade the air side of the equation, otherwise he isn't getting as much benefit as he could from the mods. Depending on how extreme he went on the fuel side, he may not be getting much benefit there either.

 

58v ficm and not really needed.
ficm programing on the other hand seems to have some good power gains.. well at least for me.
upgrading the fuel system is almost a requirement for a larger injector.
I will also add that you can net a pretty good running truck with out new injectors or turbo.

 

+1 - I sure am pleased with mine!

I would like a new turbo one of these days, but I am having trouble with justifying the expense of a new fuel delivery system and larger injectors! Besides, that just puts you close to a tranny upgrade as well!! Thats just me though!

Can't recall - Moe has your transmission been beefed up?

Evan - I believe yours has. If so, please remind me what you did??

 

Yes, mine has. Direct clutch gave out about a year after all the parts were in, but that's after ~36k miles in that year, a good portion hauling around 14-16k behind it.

That's pretty good in my book having to deal with all that put together.

As far as what I did. Suncoast Heavy Duty rebuild kit with their version of a stock convertor. No need to have their super duper convertors. Run too hot and not really good for towing the weights that I have to tow. Now, I do run about 10°F warmer on TFT then totally stock, but they told me that would happen, so no worries. Still well within the limits of Ford's tranny fluid. Speaking of tranny fluid, you can use the cheaper stuff with this kit, I however, would advise against it. Small price to pay for piece of mind for this tranny, but that could just be me.

 

Thanks Evan.

 

What is meant by upgrading the "air system"? Are we talking the air filter or upgrading the turbo or both?

 

my trans is still stock and has been holding up fine. at 90k miles now and getting ready to flush the trans and replace filters for the 4th time.
I really do need to find out what exactly is in the suncoast kit and if I get around to it get the parts and diy my trans just because I can.
Do I expect it to fail one day... ya maybe, But in the time I have owned my truck I have hooked up to a trailer maybe 3 times. I dont think I have had a load over 8k yet.
My truck is little more then my toy to play with, something for me to enjoy.
I looked at some 6.7 the other day as well we have some hail damage discounts that are pretty good but at 52k for a loaded out truck my 6.0 is still a better fit for my budget.

 

Turbo, inter cooler and air filter would be the ones that I would considering apart of the air system.

Turbo and inter cooler (although in my mind that's a misnomer, but I digress) are going to be the ones that would come to my mind first. Air filter would only enter into the equation if you are really trying to make some serious horse power and not the horsepower that you be able to use on the street. Unfortunately, the air filter tends to enter into the minds of the general population as a needed mod first. At one time, that might have indeed been true, but not with the newer diesels, at least as far as the 6.0 is concerned.

 

A note on air filters I have tried one and found no value in it for a good basic street set up didnt beat the oem donaldson.
Ill make a simple sugestion. see what you can get out of the stock system, and be able to afford to fix the issues that may or may not arise as a result of it. You will be very surprised what can be had. IMO an honest 440-450hp and 700+ ftlbs does not make a shabby ride. from there you enter the realm of diminished returns rather rapidly.

 

I would actually say anything over 550 is entering into the realm of diminished returns if it's still going to mainly be a street vehicle. Anything beyond that it loses all functionality as a working truck on the street.

 

the hp/per a dollar is were my value comes in to play.to get to 550 requres one to spend 3-5k on hard parts alone. injectors, turbo, fuel system, trans, rear locker thats worth a crap as it is also quickly over powered and wont lock up well.
sorry guess I should have clarified what my value of diminsided retures was.

 

I can see that, if you don't shop around. Although I don't have the lockers, never saw a reason for them in my application, but that's beside the point. That HP/$ can change depending on how one shops around.

However, there are two other things to consider that most people won't consider if you look at it based purely from a classic economic standpoint. Which is what your standpoint is.

1. The value that a person places on having the mods and what those mods bring to the table. In most instances it's the fun and unique factor.

2. The value of now having to either find a really good Ford Service department that doesn't mind working on a moderate/heavy modified truck, finding a 3rd party shop that has the same qualifications of working on a moderate/heavy modified truck or having to do the work yourself based on the results of the first 2 options. (Even being a Ford Tech, this is something for you to put a value on, although it's definitely going to be a different one from the normal joe out there)

That might skew the diminished value from a monetary standpoint.

There are a couple of others that might also skew it some more (always have the "I want it and don't care about the cost"), but those two would be the biggest ones that I would put a value on.