My truck had the 4.88 gears swapped out in favor of 4.30....tows great and I get 13.8 unloaded (unloaded weight is 11k lbs...).

It came with an off the shelf tuner when I bought it and it was horrible, worse than stock. I couldn't get that junk off fast enough. My PHP tunes are fantastic, like a completely different truck. Their tow tunes are quite effective, especially the downshifting routines. I use mine in conjunction with an exhaust brake and it makes for worry free towing.

 

I regularly tow only around 10-12k around 20k gross combined. I may end up around 26k combined. I do not want to swap gears as I am 4X4 and also may need the gearing occasionally. My intention is to swap in bigger tires and wheels for when I am light or off road. This will net me a higher effective gear ratio but probably no mileage gains due to softer wider tires. Then when I need to do heavy hauling I can put on stock tires and wheels.

 

The banks wheel is part of the powerstrokehelp.com recommendations. I do not have any surge issues at the moment. What causes that? My stock Manual six speed should hold up fine to the upgrades I am planning.

 

didnt know you had the zf6..(got one as well). Anyway, if/when you go bigger power, you'll need, from what i've read, a better clutch assy to hold upto the increased power.

Surge is when theres more air being createdthan the turbo can push...something along those lines. With a gauge, you'll see the needle fluctuating along with a "whipping" sound from the turbo...not a pleasant sound. I hadnt experienced it until 6-7months into owning mine. Read up about it, was suggested (funds were/are low), that the w.w. cures it. Even though went down abit in boost, the noise/surge was gone. Peace of mind to me, knowing the turbo will last.

 

I will deal with the surge if it manifests. Who makes the best tuner for a 550 with a manual tranny? Understand that if I had a 1000 lb/ft of torque I could probably make the stock tranny live just by driving correctly. No disrespect to those of you who like to hammer your trucks and make them bullet proof to deal with it. I had 90,000 on my 2002 F350 I used to tow with and still had 75-80% left on the brakes. I drive very mellow and add power smoothly. I act like my truck has to last me the rest of my life. It probably would have if someone didn't steal it.

 

Whoa there, Silver! Please don't take this wrong, but the people here have been trying to politely steer you in the right direction, learning from theirs and others' mistakes. It will save you time, frustration, MONEY, and most likely problems down the road.
Let me re-summarize the advice I've seen so far, as it is like gold in the bank:

1. Open the exhaust...a straight pipe, while cheap, is not the same as a $300 4" exhaust system, and if you're going to tune the engine, you'll want / need the larger exhaust.

2. DON'T USE A STOCK TUNER. Period. Name the brand? Don't use it. You'll want custom tunes for your truck, and DP Tuner, PHP, BTS, Beans, Tony Wildman's, etc. are all good choices. The cost will run you about $300-400. Don't let a $150-200 tuner lure you. You'll regret it. Just read this, any many, many other boards.

3. For your particular truck (550 with heavy towing, and likely a tuner), DO NOT GET A WICKED WHEEL, or whatever Banks' calls theirs. Either stick with the stock turbo, get a larger housing, or go with a van turbo. In fact, the general consensus on this board is to stay away from just about anything with the Banks name on it...not because there's a grudge against Banks, but rather their products are too expensive for the quality / benefit achieved. In most (if not all) cases, there are BETTER products, at CHEAPER prices. For those who've used Banks' "wicked wheel" equivalent, they've seen no performance difference over the Ford 93-97 turbo wheel (which is essentially what the Wicked Wheel is), but the Bank's product is much more expensive.

In all seriousness, you just may find that spending $300 on a 4" exhaust stystem, ($270 on sale), a ported housing, and gear change-out may surprise you how much different your truck drives...even without tunes. Other "little things" like the AIH delete ($5), a high pressure oil crossover or HP/X ($50-75), and in-tank modification ($30-50) will give you a lot of bang for the buck.

Welcome to FTE.

 

I completely back up the strong assertion for the 4". Why?

You have the intake bumped up, now all that air has to get the heck out of there in a hurry. I have AE and I've logged a ton of data before and after the exhaust mods to my 7.3, including my lame muffler delete. My engine really responded to the 4" with a jump in boost and acceleration - and a drop in EGTs. Post-turbo backpressure isn't measured in PSI, it's measure in inches of water. The maximum recommended post-turbo backpressure converts to 1.3 PSI (one point three, not a typo). The 3.5" exhaust (and your bigger intake) puts you at or over max, and deleting the muffler does nothing for your performance (unless you have a plugged muffler). One might look at the 4" and think "But half an inch doesn't sound like much." In dealing with the area of round pipes, that 1/2" larger diameter works out to 31% more area for exhaust to flow. There are also some dynamics at play where you try to balance the velocity of the exhaust out the pipe to create what I would loosely refer to as the "Stirling Effect" (look into Stirling Engines). This enables the exhaust pipe to actually assist with "pulling" the exhaust away from the turbo.

If you're pinching pennies, get the 4" from turbo back without the muffler (before tuning) and it will prove to be money well spent. You'll also like that testostowhistle sound. Our smaller trucks have an EBPV that makes the truck sound like a jet when it first warms up, but I don't think the 550 has that (I could be wrong on this one).

In case you're wondering, the only time I punch it is for collecting data and making observations to dial my tunes or test upgrades/repairs. I hate getting on it just to go fast, but I like being able to pass when and where I want. I go easy on the pedal because my goals with my mods are reliability, durability, and economy. I get 17 to 20 MPG on every fill-up, except when testing the truck. The truck can't do that on its own, the driver is an integral part of the MPG formula.

 

The straight pipe will at least get you started. Doesn't sound like you want to spend the money on a 4" exhaust now anyway. I'm running a walker 41720 muffler on my stock exhaust with no egt problems. From what I have saw from other posts a 4" exhaust will only drop your egt's about 50 degrees over a straight pipe or high flow muffler. Main thing it to have a egt gauge if you are adding more power over stock.

I towed with my Dad's f450 410 gears I believe and that thing can tow like crazy. Kind of dog getting going but after you get up to highway speeds I was impressed.

My vote for tuning would be go with a chip from php.

 

No worries Tailgate. I appreciate the advice and need to filter through it. I also have every intention of gettin an exhaust system eventually. One step at a time. Since I already have the afe cold air intake I would expect a $9 muffler delete would be of benefit till I get a tuner. I can compare egt's from stock so I know where I am heading. As far as your tuner advice goes, so far that is the best info I was not aware of.

Which housing are we porting? I will not be re gearing. If I wanted to do that I would opt for a gear vendor.

I will continue to throw my thoughts out there and have them shot down or supported and make decisions with respect to all the info.

Thank you all for your input.

 

Tugly, I understand and agree with you. I would love to end up with a tuned pipe when I am done with everything but thats a tall order given all the variables. I also get the volume increase and would suppose 5" is overkill. The 550 does have an ebpv and I also have a Pac Brake exhaust brake (seems a bit redundant) I should probably delete the ebpv as I can do the same thing with the brake.

Sounds like you dive like me. Cause i am geared short I spend a lot of time driving around at 50-55 mph. Nets me 17-18 highway 13-14mpg towing flatish
I drive semi trucks and cranes so I am in no hurry and this 8' wide monster rides like a big truck so its not hard to pretend 55 is the speed limit. I am averaging around 12 mpg with lots of short trips around town. I probably lose 1 mpg or so just to cooling the turbo before shut down. ;-)
I am only pinching pennies till I am ready to go. I will buy what is best for me as I need it and will not cut my own throat trying to save a few bucks. I firmly believe in getting what you need. If you cant afford it wait till you can. Do not spend less on crap you dont want.

 

Thanks TDpower. I am mostly just curious to see if I get a mileage increase with a muffler delete. I am not sure but I was of the impression that some years had a cat actually in the muffler. If that is the case or even if its not I would assume there is considerable back pressure in the stock muffler, more if its a cat too. When I got it the afe filter was pretty loaded. I did a quick clean but need to do a thorough one as my air filter indicator is moving up a little and I never had that till the end of my factory paper elements. As soon as it started moving I replaced it so it must be choking pretty bad and a good cleaning should help a lot. Also my fuel bowl was leaking so I did the full out of truck rebuild with the dieseloring.com kit pkg #7-003 - Complete Bowl Seal Kit - 11 o-rings and 4 sleeves - Complete Fuel Bowl Seal Kit
Type_of_Drain_Valve_O-rings: BLUE I am a little pi$$ed off as two of the orings are still leaking a little and they dont give you the 1 or 2 orings you need for the regulator. What the hell is with that? I will be contacting them.

 

Who do you guys like for F550 tuners with the stock 6 speed? What are the advantages of each. Auto trannys are such a big part of a good tune but are not part of my equation. I am not ready for a tuner yet but I will be extremely well informed when I take the plunge. I will be researching all suggestions. Thanks

 

You have already recieved good advice in this thread. I would call Bob@diesel o rings next. Don't be an a hole to him. You probably didn't read all the pdf's he has posted on his site. Probably like me....... Seriously though he is a good guy and can help you out. Lot of PSD knowledge with him. Clay in my signature is a site sponsor and is a great guy with excellent customer service so give a call as well.

 

I know I have received good advice on this thread... I am sure there is more coming. What I have not heard a lot about specifically is what the advantages of tuners/custom tunes with emphasis on the six speeds. All I assume now is all a custom tune for an auto would be minus shift point and pressure alteration. I was wondering if there was more to it than that.


I have no intention of being an a hole to Bob @diesel orings. Let me be clear to the forum members here. I am having a little trouble with a kit I ordered and am not a fan of even having a possibility of coming up short a couple parts in a rebuild kit and I am having a leak issue. I have not yet reported my problem and concern to diesel-oring yet so they have no responsibility yet if ever. I will how ever report honest and accurate reports on their response to my concerns.

 

I have only one real issue with my diesel oring kit. I still have a minor leak. Could only be one of two things. Bad component (it happens) or a bad install. (also happens but pretty hard to do).

The other two issues I have are my own. It clearly says on the web site...


NOTE: This kit does not contain the REGULATOR POPPET SEAT. This is a separate kit only available as a FORD kit. The Regulator Rebuild kit can be purchased separately as Part # 7-028.

I do not know why that is but it is not dieseloring's fault or problem. I would however like to see them actually warn you to be sure to have one in hand so if your poppet seat is not usable you are not down until you can get one.

Last issue is also addressed by diesel orings that the upgrade to the high end blue orings is only for the two drain valve orings. The rest are standard. Even though it clearly says "drain valve orings it seems a little deceptive. I would feel better if they offered the full kit in blue. It seems to me if they are of value in the drain they would be of value everywhere else. I will forward my thoughts to them on these two issues but as I said they are addressed already on the site and they are under no obligation to change anything. It is solely my opinion they should. I will report back the results of my interaction with them. I expect they will be very accommodating and professional as they have a good reputation around here.