I guess slow is a relative term, but it seems like my '10 6.4 takes a little longer than I'd like getting up to speed going from a dead stop up to around 45-50 mph. I've read about turbo lag. While I'm pretty sure I have experienced turbo lag when trying to pull out into traffic in a hurry, this is more of just the truck taking too long (in my opinion) to get up to speed when accelerating from a red light or stop sign. It's not terrible mind you, but it seems like the car or truck at the light always leaves me, then I catch up down the road a bit. This is my first diesel and I've only had it about 4 months, so I'm still learning. It could be just my driving style. I try to be easy on the pedal, or it could be that It's just a 6,000+ lb. truck and it takes a minute to get all that weight rolling. Is there anything (mods) that might help?

 

What a tricky topic!

I have kind of wondered the same about my 2010 6.4.. It is strange, but my 97 7.3 has a lot of get up go, and flies off the line. But then again, i have modified it.

I noticed in my 6.4, that it isnt until 45mph or so, that when I lay the pedal down, it will really get up and scoot. But I think there are a couple factors with these trucks I have noticed when driving that helps explain it. I first wondered if my transmission was slipping at all with the delays. But looking at the vehicle weight and platform, that there is a lot of weight being shoved around there. That with the fact that in stock form, they do great, but they are not off the line monsters.

My friends 6.4 had a tuner on it, and DPF delete. Comparing how it handled with the lowest setting, to mine, I have realized that if the exhaust is opened up, those turbos can spool and go. Pulling out into traffic with her truck, it was always expected to break traction on the turn and scoot. Mine, not so much.

I think these trucks were set up for some real great power, but just a little more controlled. Its not until you let the monster out of the box, that you can begin to really understand how much power there is!

 

I think you're right. If I'm going 55-60 and punch it, I'll be doing 90 in the blink of an eye. Like I said, this is my first diesel, so I guess I'm still learning the characteristics of the truck. After posting this, I read some other threads and I think some of it has to do with my driving. I'm usually easy on the pedal when accelerating, trying to get optimum fuel mileage. From what I've read, these trucks are built to work hard and do better when you get on em a little bit. I've been pushing down on the pedal a little harder and the truck, ofcourse, does accelerate better. No brainer right? Give it more gas and it goes faster. I guess I was just thinking with all that power it would get up and go without having to lean on it. I had the dpf and egr delete done on mine also. Rather than buy a tuner, I had 5Star Tuning just flash the truck for me. The idea at the time being I was saving money by not buying the tuner. The downside is that it's a lower HP tune designed to get better fuel economy while still allowing me to tow. I've since wished I had bought a tuner so I could try different tunes.

 

It's a hard thing to say, mine is H&S tuned I run the highest level,no power tune and throttle response and power are basically on demand. I basically drive for mileage also, lots of people pass me, I just don't pay no never mind.

 

Thats exactly the same mindset I had/have as well.. My first "newer" truck, and expensive at that, so I havent wanted to abuse it for the sake of just doing so! LOL! But I do tow, and a lot of highway driving. I am always keeping out of the pedal to get better mileage, so I am with you there! I am wanting to go with the spartan as it holds factory tuning and maps, and can return the truck back to original if needed. I do not have a warranty so I don't have to worry about one getting pulled. But I wanted the tuner to delete the DPF and get better mileage. The extra HP tunes, great to have, but I dont think I will need to use them! LOL!

 

It's funny I thought the same thing...when I got mine in june this year... then obviously it was worse when I lifted it 6'/37's there was some hills that I thought I was going to roll back down...lmao BEFORE I DELETED IT...THEN NO PROBLEM..SCT has been decent.. but I just ordered an H&s hoping it lives up to the hype.. But there's definitely no comparison deleted vs stock.. I was at my buddies tonite ..he just got his '08 cc swb f250..stock of course.. he was in love.. then he drove mine..and he was heart broken..lol the pedal response is RIGHT ON PAR when deleted.. just my 2cents worth I'm not going to outrun many...but I look good while heading to the finish line... I'M in for as many MPG'S as possible

 

I think not having a tuner is what's holding my truck back. Since I had it flashed instead of buying a tuner, I didn't want to go with a higher HP tune that might cause me to run too hot when towing. These things cost too much to fix to risk tearing it up just to be a little quicker off the line or to squeeze out another mile or two per gallon. Like I said, it isn't terrible, and I definitely think it's better than it was before the delete. I've been pushing the pedal a little harder when I take off and it really hasn't seemed to hurt my mpg. I think I may end up buying a tuner in the future so I can swap the tunes around and try the hot tunes while driving unloaded, but switch back to stock or a lower HP tune when towing. I bet that thing looks sweet lifted with those 37's. I still have the stock 275's. I put a 1" leveling kit on the front and I think I might put some 35's on it when it's time for tires. Don't want to kill my mileage too bad. Averaging 15-15.5 combination in town and in the country.

 

just watch out on which 35's you do, i have the 35/12.5r20 and the specific tire i have is really a 13" wide tire . thats like 2 more inches over stock.

 

I've been thinking about that very thing. The 35x12.50's are what I was thinking about until I found out how wide they are. I figure the more rubber you have contacting the road, the more friction/drag it will create, which will translate into pain at the pump. I was thinking about something like a 315/65, or it may be a 315/60. I can't remember which one fits the 20" rim. It's still 35" tall but I don't think it's quite as wide.

 

Probably one of the hardest things with these 6.4's tuned is not pushing the skinny pedal past the stock limitations of the truck. Unless you have head studs and all the other little extra's on it you can hurt it. These motor's can put out lot's of horsepower very easily, and that's your intention you need to make sure your core is up to the pressure.
And they can easily put up with a mild tune and drove like a truck and not a Shelby GT 500 without any issues.

 

yeah I agree with bubba.. they do fine on mild tunes.. I wasn't looking to blow a dyno up.. just wanted a little better gas mileage... and "some" power added.. I was close to buying a Spartan..but the more I thought about it.. too much temptation to be stupid.. as far as lifting the truck.. i'm getting high 13's(mpg) which isn't bad to me...for what it is.

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. I think I'll just stick with what I've got. I've just read about all the power these trucks have, so I guess I was expecting it to accelerate like a half ton gasser. I drive pretty conservatively anyway, so the added HP with higher tunes wouldn't be worth the risk of tearing the motor up. These things are expensive to fix and I don't have money to just throw at it. I mentioned turbo lag in my first post in this thread. I don't know much about turbos yet (still learning), but is there anything that will help with that?