I picked up an '05 6.0L last weekend and couldn't be happier. As with all of my diesel vehicles I usually do a full exhuast, tuner, and some other minor mods.

I do plan on doing the head studs and EGR delete in the future as well.

Question is, what tuner are you using in a 6.0L? I have used Superchips in the past on my '02 7.3L but am not sure what is good for the 6.0L.

This vehicle will be my wife's daily driver and pull a two Thoroughbred horse trailer every once in a while for horse shows. I have researched SCT and it seems like a very capable tuner that is basic enough for my wife to operate and she does not like the ones mounted on the pillar either so one out of the way would be best.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

First of all, Welcome to FTE and the 6.0 Excursion Owners club!

You're on the right track, SCT is the best tuning as far as the 6.0 is concerned, but since you already plan on modding the truck, consider looking into some custom tunes.

I've had Gearhead tunes since October 2013 and love them!

-SRL (Street Race Lite) is a great daily driver tune that delivers the best of both world: Power and Fuel Economy.

-8K tow (studded it's 13K tow) would be great for your horse trailer and whatever you tow. I used this tune when I had to tow my mom's car up to a buddy's shop to fix a few things that needed attention 30 miles away. It was about a 7K load car and trailer, but between the towing technology in the 6.0/Torqshift and Matt's 8K tow, it managed the hills and load well and I hardly knew I had a 7K car trailer behind me.

-Unlimited tow maintains stock fuel parameters and modifies the shifting for those heavy, heavy loads. As Excursion owner's, we'd probably never use it since an Excursion isn't designed to tow 20K.

(If you end up making some changes to your truck, Matt does free reburns.)

I've had the pleasure of meeting Matt personally as I only live 2 hours away from him. The man KNOWS the engines, transmissions, strategies, the who, the why, and the how. If you didn't know any better, you'd swear he was a Ford Engineer.

He not only talks the talk, but he walks, the walk....otherwise both my truck's wouldn't be tuned by him.

Bottom line: No matter what you're doing with your truck, you'll love Matt's tunes. He's great to work with, responds to emails same day, and has awesome customer service that can't be beat.

All that said, were you lucky enough to get a 2005 engine?

If you look on the passenger side valve cover, you'll see the year on the sticker. If it's yellow, you have a 2005 Engine. If it's blue, you have a carryover 2004 Engine.

 

Thank for the solid input!

In all of the research that I have done I have leaned more towards SCT, plus like I said the ease of use for my wife when she is driving the truck in a plus as well. We will definitely be doing some towing in the near future and especially when we move back to SoCal, not my choice. So a cross country tow will will happen with that.

I have not checked the year of the engine but I will definitely do that within the next few minutes. The manufacture date of the truck was 08/2004 so I would guess it would be the 2004 engine but I will definitely check.

 

I too second Tor's suggestion as I have an SCT Livewire tuner as well as Matt @ Gearhead's SRL+ tune for my studded truck.

Don't worry, I have a '04 6.0 in my '05 Ex... and the tuner works fantastic

-The Great

 

I use the iTSX from SCT with my iPad 4 and it is great. I use the 50hp tune that comes with the unit but there are others that I can choose from as well. Along with having the ability to use other tunes from guys like Gearhead.
I decided to use this device because I like having one tool that can do many jobs. The other options are limited to being just a tuner. Plus for security purposes (and to limit the amount of "stuff") I can remove the iTSX and iPad in one second flat. Other devices are usually hard wired in.
Another positive with the iTSX is the ability to update the software or add new tunes via wifi or in my case cell service.
I will say the only negative that I experienced was when I first got the unit I tried using it with an Android cell phone but it would not work all the time. That was a couple years ago so I assume they have rectified that situation by now. My wife then bought me the iPad (which I use everyday) and it works like a charm with the iTSX.

 

An iPad? Interesting! How do you have it mounted, if at all? I have all android devices so that kind of sparks my interest. I have a Tab 3 that I could use for a designated tuner I guess. I take it there is an app?

 

I do not mount the iPad as I don't want to have a permanent mount or device that could invite someone to break into the vehicle. I don't use the iPad all the time.

Note- once you install a tune into your vehicle then you don't have to keep the device connected for the tune to work. But you do need the device installed to view the gauge feature in the app.

As far as whether they have fixed the Android bugs, you would have to call them up or check with another user. I waited for them to release the Android version to buy the iTSX so I was an early adopter. It initially worked with my Motorola cell phone but then it had stopped working correctly. That was about two years ago, so I assume that the issues have been resolved.

I can tell you for sure that after I got the iPad set up, I have not had any issues what so ever. At one point I also used an iPod to control the iTSX. It worked as well but it was not able to display as many gauges at one time SW the iPad. The cell phone and iPod were only able to display three gauges at one time where as the iPad displays five. You can select from a multitude of gauges and change them at will.

As far as I'm concerned the is the best system out there and the wave of the future that you can get now.

Other items: do yourself a favor and get an aftermarket (Stant) coolant bottle cap $5 and a coolant filter system (I have the Sinister, $125). These two times are a must.....

 

My truck is studded and all the upgrades we could think of. Now running SCT with custom tunes from Matt at Gearhead.

 

I am a tech guy so that may be the way I go. Plus my wife has an android device as well so in all it may make more sense.

What is the deal with the Coolant cap? Better?

In addition, I have my eyes on the Sinister Basic Solution for the 6.0L. It will come after this Florida and San Diego trip the next couple of weeks.

Head studs will come too but in a couple months.

 

I looked at the ipad solution before I got the Livewire, but you would still have to have it mounted via suction cup or somthing , not too mention it uses blutooth to receive signal, which really drains you battery, especially on a long 10+ hour trip! So that means you have to hook the charger up to it anyway. Not too mention when the wife is driving i like to actually use my ipad.

My Livewire isn't "hard wired" in. It has a mount that is suction cupped to window, and one wire that runs right to the OBD2 port. Thats it! I can move it into another vehicle in less than a minute. There is no hard wiring with the Livewire.

One added benefit that I am fixing to take advantage of with the Livewire, is that it has a input for you to install a backup camera. And no need to splice into reverse light wiring, as the Livewire automatically senses when you put it in reverse.

-The Great

 

If you're looking for something simple to waken the 6.0 a bit and improve MPG, check out a FICM tune from ficmrepair.com (for example). I have an Atlas 40 tune because it doesn't require aftermarket exhaust.

It definitely woke up the 6.0, especially off the line. I like it because there's nothing to do but enjoy the benefits and its totally safe for a stock setup.

On a related note, the only issue I've had with our 6.0 is the FICM. I would strongly suggest you test the voltage on it (lots of instructions online). If its low, you risk damaging injectors, long cranks when starting, and ultimately it'll leave you on the side of the road. Also run some good load tests on your batteries and alternator. Start up the X, idle for 10 minutes to get the batteries back fully charged, then turn on A/C full blast, headlights and high beams, and check your battery voltages while idling. Anything under 14 is an problem.

The whole fuel injection system on the 6.0 relies on very good engine oil (change it every 5000 miles, all 15 quarts!) and proper, strong voltages from the electrical system and the FICM.

Then just enjoy leaving the v10s and the 7.3s behind at the light.

 

I definitely want to waken it up but we will be towing a horse trailer packed with two OTTB's, weigh about 1200 pounds each plus the weight of the horse trailer.

I am starting the exhaust tomorrow and will piece meal the stuff I want to do as I go. I just want to be sure when we tow cross country that it will be good to go and not run into any issues along the way.

The dealership we bought it from took it to Ford to have the FICM replaced a couple days before we bought it as well. I will make sure to do a voltage test also.

 

I don't think you necessarily need a tune just to tow horses and a trailer. We have 3 horses (all about 1100 lbs) and a trailer and I have nothing to complain about.

Did your X come with a brake controller? They are pre-wired under the dash (at least ours with the towing package was) and I just had to buy one and plug it in.

Very cool that the dealer paid for the FICM repair. If they outright replaced it, that's expensive. A repair, which you or I would pay to have done, is much cheaper.

I've learned to use nothing but Motorcraft replacement parts and change the oil a lot (T6 Rotella Synthetic from WalMart). Our X likes Rev-X too.

I had to replace the upper radiator hose last weekend when I found ours was about to wear through on the intake piping. I had to buy a Gates because I couldn't wait a few days. Turns out the Gates fitment STINKS and I ended up ordering a Motorcraft from Amazon.

 

The factory bottle caps do not hold pressure. Mine let off at 9 psi when they are supposed to let off around 18 psi. For $5 it is great insurance.

When I use my iPad with the iTSX I just leave it on the floor in front of the center console. It does use Bluetooth so there are no wires to mess with. If you are going to be on it for an extended period of time then I just plug it into my aftermarket Sony radio and that keeps it charged. The radio also has a backup camera installed and it is great (also another must have).

FICM voltage is one of the many items that you can watch on the iTSX. I normally watch the following items all at the same time: coolant temp, trans temp, oil temp, ficm voltage and turbo boost pressure. But there are many others to choose from.

 

Welcome to FTE!!

Congrats on the truck!!

I'm pretty happy with my SCT Livewire TS...it can do both the tuning and the monitoring that I want. Which enabled me to NOT have to buy multiple pillar gauges or have to have more than one item that needs the OBDII plug.