As the title suggests, I need some guidance. I tried searching but I couldn't find the information I was looking for. Here are the upgrades I was looking to do, let me know y'alls thoughts.
1999 Ford F-350 with the 7.3. 355k miles.

• aFe Intake: aFe POWER Magnum FORCE Stage-2 Pro DRY S Cold Air Intake System from https://www.riffraffdiesel.com/afe-p...intake-system/
• Increased exhaust from the turbo back (4 inch or 5 inch). Is there a preference or something I should look for when searching for a manufacturer? (MBRP, Borla, Diamond Eye...etc.?)
• Tires and Wheels. I know the bolt pattern is 8x170. If I go larger, I'll lose turning radius as the tires will hit the leaf springs. I've heard that I can use a -44 offset but what would that look like?
• I have a tan section at the bottom of the truck on the driver and passenger side but one of the body side moldings was recently torn off (No, I didn't do it). Now I have bare metal showing. Would a good option be to remove all of the side moldings and use a bed liner type paint or line-x?
• I'd love to go with a functioning hood scoop or dual scoop setup. I saw a newer F-350 with one and it looked awesome. Wondering if y'all know where I might get one that would fit this truck

Is there anything that I need to be concerned about with the above? Also, I know if I switch to a larger tire I'm aware that will affect the speedometer. Is there any way to recalibrate the speedometer to the tire size? Would there be something else to upgrade instead of the above? Or in addition?
Thanks in advance everyone.

 

The afe is a good intake, but an expensive option for sure. Look into the the diy 6637 intake, much cheaper and some would argue more efficient. In terms of exhaust, either a 4 or 5 inch will be sufficient, it just comes down to preference and what you want to spend on it. Im no expert on wheels offset, but the google is a wonderful tool to learn about such things. I know for a fact a 10 inch rim with -44 offset will stick out an obnoxious amount. And depending on the size of tire, rubbing will be an issue. Not saying I don't support that, but you gotta figure out what your goals are for the truck in terms of looks. Some would argue safety as well, with that much offset and that old of a truck, balljoints are going to be extremely stressed. I would make sure your front end is in strong working order with no weak links before slapping on some wheels with that much offset.

I run a 10 inch rim with -12 offset and a 12.5 inch tire. My tires stick out about an inch from the wheel wells. If you are planning on running bigger tires, a lift or leveling kit may be needed if you want to go bigger than 33's.

I can't comment on the functionality of hood scoop, but I know cowl hoods are available at summit.

In terms of speedometer recalibration, the option I use is the edge CTS monitor. It gives me a corrected speed for my tire size.

Is there anything else done the truck in terms of performance upgrades, any indication of tuning, gauges, etc? Once you get started on putting aftermarket stuff on these trucks it is hard to stop. I'm sure your next round of questions will include how to make more power. The hydra from php is the only real viable option in my option. There is tons of info on it as well as other things on this forum, just search around a little.

 

The obnoxiously stuck out tires would be a hard pass for me. Honestly I hate that look and don't want to go that route. But then again I'd like to have larger tires so need to find a way to accommodate.

With that being said, I appreciate the information regarding the wheel/tire size. What size tires do you have? And with the -12 offset, do your tires rub at all or have you noticed a decrease in the turning radius? I would imagine a leveling kit is going to be added but other than that, I don't believe that I'll do a lift as too many things can wear out quicker than normal and would be an expensive fix.

For the hood, it's faded in a lot of places and I figured if I'm going for a replacement hood, why not make it functional? I saw some of the cowl induction hoods and didn't know if they would also be functional if the intake is upgraded.

Currently the truck is completely stock, though I'm looking to change that (clearly). I'll check out the Edge CTS Monitor and Hydra.

 

I just run stock tires and can't add anything there. There has been a bit of discussion regarding larger exhaust and you might want to reconsider that. If you do anything, there is absolutely no reason to go to 5" and getting 4" through the narrows is hard enough, I don't know how they get a 5" through there. Improved intake, check, a hydra chip and a little something to the turbo like a performance rebuild and compressor wheel should give you all you need.

 

I have 35x12.5 tires, and they do not rub at all, but I also have a 4 inch lift. If you want aftermarket wheels then by all means go for it, but you can easily run 33's on stock rims. Im sure you could do 35's on stock rims with a leveling kit as well. However there might be some plastic trimming and rubbing involved.

If and when you do decide to add power via a hydra or something alike, make sure you have a way to monitor everything. An EGT gauge is a must have item. Do some searching on the forum here about forescan and other cheaper monitoring methods. The CTS is great for everything, but it is pricey as well.

 

FORScan can change the speedometer. I believe there’s a write up on it in the tech folder (sticky at top of our sub forum).

Factory exhaust flows plenty as long as the CAT is free flowing. Folks recommend swapping to a straight through type muffler. A search on here should find plenty of hits for the Walker big truck muffler until someone in the know comes along to give first hand experience.

I’m not sure how you would incorporate “functional” into a cowl hood for our trucks. You’d have to find a way to get the air plumbed to the air box inlet.

I’m not a fan of the 6637 intake. Too noisy for my taste.
I’m a AIS fanboy, but those are getting hard to find and it’s not really a “performance” upgrade. It flows pretty well to 25psi but after that starts to struggle a bit.

 

Great looking truck, nice color combo.

I do not have much in the way of power upgrades (see my sig) so a Walker BTM on the exhaust is fine. A 4" system sounds way better and will flow plenty for near stock. 5" is more hassle for no gain imo.

That intake is too much dinero for a bit of glam. CAI makes virtually no difference in power on these. 6637 is economical and flows well, but you can really hear the intake. The sound got old (not me!) so I eventually dropped it for the AIS. S&B dry intake is another popular option.

Hood scoops can definitely look cool, but there's no way it will help functionally.

The turning radius on a crew cab is always huge, don't worry about making it worse.

Aside from the cosmetics any need for things like towing mods, for example?

 

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I'm not sold on the functionality of the hood scoop either. It would LOOK alright with the right one but maybe it's not worth the precious green paper that we work hard for. I think right now, the 6637 would be the best option as others have mentioned for a dry filter. I don't see much difference (numbers wise) between that setup and the aFe/S&B/AIS. At least not enough to warrant the extra $300 being put out. I'm not trying to start an argument with that last sentence, just FYI.

For towing, I'm not sure. What would be recommended?
I typically pull a pontoon boat, flatbed trailer with a tractor/truck/SUV/Car. Generally less than 10,000 pounds.

 

Look at this filter from Riffraff if going the 6637 route. Donaldson Blue 6637 Filter

Oh, you’re looking to hop down the rabbit hole with that last statement. How deep do you want to go? We always end up at least twice as far in as we expected before climbing back out.

 

holy crap... 👆👆👆👆👆 this is no lie.... i went in for uppipes glowplugs, and a hydra.... ended up with new injectors, a turbo rebuild, and more....

 

You are the 2022 poster boy for PMS (Powerstroke Mod Syndrome), without a doubt...

Although, instead of spreading all of your preventive maintenance and upgrades out, you just got them done at one time. Now you can share your experiences and happiness with others as they become dizzy while falling down the rabbit hole!

 

I'm trying to go far enough without nuking my wallet. Precious green is still precious green. With that being said, what's the difference between the Donaldson Blue and the regular 6637 Filter? I can't find much of anything? Also, with the Donaldson Blue would you recommend getting a cover for it?

Another question, with the 4" exhaust from the turbo back...besides the manufacturer, what's the difference between the Diamond Eye (https://www.riffraffdiesel.com/diamo...ss-turbo-back/) and MBRP (https://www.riffraffdiesel.com/mbrp-...-turbo-back/)? Any benefit to a muffler/cat delete? I'm not looking to go deaf with my exhaust but I do like the low rumble sound. Ideally I'd like to go with the T304 to avoid rust as much as possible but I'm not having good luck finding it.

 

The Donaldson blue is a better flowing longer lasting filter.

The stock exhaust is plenty, just delete the muffler or drop in a higher flowing one, really no benefit from going any larger unless you are going to be 500hp or more

 

Hmm stopping before going too hard on the wallet. That’s easier said than done. Especially around this crowd. Often hoped for and rarely achieved.

Ok, I’m no expert and forget half of what I learn so take these comments lightly.

The standard 6637 you can pick up at a part store is supposed to be less forgiving on moisture. The material will absorb moisture. While the ones from Donaldson are supposed to be resistive to moisture. I believe the blue one at riffraff is even a special build of some sort for riffraff, but I could be wrong about that. May be best to call and ask Clay directly.

I believe I’ve read on here that the Diamond Eye and MBRP are 2 levels of differing quality from basically the same company. But again, here-say from my limited memory.

The CAT can be restrictive.

A lot of folks seem to be happy with no muffler. I’ve never tried it. They say it’s not too loud. SkySkiJason usually recommends leaving the stock exhaust pipe with a muffler delete. I know of others that use the straight through Walker BTM (Big Truck muffler) with the stock pipe.

My truck has a 4” Magnaflow w/ muffler. Just what was on sale 10 years ago at Summit. It was supposed to be SS but there’s surface rust so it must have been a low quality stainless. It’s not loud but at 60mph a little drone. But then again dad’s stock exhaust truck had a similar sound at that speed.

 

Ok... i just got to drive my truck for 5 minutes, after cat delete, on stock pipes and muffler..... it does have a lower tone than before, and is not louder, appreciably. Strictly from a wallet perpective... knocking the cat guts out. And buying an exhaust clamp, is as cheap as your gonna get. Which is a big reason its the route i chose.