for trouble? I want a diesel and a I can afford one. I will probably order soon to get what I want.

My question is my plan of upgrades. I want to install a Banks Six Gun Tuner Bundle, Airaid Intake, FASS fuel system, and a 6'' fabtech lift and 35'' tires.

If you have any experience with any of these products let me know or let me know what you think of my plan. Is this just too many upgrades for a daily driver that wont pull much?

This forum is great I have learned so much and cant seem to stop reading.

Thanks,
Matt

 

I don't have any experience with the Banks..it does look/sound cool...and I was going to go that route as well...but my Ford tech advised me against Banks. They said that every person they knew that had installed a Banks kit had problems....blown heads, blown trannies...etc. They advised me to get the Edge kit...which I did...but I'm not completely happy with it either. I just had the latest service, recall and reflash...and now with the edge kit installed the truck shifts really hard...like someone rear ended me. I had to disconnect it. Lots of other guys posting all kinds of good stuff regarding SCT and other tuners. I may choose to go that route. Also, much easier to reprogram than the edge...right through the diag port...and on-line downloadsd for some to accomodate new Ford re-flashes. I definitely think these are worth considering. Remember, any route you do take, you need to disconnect it before every service...so make sure that you can do that conveniently. Also realize...that it can very from dealer to dealer...but any mods can void your warranty. Make sure you know/trust your dealer before you buy and what their stance is on mods.

 

I may order the truck wit 4.10 gears and a manual for fun. Any opinion on the 4.10 gears. This will be a big hot rod and not a real work horse.

 

To be honest, I'm not a mechi kinda guy. Check out with others. Also, I don't know where I saw it, but some time last year I came across a page that showed the different gear ratios vs. tire size. Definitely try to find that, 'cause if you are like most of us, you will want bigger wheels and tires...and the gear ratio may be a consideration. I've got my truck lifted about 5", plus 20" WELD Racing wheels with 35" muds on it...Also a small problem with this as the tires bump the front wheel wheel if I hit a bump while turning...like going into driveways and stuff. Not a big deal...but still something to mention. I would have gone with a higher lift, but the shop told me any higher and they would have to change the leaf springs and that would ahve taken away from my hauling capacity which I did not want.

I love my truck.

It's an 04 F350. Check the price out too. When I priced them, the F350 was like 150 bucks more than the F250...so no brainwork there...I went with the F350. Plus 04 was the first year they offered the Harley package on the F350. I got it and it gorgeous.

Went on-line...build you own truck on their site...clicked every option available...printed it out...went into the dealer and offered them 500 over their cost...and they went for it.

So it's the F350, Harley package, black on black, bucket seats in front AND BACK! as big as it is and it still only seats 4...but I'm unattached so 4 is plenty.

Got the big cab and the long bed...much better for camping. Tons of room. Have a twin size inflatable bed in the back, large ACE shell cover...great fishing and camping rig.

Love the deisel too.

Good luck. You wil llove this truck.

 

I got the Banks six-gun and speedloader, airraid intake, Banks Exhaust, 4" Pro-comp lift, 35"'s on Weld Wheels.
Banks Six-gun is awesome!! Shift on the fly for me was the main selling point. It was a toss up between superchips and Banks. I picked Banks because of the ease of shifting between power levels. Superchips you can't shift on the fly. For warrenty work it is harder to uninstall the Banks system then the superchips. I just thought that I would be shifting between power levels far more often then going to the dealership. For me the ease of shifting between power levels out weighs the ease of removal. Be aware, there are a lot of Banks Bashers on here so just keep that in mind.
The Airraid intake gave me a couple extra horses and is easier to clean (and less expensive) then the stock unit. I drive to the desert some, and have to add a prefilter and I go the extra distance and surround the unit with either a old tee shirt or towels to keep the sand and particals in the air out.
The exhaust sounds great, unfortunatly i can not compare it to anything as everyone I know with a 6.0L has the same exhaust.
The lift and tires have been on the truck since it had 12 miles on it and it rides a little rougher then stock, but not much. I have 35" BFG's and have 50000 miles on them. They will probably be exchanged for new ones in about 5-7K miles.
That is about all, hope this helps.

 

Damn man great minds think a like, but I want to try the fabtech 4.0 dirt logic. I hear they are smooth as stock.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to bash Banks. I do like the looks of their stuff...and I have no presonal experience...what I wrote earlier was stricklty hearsay from my tech at the dealer where I bought mine. It may very well be fine. And I do like the shift on the fly too...Edge has that as well. I do like the look of the guages you would want to install vs. the Edge Attitude as well....and the Bank's exhaust is really nice too. I actualyl have a 5" Bully Dog on mine...it was a hard decisioi not going with Banks...and I'm not sure I made the right one. I do like the Bully dog 5" and the way it sounds...but it is aluminum too...not stainless...so doesn't look as nice as Banks' either... 50000 miles on a set of tires is awesome!

One last note, I do believe, but I could be wrong, but I do think that SC makes a shift on the fly option now as well. I seem to remember you could get something with a rotart switch so you could install it under your dash and shift modes on the fly.

Just some thoughts. Sorry if I gave anyone the wrong impression with my earlier post...just trying to help.

Later

Have a great weekend all.

 

Mike, to be honest I didn't even read your post until just now. I was not refering to you. In the past there have been guys on here bashing Banks products and promoting their products. I just what to give my personal experience, not nessasarily opinion. I guess it did sound like I was attacking you, but I wasn't. I guess I should read all the post next time.
On a side note, I had a dealer tell me the opposite. When I bought my truck they offered me a extended warrenty that covered my lift, tires and everything for 100,000 miles. He also offered to have it cover the banks system if they installed it. He said they would only cover Banks systems because it was the most dependable. I think he may have been given kick backs.

 

No problem at all. I didn't take it personal. I wish my dealer would have told me what yours did. I really wanted to go with the Banks kit and exhaust. I herd good things about banks from a friend at work before i started the whole upgrade stuff. He said they were great, well know and respected...the only negative he said was that because of their rep...they were a tad more expensive than the rest. To me, the rep a co. like that has more than outweighs the price. The only reeason I didn't go with them ws due to the dealer's comments. I should have done my own research first!

Have a great weekend!

 

Are you serious, that would be nice if the dealer would cover all the mods if they installed. It would definitely be worth their outrageous labor rates to know if something goes wrong that they will cover it.

 

I hate to say this, but I'm not so sure that a 6.0 really lends itself to being made a reliable hotrod. It's a good engine if well maintained and kept stock. But it needs a lot of attention to be made into a wheel spinning hotrod that isn't going to constantly break. New head studs, rings, etc. And you'll need to add the other obvious items like, exhaust, gauges, etc. The 6.0 is a great pulling engine, but not a very good hotrod one. Suspension lifts go on these trucks nicely though. There's a lift poll sticky in the Superduty Forum that you should take a look at.

 

As far as the intake goes, you may lose ground going to the Airaid. It looks and sounds cooler than the stock one, but from everything I've read, it doesn't filter anywhere near as well - an important consideration with an engine as expensive to repair as a PSD. Also, while it may flow more than stock, the stock setup actually flows more than the engine can use. I'm not sure the tiny gain is worth the risk.

Unlike the stock 7.3 intake, which was a preposterous pile of putrescence, the 6.0 intake is pretty good - unless you are taking your truck to the racetrack. Then every little CFM counts and dust can be ignored.

 

Ok, so I think I got it figured out. A Banks six gun, MBRP exhaust, and maybe some ATS parts.

 

Man, my head is spinning I just spend the last three hours searching and reading posts. New plan is custom tuning and MBRP turbo back exhaust with cat delete.

After reading I just dont think I will be producing enough power for a FASS fuel system or torque converter.