Hey I have a question. I am wanting to change my hood on my '04. Was thinking of going with cowl indusction style to extract heat from under the hood, but saw a ram air hood on a web site. Would it make more sense to install a ram air hood with a ram air induction instead? I would think the ram air would be better to not only let in more cold air under the hood but to force fresh cool air straight into to the air filter. I would think this would help with the EGT's. I do ALOT of towing.

 

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You don't state wether you have a stock or modified intake. Either hood will help get heat out of the engine compartment. If you have a stock intake you may get some reduced temp. in the intake air, I don't think alot however. If you have an open element then yes probably a good drop in temp. If you have zoodad then once again, little if any gain. JMO

 

Many of the "ram air" style hoods are for looks only. Some only provide another point for air to enter the engine compartment...considering the size of the grill opening on the Super Duties/Excursions, just how much additional air is going to enter the engine bay & whether or not it will actually drop underhood temperatures is highly debatable. Even if you accept that some additional outside air is making it into the engine bay, there is a debate on whether any of this "cooler" air is actually going to end up getting sucked into the motor, or if this air is really going to offer any additional cooling benefit to the motor.

For the select few "ram air" style hoods that actually direct/channel the air, they are generally split between two types: those that dump their air into the vicinity of the stock air box/air inlet & those that replace the stock air box in order to mate the hood directly up to the new air box assembly. Unfortunately, they usually include some form of aftermarket air filter element (usually a cone-style filter), and that in itself requires some thought. There are some pretty divided feelings on using aftermarket air filters on the 6.0L. I would hazard to say that the majority of the 6.0L leaders here on FTE will forewarn you not to go to an aftermarket air filter element unless you are pushing somewhere in excess of 400 rear wheel horsepower....something that will not happen without some pretty major modifications (i.e. beyond what you would get from a tuner/chip, intake & exhaust). There are a ton of air filter threads on the 6.0L forum...so I won't say any more on that subject.

Even if you want to avoid the debate about aftermarket air filters, there is the matter that the 6.0L is already a forced induction system. Some folks are big proponents of the "zoodad" mod--cutting an opening in one of the radiator supports in front of the stock air box's inlet. This free mod might very well provide the same benefit you would see with a ~$1,000 "ram air" hood, and you get the benefit of maintaining the intake filtering efficiency provided by the stock Donaldson air filter.


On the "heat extractor" hood side of the topic, I have never seen any real purpose in them. Just my opinion, but here's the reasoning. The motor companies test these vehicles under some of the most grueling conditions. They all have proving grounds in deserts. If memory serves me correctly, Ford's is in Arizona. They do endurance testing by pulling max payloads non-stop for hours, if not days, at a time in some of the highest temps possible. (The proving grounds in Death Valley may arguably be worse conditions.) They follow these endurance sessions up by parking the vehicle in "hot boxes" (usually walled off areas that stifle the flow of air & are very good at building up additional heat) to idle for hours at a time....all to test whether or not they can get the vehicle to overheat or outright fail. Overall, I suspect that these are conditions that your vehicle will rarely, if ever, come close to reproducing.


Given that you tow a lot, I would say you would be better served by looking elsewhere to protect your investment. For starters, I would look into going to synthetic lubricants, as they are almost invariably superior to their more traditional dino-based counterparts. From there, you might look into a coolant by-pass filter. This will help remove sediment, scale, rust, etc. from the cooling system; which will help keep your cooling system working at its best. To go a bit further, I would be willing to bet you would see more functional gains from an aftermarket intercooler than you would from either a "ram air" or "heat extractor" style hood. And, last thing that comes quickly to mind would be some form of turbo timer that will idle the truck until the turbo temps come down.

Incidentally, I spent close to eight months researching hoods & getting feedback from members of other online communities when I wanted to go down this road with a former truck. The funny part is that there is almost a complete absence of factual information. Most of the input that I got was pretty much based on the company's sales literature. I did, however, find a couple members that had done some testing with temperature probes & infrared heat scanners. But, even those reports had to be taken with a grain of proverbial salt.

 

Good post Deluxe

 

Thanks Deluxe.. You gave alot of information which makesd ALOT of sense!. I will probably go with the cowl hood just I think cowl hoods look awesome. I will thopugh look into a cooltant filter. I think that is a good idea. Alot of stuff floats around in your cooling system. As for synthetics... is Amsoil OK? My neibhbor is an Amsoil dealer. I have just heard some bad things on synthetic lubes in a young powerstoke. Mine has only 30K miles on it. As for cutting a hole in the radiator support, I have heard of the before. I may do that as well. For the turbo timer I do let the truck idle for a bit before I shut it down. I know turbos do not like to be shut down hot. I am as well going to get an aftermarket intake to go alone with the other minor mods I did. (exhaust 4" striaght, mild tuner, free flowing hot and cold pipes)

Again thanks! If you have any suggestions for the additional items I you talked about please send them to me.

 

I don't have any personal experience with Amsoil. I know there are some folks out there that absolutely swear that Amsoil is the absolutely best oil and others that just swear about Amsoil.

If it were me, I would just make sure to follow the guidelines outlined in the diesel supplement & owners manual. Taking motor oil as an example, there are two specific guidelines provided for the 6.0L. For starters, there is the suggestion to use 15W-40 for trailer towing. And secondly is a blurb that states:Sticking with lubricants that meet or exceed OEM standards & regular service intervals are pretty key, in my opinion. If is not certified, but claims to exceed some standard, I would most definitely call that claim into question.

As for the switch to synthetics, I would lean towards 30K being sufficient milage to make that switch. The vast majority of the engine break-in, initial seating of gears, rings, annealing of parts, etc. will have already ocurred by this point. The synthetic oils will do their part to keep everything clean and lubricated. I'm sure someone else can/will step in if they have other thoughts.

 

also keep in mind that a "ram air" hood not only ramsair into the intake but also water on and dirt and everything else. just a thought.

 

Cervini's offers the following which looks really good. https://www.cervinis.com/product.aspx?car=1&id=1188#140

 

Taking the side of a "ram air" hood for a minute (having had a functional Shaker hood on my Dakota Quad Cab for over 5 years), I can say that they are subject to a bit more water exposure, but so is almost every aftermarket intake system. As for exposure to dirt/dust, I would say that regardless of whether you are talking about an aftermarket air intake kit, "ram air" hood, or OEM air intake assembly, the air filters for all three will share a very similar exposure to incoming dust/dirt.

Take for instance travelling down a dirt road (heading out hunting, fishing, or just sight-seeing on your favorite trail) with the usual plumes of dust being kicked up in the air, an intake that draws air from the engine compartment (i.e. aftermarket intake or OEM assembly) is going to injest the same quality of air that a "ram air" hood would.

The only special consideration that I took into account with the Shaker hood was with snow. If you park with the front end facing into a breeze/wind, the air box can get packed with snow. As the hood & the scoop assembly for my Shaker hood were two completely seperate pieces, my solution was relatively simple, I would pop the hood, throw an old towel across the top of the scoop assembly, and shut the hood...trapping the towel between the scoop (actually, it was the rubber seals around the scoop) and the hood and blocking wind-blown snow from entering the air box assembly.

Ironically, when hitting the trails in the Colorado & Wyoming backcountry, the "ram air" setup proved superior to most aftermarket air intake kits for water crossings.


Now, that is with a FUNCTIONAL "ram air" hood that directs air from the hood's openings into a modified air box. Obviously with so many different designs & styles out there, your results/findings may very well vary.

 

I have the Suncoast Creations Good Hood, which is as far as I know the only functional ram air hood for the 6.0L. In order for the ram air to be functional you have to buy the Airaid intake kit as well. The air enters the hood and flows toward the trucks cab, then flows back toward the front of the engine bay and through a hole directly into the Airaid intake. There are small holes at the back of the air channel to allow rain to drain out.

I love it. It looks great and I have had absolutely no issues with it. I have taken the air filter off and wiped inside the intake, and found no dirt or oil. I have drove in the rain and snow without any issues. However, I only have 4000 miles on my truck at this time (hood and intake installed at 150 miles), so I cannot speak for the long term issues that my pop up. Here are a couple pictures of the set-up on my truck.