Ok so i was wondering about flashing the computer on these 6.0's. I am wanting my dad to get a tuner but he thinks it will void the warranty bc he has 70000 miles left on it. So my question is can he get a tuner from LIPD or i guess when Matt gets his new buisness going and then when it needs to go to the dealer he can flash the truck with the computer out and it will reset it to stock settings right?

On the other hand i read a thread about a guy who took his truck to the dealer to replace a blown head gasket and they said it was void because the found irregular spray patterns on the piston. I was under the impression that a tuner would only change the timing and how long the injector stays open. I thought you would have to change injectors to get a different spray pattern. None the less are all dealers going to be able to notice something like that and void the warranty?

Thanks

 

good questions. good topic. It really comes down to the quality of the tech performing any work and what his opinions are towards the 6.0l, ford, and the engineers that designed the motor. This is what I have gathered by talking with 3 dealers/techs. I suggest going straight to the diesel techs and askign their opinions and what they would do in 'that' situation. When he uploads a tune with the xcal2 it first downloads the stock program then uploads the new tune. it's reversed to put the truck back to the stock strategy. so you're right. There are techs out there that are understanding and helpful, just good people. They won't all give you the $100 a visit nonsense or throw parts at your rig. some will. explain to them what you're looking for and your driving habits. One tech/sa said, "bring it in with a cat on and ur stock intake and we'll warranty it". Another one, good friend, said he would warranty it with afe on. Also said, even if it's modded he would have an open mind but he knows when a truck has been beat on and when someone is just looking for a little extra power with some mpg increase. It's a revolving door.

 

It's my understanding from the many posts i've read here...and i'm sure someone will corrrect me if i'm wrong...when using the SCT and custom tunes you will not see spray patterns on the pistons. If you were to use an inline fuel mod (Banks, Edge) then you run the risk of the spray patterns as well as the transmission issues.

As for returning the truck to stock, after removing the program you need to drain the memory from the computer which will cover up the fact you just re-flashed it back to stock. After that the dealer has almost no chance of being able to detect the former program.

I have only 16,xxx miles on my truck and i've been running Matt's tunes for the last 2,000 miles and will NEVER go back to stock.

 

You won't have the "daisy" flash marks from running Matt's tunes. Those are normally caused by extremely high timing which Matt doesn't use. If you go to the tech folder there is an interesting article on how to do a KAM relearn when you set your truck back to stock. Just DON"T let the dealer try to convince you to sign anything just because of a P1000 code which you would get simply from disconnecting the batteries which you do with a KAM relearn.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...r-users-5.html

Here's a link about the kam relearn.

 

Just a point of interest to point out. Since the truck belongs to your dad and you are the one that wants the tune, I would make sure that he understands the possibility of loosing his warranty if something goes wrong and a Ford engineer enters the picture. I am not trying to persuade you one way or the other but I would hate to see you become an "orphan" LOL

 

Yeah then i might have to get a real job. LOL. No he keeps complaining about the gas mileage, he gets around 15.4 in town and 17 to 18 on the high way. He wants to improve that by about 2-3 mpg. I do not think he really cares alot about the power, but i do. He works a lot and doesn't have time to use FTE so i thought i would try and find something out for him. He also notices and i have noticed that it takes a while for the truck to get going. I know about the turbo lag but i think it is in the computer because you can put the pedal all the way down and until to reads that or sense it then the pedal is just down and then it just gets going all of the sudden. Makes him afraid to pull out into heavy traffic roads. Would a tune help this or no. And you guys are saying we need to talk to the Ford Dealership that we would take it to and talk to one of the mechanics and ask him what he considers how many mods or any at all will void the warranty?

Thanks Adam

 

turboman24,

15.4 city and 17-18 hwy are pretty good mileage numbers for an 8000lb truck. You may get a little better mileage with a tuner but i wouldn't count on it.

As far as lag goes, if you mash the peddle to the floor from a dead stop there is alot of lag, but if you steadily push the throttle down from a dead stop the lag is reduce significantly and the truck will move out just fine.

Yes you need to ask your favorite tech & dealer their position on mods and warranty work. Also understand that if you are traveling and break down you may need to have an unknown dealer work on your truck and their mod policy maybe much more restrictive.

What year, model, 2wd or 4wd is your dads truck?

 

To see irregular spray patterns, it would need to have some REALLY zealous injection timing, but could be very possible to see since it comes out at very high pressure and can leave marks much like a pressure washer can leave on your sidewalk, but in a clover pattern.

I sometimes wonder if these cases where they say the spray patterns are told to be irregular, they are just saying it because they suspect tuning and are trying to get the owner to admit it. I do believe, however, that some of these claims come from actual teardowns from engines victimized by way too much injection timing.

There is always some risk in adding aftermarket products and causing problems with a dealer, so you best bet might be to stick with a responsible tune, that still leaves more injection timing on the table.

There is definitely a point where you can run too much, and with one tuner constantly trying to outdo the other by a few HP, Iv'e seen a lot of peple say "well, just one more degree, one more degree".

How much is too much? On a 6 liter....15 degrees is too much, 12 is usually ok, but it depends on other factors too.
I've seen people experiment with 18-30 degrees of injection timing at high load/rpm. Crazy!

It just depends on the truck, you can add 23.5 degrees over stock in some areas of the map on a cummins. This would equal death for the stroke, lol.

Not to go off on a tangent, sorry....but if you want a tune, just stick with something responsible and chances are, you'll never have a problem.
if you do have a problem, most mainsteam and responsible custom tunes should appear in the "normal" range after a teardown.

 

There are a few posters here that would love to have those mileage figures. There is also the possibility that your mileage could go the wrong way and then there goes that money. Just food for thought.

 

Any warranty request in which the dealer, or field investigator (? not sure if that title is correct), either suspects or has concrete proof that the failure was caused by the use of aftermarket products/parts can have the warranty work either delayed while an investigation is conducted or completely denied.

The bad thing with chips/programmers/tuners is that they can alter a large number of operating characteristics of both the engine and transmission. If you happen to be running one of these types of products, it is a very easy matter for the motor company to deny any motor or transmission warranty claims. After all, if the chip/programmer did not change some aspect of the motor or transmission operation, why would you run it?!?

 

I must say, I have no problem with guys playing around with tuners, or any mods for that matter, but if you're gonna do that you ought to be man enough to accept the responsibility for repairing your motor. Ford believes those changes in parameters have the potential to shorten the life of the motor, or worse. If there was no down side they would no doubt tune the motor from the factory and beat the competition.

So, maybe it's just me, but I have a problem with trying to figure out how to screw Ford by hiding the evidence of your tuning, while quoting bible scripture in your sig.

Sorry, but that's my sermon for today.

Bill

 

AMEN and ALLELUYAH

 

I saw it on the first teardown on my motor running some of the original Predator tunes. Had something like 22* of timing. I know for a fact it's MUCH less with Matt's tunes. He gets jittery when he goes to 14 on a dyno. The last two teardowns we did, even with a really extreme tune, there have been no evidene of flash marks on the piston tops and it's putting down 450 rwhp on the street everyday.

You were right about the cobra's Jim. I finally got outrun by an '03 going down I-40 to Little Rock but he hurt his motor really bad. I think it surprised the dude to have that crewcab keep his cobra from passing and give him all he wanted to about 140. He finally passed but puffed some serious smoke in process and pulled off at the next exit. Matt doesn't do bad tunes for a 7K truck, huh?

 

Yeah, the 03's are nasty. With just a pulley and a tune, any competent driver can run 11's with practice.
10's are also not hard with a whipple or KB blower, even a ported/pullied stock blower.

If you come across a well modded one, it won't even be a race, he'll just leave. =o)

It was AWESOME to be in the tuning world when the 6.0 stroke and 03 Cobra came out and be in the thick of tuning both.
They both changed what was expected out of a diesel and out of a pony car.
We were making 470-500, sometimes 700 HP and people were flipping out left and right that a mustang with such limited mods was so fast....like 70 MPH burnouts on the highway fast.

Now, 500-600, even 700 RWHP cars are EVERYWHERE. Everyone knows how to tune (or at least claims to and has a sign on the door =o),
Hell.... its hard to get editorial if it's not a 700HP TT kit that makes 20 MPG.
The whole game has changed.

LOL.