My brother just bought a 2007 6.0 with auto tranny. He's getting rid of a chipped 7.3, so that's what he's used to. He wanted to chip the new truck too, but neither of us knows much about it (I know much more about the older stuff for gassers). What tuner/chip out there would you recommend? Do they all work with the 2007's, being as they are so new? He wants something that won't void his warranty also. Will these chips void the warranty on diesels? If you take the chip off can the dealer still tell? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes they will void your warranty if something caused by it fails.
Yes they can tell if you chipped a vehicle.
If you live in a big city (phoenix) where there are alot of souped up trucks blowing gaskets and turbos, the dealer will be very suspicious and thoroughly scrutinize every warranty claim that comes in. They might even have a Ford person there.
It is not worth it on the new trucks because they are expensive to fix.
When my 6.0 was stock, I was able to barely beat my friends 2002 7.3 that was superchipped. When I chipped my truck, I was able to smoke him. But it cost me alot of money to fix since my warranty was voided.
If he was used to and happy with a chipped 7.3, he should be happy with a stock 6.0 and a warranty.

 

Well, pretty well everyone here will support the use of an SCT XCal3 custom tuned by a reputable vendor (Spartan and Innovative seem to be the most popular) with a decent compliment of gauges. The SCT is really the only reliable/safe choice for the 6.0 because it allows excellent control of cylinder pressures and it also fully programs the transmission to work with the tunes. The in-line devices have proven to be VERY hard on both the 6.0 and the 5R110.

If you're careful you can prevent FMC from voiding your warranty by returning the truck to stock calibration and clearing the KAM before it goes to the dealer. If they find out you've programmed it they'll likely void the warranty; different dealers seem to apply the rules differently but most have zero tolerance for any kind of engine/emissions mods. That being said, and totally off topic I would also highly recommend a bypass coolant filter kit and a bypass oil filter kit; they do nothing for performance but do great things for reliability, especially the coolant filter.

 

If you get an SCT from spartan, it will store your stock flash and you can reflash when you need to take it into the dealer. It is untraceable at the local dealer and therefore will not void your warranty. If you do a search for this you can find plenty of material on this subject seeing as most of this forums members use spartan for their horsepower needs. It is also the safest way to add power to the 6.0.

 

SCT from Spartan

 

+1 on the coolant filter recommendation! It's one of the first mods that should be done on a 6.0, IMHO. The trans filter is an excellent idea if you tow, especially if you tow heavy.

Warranty is subject to the dealer/service department personnel and their experience with Ford and previous 6.0 repairs/warranty. Any aftermarket intake, a missing Catalytic, an aftermarket turbo downpipe, or a bypassed EGR will definitely get negative attention.

I would suggest talking directly to the Certified 6.0 Technician about any ideas you may have. Bypass the Service Writer!

If they pull the heads it is quite obvious if a tuner was used: www.forddoctorsdts.com/photographs/index6.php

The 'star' pattern on the piston gives it away.

 

Proper tuning doesn't leave star patterns on the pistons. The star patterns are caused by excessive timing. I've seen my pistons 3 times. Once with the Predator--nice pretty stars on the pistons. Twice with the SCT--no star pattern at all, and running lots more ponies with the SCT than the Predator. The star patterns will go away after time.

 

Interesting! I was wondering about the pattern dissipating after some time. Excellent info npcc...

 

Russ you really gotta call Matt and get yourself an SCT

 

FYI, I have personally heard this similar star pattern concern. I have seen pistons on both stock 7.3 and 6.0L's and they have patterns no matter if there is a tuner or not. they may differ somewhat but you would need the picture of stock and modified in front of you to tell the difference..

GET and SCT and play...

 

So what was the reasons for tearing down the motor with the the Predator, and twice with the SCT?

 

The service department has pictures. Trust me, I saw them.

 

so I guess it is your dime now??

 

It was more like a bucket of dimes.

 

The first time was a set of blown gaskets and one warped head from the Predator. The second was the other head warped (collateral from the Predator) and the third was to fix a bent rod from real ***-hole race tune driven by a real ***-hole driver