Deffinately a newbie here. Just bought a 2003 350 with the 6.0 diesel. Very happy with the truck mainly for plowing my drive. Theres just one issue. When I start out from a dead stop occasionally it just hesitates. The rpms look to be going up but no forward pull. I let off and get back on it and its fine. A guy i ran into tells me that his had done it and it wasnt anything to worry about that it was turbo lag. Any thoughts it doesnt seem like that should be ok. Surely if that type of thing happened in my Vette id sure be angry so why accept it in a truck.....

 

Don't accept it, get a custom SCT tune

 

I can't feel it from here of course, but it may well be normal. You have to handle the throttle differently than you would on a gas motor. If you just punch the throttle, the PCM is going to ignore that input and use a slow steady rate of increase. If you feather or tickle the throttle a little, giving the turbo a second or two to rev up, you'll get a faster jump. Takes some getting used to is all.

Don't get into the whole tuner/chip fiasco just because of a little turbo lag. Unless you enjoy chatting with your ASE technician.

And welcome to FTE.

 

Hi Woody,

Just my two cents..

Our customers report turbo lag improvement after one treatment of our product.

Hot Shot's Secret was designed to clean up the injector issues with the 6.0 but our customers tell us that they notice improved turbo performance. The formula we use cleans up oxidation deposits within the engine. Although Hot Shot's was never tested for improvement in turbo function we definitely get a lot of good feedback in that area.

Furthermore use of our product will help prevent injector failure in the future. It is guaranteed so there is no risk to try.

Feel free to call or email anytime with questions. 1-800-341-6516
Lubrication Specialties | Diesel Motor Oil | Primrose Engine Oil | Fuel Additives | Oil Additives | Engine Restore|

I hope this info is beneficial to you.

Dan

 

Guess who is back. As to what's in bold, do I really have to go into the touchy feely responces that customers give back?


Overgeneralization and stereotyping, although there is some truth to it. Some of the best things have a kernal of truth to hide the flaws that are within the argument. You can deal with turbo lag with overfueling(which a tuner does) to a point. I do agree that the best thing is to "roll into the throttle", but tuning does help make no mistake about it.

 

I know.

But, as an FTE 6.0 community, I think we give newcomers the idea that their truck needs a tuner, and then it needs gauges, and it needs an exhaust, when none of that is true. A 7.3 might have needed a tuner, but a 6.0 certainly does not. All that stuff has it's place, but it's not for everybody, and telling a guy he needs a tuner because he feels a little turbo lag is unfair to him. What's wrong with just suggesting he learn the idiosyncracies of a turbo diesel and enjoy his truck?

Hey, the guy just wants to plow his driveway, not drag race.

 

Nothing at all wrong with that, and in all honesty should be the first thing suggested and then after that see how he feels about what he has.


When Matt was a dealer for SCT, he actually had a plow tune. I just couldn't resist adding that.

 

Not to jump out of place but I totaly agree with your statement. I have always wanted a tuner but have come to realize I don't need a tuner. If driven correctly these truck haul anything I throw at them and do it with power to spare.

 

Another advantage that you have as well(I don't know if the OP has it as well, he might have) is that you have a manual tranny. Truck's with autos can really benefit alot more with a tuner than truck's with manual trannys. You can actually get a tuner that does nothing but change shift points and pressures for different applications(towing, street, economy etc) and not even touch on hp/tq of the truck.

While more often then not people with tuners increase hp/tq with custom tuners you don't have to do any increasing and in fact you can decrease the power output if "you" feel it's too much(and some have done this).

Custom tuners are very much multi-purpose programmers that can fit a wide range of applications and I don't think it's all that fair to qualify them all as just "power adders" and nothing more.

 

I fully understand what you are saying. I sold my 97 psd just because I could not stand the auto tranny. The shift points were so bad that when it shifted it would surge and send the horses in a frenzy. I could feel them move all around. With a manual tranny it's on my shoulders if I make a bad shift. Back to the tuner thing I think they would be beneficial but the thought of high repair cost due to playing with it too much is just too risky for me. Though I sure do want one.

 

Welcome to FTE. To answer your question. It's normal. Just the way it is with the 6.0. You'll learn how to get around it with pedal control and timing. Always happens to me at the worst possible moment. So I understand your concern.

 

I've been there and so have some young horses and some of those had to take a good long while to get back to where they would accept long distance hauling without getting fidgety.


A very valid concern and one that deserves it's do weight. Some people I wish would have considered that more then doing a tuner and then bitching about repairs that were denied under warranty due to their tuner.

 

Based on your description, it's normal turbo lag for the 6.0. That almost got me killed a couple times right after I bought my truck when I tried to pull into traffic. Had to adjust my driving style a little to account for it. Don't floor it from a dead stop. Roll into it a little before you mash the go pedal.

 

Thanks a ton for all the feedback. Who knew that the answer is it is ok. Figured that every issue on a vehicle can set you back a grand these days..... Guess I can go ahead and spend a bunch of money on a sweet winch......

 

Here is my understanding of the severe turbo lag on the 6.0. I have no idea if it is correct, but it sounds reasonable in laymans terms.

We all know the standard single turbo cannot spin up very fast. That's why the 6.4 is equipped with dual turbos, first and second stage.

But the 6.0 turbo can spin up a lot faster than it seems when you just stomp the go pedal. Why is it that we can get a faster spinup if we roll into the throttle? It's an EPA driven limit.

If the throttle response were to outpace the air flow from the turbo, the result would be smoke from too much fuel and not enough air. Invisible emissions would also be too high. To Ford and the EPA, any smoke is unacceptable. So Ford programs such that when the throttle calls for fuel above a certain rate of increase, the PCM defaults to an acceleration algorithym that will ensure the turbo can keep up. Unfortunately it has to be a very conservative curve just to be on the safe side, with safe meaning no smoke and low emissions. Our right foot can rather quickly learn to ride the ragged edge of the limit, and get a better response than the EPA default.

Custom tuners can be less conservative, and not worry about a little smoke or excess emissions. They can pretty closely mimic what humans can do with our foot.