i am new to the website and love what i see. i am also new to the diesel thing and would like to get some info on modifications. i have looked at the banks tuner with pda but see that a lot of people on the web site have different things to say about banks. what is the best tuner out there. what are the negitive affects of putting a tuner and changing my truck. if i go the tuner route then do i need to change the air intake and exhaust. thanks

 

Ok, I can see from your profile that you have a 2006 F-250 so that would mean that you have a 6.0(if this is the truck that your looking for a tuner for).

Problems with tuners as they related to the 6.0 specificially:

The tuners that are shift on the fly(which would include banks, edge, and bullydog(even their triple dog which is a downloader, but it has issues with how they manage to have a downloader capable of shift on the fly) are typically in-line fuel modules. That means that you really aren't programming the truck, the "programmer" takes the signals and modifies them and sends them back to the truck's computer. This isn't good for the truck as the truck isn't getting the proper information and there really isn't any programming whatsoever going on with the engine or especially the transmissions(edge has been known to eat torqshift trannies for lunch, which is no small thing as these are damn good trannies). Not being able to tune the engine, helps lift heads that are already prone to happen on the 6.0s in stock form.

Banks in particular is incredibly overpriced for what your getting and it's that way b/c they spend alot in ad campaigns to give people the impression that they are the best.

The biggest negative impact of those tuners listed above(and those that are listed but are of the same type) is that they do not properly tune the truck. As already mentioned the truck has a propensity to blow heads in stock form and those tuners increase that likelyhood of happening exponentially particularly b/c people can't stay out of it(and there are some that said they had no intention of running the **** out of it, but still did anyway b/c it was fun, so don't try to convince yourself you'll do that either).

If your going to go the tuner route, get custom tunes. That has been the most reliable form of tuning that people have found for the 6.0. Sure there are some that got lucky with the brands listed above, but if you were to go by percentages, custom tunes and "longevity" are closer related with the 6.0 then the other tuners.

I would suggest gauges rather or not you get the truck tuned. The gauges, with the possible exception of the boost gauge, are crap on the cluster. The sensors for those gauges are decent, but not what actually is being displayed to the driver.

You do not need an intake if all your doing is just tuning the vehicle. The stock intake is the best when it comes to quality, filtration, and air flow. They actually got it right with this one. I do have another argument though against an a/m intake when it comes to performance. Even though those intakes do flow more air, they don't flow more air until you hit 3,700 rpms(at best, some it takes higher rpms) and the peak hp is at 3,300 and peak tq is at 2,000. Extra airflow at 3,700 wouldn't be usable to a stock or slightly modified truck. You'll have to do somethink like what's in my siggy to make it beneficial performance wise for an a/m intake.

I would get a 4" exhaust, rather or not it's cat or turbo-back willl depend on emissions in your area and how keen you are on following those rules. Don't go higher until you start doing things that are listend in my siggy as well as you will actually lose some low-end tq going bigger then 4" and not being able to push enough air quick enough out.

I would also suggest heading over to the 6.0 forum and PM Bismic and get his speadsheet on the 6.0. Very detailed and for a newbie like you, it would be very beneficial. Tell him I sent you on over if you do.

 

thanks for the great info. one of the first things i did when i signed up was request the spreadsheets and they were sent to me that night. i have read lots of people stressing the importance of adding guages and watching temps, stock or not. i do have a few more qustions to build on the great info. Here is where the curiosity comes from. i have a mid weight, 13,000lbs. loaded, 31ft 5th wheel. i am looking at options to increase the towing capicity some for a reason that i have not quite figured out. i think the truck towes pretty damm good right now. it wasn't until i was towing uphill through the sierra mountains that i have really had to stomp on it. is it worth putting the custom tunner in and what would be the benifits for me and what i use the truck for. what are the best brands and locations to get the top custom tuners for my needs.

 

Towing capacity doesn't need to be increased if 13k is the weight your hauling loaded and the heaviest weight your hauling.

However, the easiest and cheapest upgrade to help towing your trailer is going to be gears. I would imagine with an F-250 you have either 3.73(most likely) or you might have 4.10s. 4.30 would help you haul things easier although it will kill your interstate mileage unless you keep it between 60-65, but it will help your in-town mileage(strange I know, but it does work).

Gears won't increase your towing capacity per se, to do that you'll actually need to change the structure of your truck and the cheapest thing really with regard to that is upgrade your truck or do gears and be happy. If 13k is the heaviest your hauling, gears will be sufficient.





For the 6.0 as of right now the best brand of tuner is SCT and the best person to get tunes from is Innovative Diesel. They do offer packages deal(tuners and tunes, both are normally sold seperately).

The livewire has had some "teething pains" that seem to still be there, so I really wouldn't go that route trying to kill 2 birds with one stone(tuner and gauges). If you want digital obd-II type gauges I would suggest the Dashdaq and spend the extra scratch for the Ford license as that will give you the ability to read Ford specific codes(something that normal tuners can't give you only specialty tools and software can) and gives you the ability to get specialty sensors that things like the livewire can't read for. You can also add analog sensor inputs and have them displayed on the dashdaq(EGTs, fuel and oil pressure etc).

One tune that you might be interest in gettings is the tow tune with the "jake brake" option. It uses the stock VGT turbo to act as a jake brake to help with trailer braking. Considering you're pulling 13k, you could probably get somewhat of an aggressive braking one as well.

Also the beauty of having custom tuner like SCT is that if you do decide to upgrade turbos and injectors, you can get the some person to re-write your tunes for those options and you don't have to buy another tuner to handle those upgrades and you can upgrade those components and still tow with it quite reliable. I tow horses for a living.


EDIT: Have you also downloaded the 66MB file: 6.0L Bible? Between the spreadsheet and that, those are the two files I keep on jump drives to use at whatever computer I'm at, wherever I go.

 

great info, just what i was looking for. a good explanation for something i am still trying to understand. thanks