Have you Gone Bigger?

[leemedic]

How many here have gone to a larger diameter exhaust system on their tow vehicles?

If you did, what kind of performance improvement did you experience?

[mlh]

I didn't do a large exhaust. I just added a 210 HP chip and got rid of the DPF and the EGR and added a much better fuel filter. The 210 HP chip brings me fly wheel HP to about 610 HP. My tuner has programs that go from zero added HP to 350 added HP. I use the 210 early lock because it is the tow haul tune.
Lynwood

[bigskyjimmy]

In my Experience of adding A performance Exhaust and MANY other upgrades to cars ,trucks ,Yes you gain a little(you will not notice much) But that is just one step in making a bigger difference,to take advantage of the free flowing Exhaust you got to pair it up with a aftermarket Intake to take more air IN , Tuners to get even more air and fuel in etc... THEN You will really Notice.. BUT do not get to Greedy with Tuners when Towing Get some gauges and keep track of your EGT's etc..IMO I would save the money on the Exhaust and spend it on a Good tuner FIRST then do the rest and that's what I did

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by bigskyjimmy

In my Experience of adding A performance Exhaust and MANY other upgrades to cars ,trucks ,Yes you gain a little(you will not notice much) But that is just one step in making a bigger difference,to take advantage of the free flowing Exhaust you got to pair it up with a aftermarket Intake to take more air IN , Tuners to get even more air and fuel in etc... THEN You will really Notice.. BUT do not get to Greedy with Tuners when Towing Get some gauges and keep track of your EGT's etc..IMO I would save the money on the Exhaust and spend it on a Good tuner FIRST then do the rest and that's what I did

Bigskyjimmy,

I understand you love for the tuners, but I have a 2006 Ford 6.0, and I understand the tuners create more HP, and just not sure what the extra HP would do to the stock head gaskets/stud on my engine.

I know that EGT is the devil on the 6.0, and I thought if I can get a free flowing exhaust, it would relieve some of the heat from the engine. Does that sound logical?

[bigskyjimmy]

Actually I do not have a love for tuners they just work well when done right and they are the best Mod for the money,You are correct about your 6.0 head studs and gaskets etc..,I have to be carefull too with the LB7 Duramax and my Allison Trans as well that s why I NEVER go over just a Towing tune about 60-80 lbs of extra torque and it has worked out great for me ,I use the Banks Auto minder plug and Play it is a very safe tune for Stock motors,for the money you will spend on an Quality Exhaust I think you will be disappointed with the results and I have Done ALOT of tuning to Diesels and Gas motors and putting a Exhaust does not do a lot if you do not do an Intake etc.. to take full advantage of it and Yes you are right doing an Exhaust AND cool intake will lower EGT's some....but you will not go WOW!!! the power is Awesome!from those Mods,some folks go nuts with the tuners and get Greedy with the Performance tunes on a stock motor and then you are asking for trouble,,,Everything in Moderation my friend Just my 2 bits..By the way as a matter of fact ever since I got this new Monty which weighs about 300 more pounds than my 2012 it is making my truck struggle going up the passes even with the mods I've made so I am looking at a Newer truck because I do not want to Upgrade the head bolts,Gaskets and the trans to be able to handle any more power upgrades Which SUCKS CUZ I love my Truck and it has served me well

[jlb27537]

I have to agree 100% with bigsky. You will not see enough change in only a exhaust change to justify the expense.

Unless you do a 100% delete on the 6.0 and change what needs to be changed, the 6.0 is a known problem and the fixes are well known.

I went thru the chip, exhaust, gauges, tranny upgrade, diff cover, diff gauge, on my 2001 7.3. It made a huge difference, but after spending all that money, it would not hold a candle to my '12 Ram.

Save your $$ or just consider a later model truck.

[MHC305RL]

Your best bet is to find a truck forum. I use Ford Truck Enthusiasts mostly. I did a 4" turbo back Magnaflow on my 2006 6.0 because I wanted lower EGT's. I have read that with the EGR delete (which I just did a couple of weeks ago) and the turbo exhaust, people have seen EGT's lower 200 to 300 degrees. I couldn't tell any performance gain from it (I didn't expect any). Then I bought my SCT tuner and 3 custom tunes from Gearhead Performance. I have towed with the towing tune which mostly just changes the shift points and things to the tranny. For daily driving I have a SRL tune that totally transforms the truck. The throttle response and power is ridiculous, but you can not tow with it at all because of EGT's. Along with a hotter thermostat (which I am replacing with a stock one for the summer), I went from 12.5 mpg to over 16 with the SRL tune driving to work and back. That is with a dually with 4.10 gears.

The exhaust was real simple to do, only took me 3.5 hours from start to finish, and cost less than #300 from Amazon.

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by MHC305RL

Your best bet is to find a truck forum. I use Ford Truck Enthusiasts mostly. I did a 4" turbo back Magnaflow on my 2006 6.0 because I wanted lower EGT's. I have read that with the EGR delete (which I just did a couple of weeks ago) and the turbo exhaust, people have seen EGT's lower 200 to 300 degrees. I couldn't tell any performance gain from it (I didn't expect any). Then I bought my SCT tuner and 3 custom tunes from Gearhead Performance. I have towed with the towing tune which mostly just changes the shift points and things to the tranny. For daily driving I have a SRL tune that totally transforms the truck. The throttle response and power is ridiculous, but you can not tow with it at all because of EGT's. Along with a hotter thermostat (which I am replacing with a stock one for the summer), I went from 12.5 mpg to over 16 with the SRL tune driving to work and back. That is with a dually with 4.10 gears.

The exhaust was real simple to do, only took me 3.5 hours from start to finish, and cost less than #300 from Amazon.

Thanks for the info. I am not looking for more power, my concern was EGT. I live in Florida, and it gets warm here. Buying another truck is out of the question. I had rather spend a little to make is a better/more stable engine. I love my truck, just want to make sure it is going to be reliable.

[bigskyjimmy]

Yep I hear ya,I was a hard core Ford guy until they came out with the 6.0 and I had to Bail but You can fix the 6.0 to make it a good motor EGR delete,better egr cooler,better oil filter etc..,I just did not want to spend the Money "fixing"it but now that you got it and going to keep it you are on the right track,there is TONS of Ford Forums and Companies that sell products and give info on how to Bulletproof these Motors

[scott-pati]

Be careful you might get a loud drone sound when cruising the highway at certain speeds and when accelerating.

[1retired06]

we have never messed with stock engines because of potential warranty issues. Our trucks have always run well, and the 6.7 in our Ford has been perfect.

[bigskyjimmy]

The 6.7 is a WHOLE different animal,Ford went In House with that one and as come out with a winner that is for sure[,if I could afford one I would buy one]

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

we have never messed with stock engines because of potential warranty issues. Our trucks have always run well, and the 6.7 in our Ford has been perfect.

[leemedic]

Sometimes you just have to play the hand you are dealt.

[mlh]

Exhaust won't by its self won't make your truck more reliable. An EGR and studs will. Then you can add an exhaust.
Lynwood

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

...we have never messed with stock engines because of potential warranty issues...

Same here, plus I wonder what that extra power will do to the transmission.

[mlh]

His transmission will easily handle all the power his 6L can throw at it, no problem. It's good for at least 1000 tk. My truck is putting out well over 1000 pounds.
Lynwood

[richard66]

All the new diesel trucks have plenty of power and torque in stock form and are still reliable. You don't need 1000 pounds of torque and 600hp to tow. Save your money for other things.

[mtheo]

I did the big exhaust, chip and exhaust brake from Banks. It made a world of difference on my truck, but I have an older chevy with only 300 hp stock and it had a hard time pulling some of the hill around here. Do need to watch the exhaust temps.

[mlh]

People have been saying 'you don't need any more power' since the 7.3 Ford came out. Every time the factory comes out with more power everybody that gets one says ' sure do like all that power'. Never heard anybody say my truck has too much power.
Lynwood

[kingdaddy]

Here's my .02 My Ram has a Banks exhaust (sounds good but quiet), Cold air intake (under bumper snorkel) and Hi Ram intake (between the intercooler and intake manifold). Each will provide an incremental power increase, and will probably help EGTs somewhat. As long as you are realistic about your expectations, you may or may not feel it's worthwhile. Obviously, I did. Some engines respond better (or at least different) to different types of mods. The Banks stuff isn't cheap, but it's well made and I'm satisfied.
For a bit more money, you could try an aftermarket intercooler. There are a number out there, some better than others. I personally may go with Banks again if I do that. People are saying you could expect a 200 degree drop in EGT, but that would certainly depend on your vehicle and other variables.
As others have mentioned, the best bang for buck is easily a GOOD programmable tuner (I have Smarty Jr.) With my mods I am probably close to 500 HP and around 800-900 lbs of torque. No problem with EGTs but I don't push it.
You may know this already, but if the EGTs are climbing (assume you have a gauge?) if you drop down a gear, raising the RPM your temps will drop...of course you may need to slow a bit, but it's better than hurting your engine!