New to Ford Diesels

[FordDizzle]

I have been a diesel mech./fabricator for a long time and have quite a bit of experience, but I have always owned a cummins in the past. I love Cummins but I can't stand Dodge trucks. I am a Ford 6.0 rookie. I am going to purchase a 6.0 soon and need to know what the best year was for making modifications. I want to straight pipe it with cat delete, delete the EGR, stud the heads, and put a tuner on it that will have tunes to recognize the deletion of emissions equipment. What is the best year to buy out of the 03-07 6.0 for making mods? Who makes the best cat delete, egr delete, and tuners that are compatible and will eliminate check engine lights? I know there are a lot of good tuner manufactures on the market, but who offers the most reliable power without affecting truck longevity and the best fuel economy for 6.0s? Also what is the best fuel mileage some of you guys can get out of a 6.0? Sorry I am asking so many questions but I am new to the six-o's and I could spend some time searching and eventually come up with the answers to all of these, but I am in the market to purchase something soon and want to knock out the mods before I log any miles on it. Also what is a Zoodad mod? Thanks for all your help.

[mudrunninpig]

welcome to the org some will say the better years are 05-07. SCT with custom tunes will be the best for power and trans shifting. a zoodad mod is a hole cut in the fiberglass support next to the radiator allowing air to shoot directly into the intake

here is a pic of the mod on my old rig

[Goose350]

Welcome to the Org. I think any year 6.0 will be good for you since you plan on doing studs and egr delete but the 05 and up trucks a coil suspension and the new front end which are both nicer than the earlier years.

For the tuner the best is a SCT with custom tunes. I think any 4" turbo back exhaust will be fine and First Coast Diesel Performance has a very nice egr delete.

[FordDizzle]

Originally Posted by mudrunninpig

welcome to the org some will say the better years are 05-07. SCT with custom tunes will be the best for power and trans shifting. a zoodad mod is a hole cut in the fiberglass support next to the radiator allowing air to shoot directly into the intake

here is a pic of the mod on my old rig

OOOOHH COOL!! I like that. I've never been much of a fan for overpriced aftermarktet cold air intakes because all the ones I see draw hot engine bay air. When I was in high school I had a 92 f150 and I ran 6" dryer duct from inlet of the air box to a hole beside the radiator and it drew good cold air. Kinda redneck but effective.

[FordDizzle]

Originally Posted by Goose350

Welcome to the Org. I think any year 6.0 will be good for you since you plan on doing studs and egr delete but the 05 and up trucks a coil suspension and the new front end which are both nicer than the earlier years.

For the tuner the best is a SCT with custom tunes. I think any 4" turbo back exhaust will be fine and First Coast Diesel Performance has a very nice egr delete.

Thanks. I have also noticed that most of the 05+ trucks have built in trailer brakes which is somewhat insignificant but a plus nevertheless. I didn't know Ford changed suspensions...Good advice.

[trucktractorman]

Yea the 05-07 6.0's have the better front suspension under them. I dont know about a tuner but if you want a nice in cab display, get the power pda from banks. A friend of mine has got one and it is sweet. You can do all kinds of stuff with that thing. I'm pretty sure. which if you go with custom tunes im almost positive you can get the pda solely for the purpose of a display. Also, the pda acts as a set of gauges too.

[Goose350]

Originally Posted by FordDizzle

Thanks. I have also noticed that most of the 05+ trucks have built in trailer brakes which is somewhat insignificant but a plus nevertheless. I didn't know Ford changed suspensions...Good advice.

Yes they have it built in but it was an option so not every 05^ truck will have them. Most of the nicer trucks(lariat, kr, hd) will have them though.

And the new suspension rides a lot nicer and has a sharper turning radius.

[trucktractorman]

the newer ones also offered the option of the 4 auxilary switches which are very nice like for work lights on a flat bed or somthing of that nature

[dbkerley]

The integrated brake controller is the one thing I like about our '09.