[Adrass9]

I am in the market for a new turbo/injectors. I have done a lot of research but still not finding some of the answers I would like. I currently have a 2007 f250 ccsb (6.0) with 200k, studded, deleted, 4in turbo back exhaust, new OEM oil cooler, upgraded mishimoto aluminum radiator, xdp coolant filter, sct livewire with canned tunes(will upgrade tunes according to turbo and possibly FICM tunes), blue spring upgrade, Rudy's CAC piping including air intake (switching to no limit intake), ccv reroute, CAT ELC coolant. i will be adding an egt probe as well and the xdp up-pipe because my current one has a small crack.

I am looking for more power, i will upgrade injectors if/when required. i do not tow a bunch but i am purchasing a camper soon, not sure yet if it will be tow behind or gooseneck as i am set up for both. i plan on doing a cross country trip with it at minimum once a year as well as local trips thoughout the southeastern part of the country. i live in GA and it gets hot! i am concerned with EGTs.

i have read that the stage 2 isnt bad if you can keep temps down by keeping RPMs up around 2000-2500 as the powerband shifts with bigger turbos. i understand the "loss" of power during lower RPMs with it as well. my main concern like i said is EGTs with the stage 2. the stage 1 on the other hand (to my knowledge) is almost opposite, more power at lower RPMs. and will work fine with stock injectors but i may upgrade anyway to 155s. not sure if i should do 155/stock or 30 though. how does the stage 1 perform without a load during hiring RPMs? is it comparable to stock turbos? i know the stage 1 is better designed for towing but as i previously stated i will not be towing constantly. i want more power for day to day driving as well.

there is so much conflicting info with these turbos when it comes to towing. and for the stage one the 10 or 13 blade? im just looking for a bit more information before i make my decision.

if any of yall have any experience with both or either one id like your input, if you know someone who is in this forum that has any information please tag them.

thanks!
-Andrew


edit i am currently overseas and will be returning at the end of the year, thats when all this will take place****

 

[kbnw15]

If you are just looking to go to 155s I wouldn't worry. There are a lot of guys out there running 190/30 injectors and that pairs very well with the Stage 2 and was what I was planning on doing before I punted on my 6.0.

At the time that I sold it I had a stage 2 turbo on completely stock fuel and I towed extremely heavy with it and didn't have much issues. They key is to get good tuning and you should be ok. I would highly recommend TSD tunes. I had the Super Panty dropper for my drive around/hot tune and then a modified Mild Panty Dropper for my tow tune and it worked great. Many times I left it in the tow tune it drove so well, only when I knew I was going to be going for a long drive would i turn it up.

 

[HeavyAssault]

Ported intake manifold.....oh...did I say that out loud?

 

[Adrass9]

If you are just looking to go to 155s I wouldn't worry. There are a lot of guys out there running 190/30 injectors and that pairs very well with the Stage 2 and was what I was planning on doing before I punted on my 6.0.

At the time that I sold it I had a stage 2 turbo on completely stock fuel and I towed extremely heavy with it and didn't have much issues. They key is to get good tuning and you should be ok. I would highly recommend TSD tunes. I had the Super Panty dropper for my drive around/hot tune and then a modified Mild Panty Dropper for my tow tune and it worked great. Many times I left it in the tow tune it drove so well, only when I knew I was going to be going for a long drive would i turn it up.

so its not just going with 155s or not. if i went with the stage one then i would do 155/30 if i went with stage 2 i would do 175/30 with RR. im also looking into tuning as well once i decide which turbo im going with. ive heard good things about TSD well really heard good things with all tune writers as long as the truck can support said tune. thank you for the input. when you say tow real heavy, how heavy is real heavy?

 

[Adrass9]

Ported intake manifold.....oh...did I say that out loud?

care to explain?

 

[R&Rpowerstroke]

Ported intake would be the OdawgSr2 or Sr3 they help with spool and keeping egt's down with more less restrictive air. Ok so ?I had a KC Stage 2, and now have a Kc stage 1. Stage 2 was a 10 blade and sounded just like my 03 straight piped think jet engine. Stage 1 is 13 blade and I now have a muffler but even straight piped the 13 blade is quieter. I have only had and will always have stock injectors so if one goes down I can more easily get another. So here is the difference in my opinion stock sticks and towing 17,000 fifth wheel. Stage 2 I could push 45psi of boost, stage 1 41psi, stage 1 spools about 200 rpm lower which is great for pulling grades and less smoke down low on full fuel tune. Stage 2 straight piped was way to load to tow for my dogs, I loved it and wife loved it by my old boxer would bury her head. I found myself cruising along at slower speeds and was never getting hot on egt's with stage 1. Basically I would hover around 1100 at 60-65 with stage 2 and stage 1 towing was 900 or so. Now this is gross vehicle weight of 24,000+ also. On stock sticks and good fuel pressure they are pretty equal and I loved both. For my needs I am happy with the stage 1 because egt's are slightly lower and my fuel actually went up between .5-1 might. If you want to play the horse power game eventually then get the stage 2 and use it. I originally planned on bigger sticks but after thinking about driving cross country and towing I decided against it. With a proper fuel system and the stage 1 I bet 450-500 hp is actually achievable. With both turbos I have smoked newer Fords, Dodges, and Chevys and with my stage 1 I have outpulled all the competition on hills. If you set on building your truck either will suit you now on stock sticks, if your dead set on upgrading to larger injectors then get the stage 2.

 

[HeavyAssault]

Also with the ported manifold remember air and fuel has a great relationship with the right ratio. Tweak the tuning.....it's going to be great.

Just something to think of if you are getting a bigger turbo with bigger injectors.

 

[Adrass9]

Ported intake would be the OdawgSr2 or Sr3 they help with spool and keeping egt's down with more less restrictive air. Ok so ?I had a KC Stage 2, and now have a Kc stage 1. Stage 2 was a 10 blade and sounded just like my 03 straight piped think jet engine. Stage 1 is 13 blade and I now have a muffler but even straight piped the 13 blade is quieter. I have only had and will always have stock injectors so if one goes down I can more easily get another. So here is the difference in my opinion stock sticks and towing 17,000 fifth wheel. Stage 2 I could push 45psi of boost, stage 1 41psi, stage 1 spools about 200 rpm lower which is great for pulling grades and less smoke down low on full fuel tune. Stage 2 straight piped was way to load to tow for my dogs, I loved it and wife loved it by my old boxer would bury her head. I found myself cruising along at slower speeds and was never getting hot on egt's with stage 1. Basically I would hover around 1100 at 60-65 with stage 2 and stage 1 towing was 900 or so. Now this is gross vehicle weight of 24,000+ also. On stock sticks and good fuel pressure they are pretty equal and I loved both. For my needs I am happy with the stage 1 because egt's are slightly lower and my fuel actually went up between .5-1 might. If you want to play the horse power game eventually then get the stage 2 and use it. I originally planned on bigger sticks but after thinking about driving cross country and towing I decided against it. With a proper fuel system and the stage 1 I bet 450-500 hp is actually achievable. With both turbos I have smoked newer Fords, Dodges, and Chevys and with my stage 1 I have outpulled all the competition on hills. If you set on building your truck either will suit you now on stock sticks, if your dead set on upgrading to larger injectors then get the stage 2.

this is what im looking for! thanks for the info. i dont really plan on building this truck too much. just looking for more power while still being able to tow a camper cross country as well as local. the only reason i was going to get bigger injectors was solely for the stage 2. the big question is how is the top end power on the stage 1? that is one thing i read on either turbo, is you sacrifice low end power for top end with stage 2 and the basically the opposite for stage one. i still want to have the added power when i do not have a full load. would you recommend the odawg intake for the stage one set up? why or why not?

thanks

 

[R&Rpowerstroke]

this is what im looking for! thanks for the info. i dont really plan on building this truck too much. just looking for more power while still being able to tow a camper cross country as well as local. the only reason i was going to get bigger injectors was solely for the stage 2. the big question is how is the top end power on the stage 1? that is one thing i read on either turbo, is you sacrifice low end power for top end with stage 2 and the basically the opposite for stage one. i still want to have the added power when i do not have a full load. would you recommend the odawg intake for the stage one set up? why or why not?

thanks

Depending on budget I would suggest it yes, I feel like it helped with egt's while towing max weight and helped spool faster. It is one of those things that is nice to have but not really necessary to have right now I suppose. Between the two turbos like I said I did get more boost out of the stage 2 but my truck is quicker with the stage 1 I feel. With the stage 2 I almost ended up getting gears, with the stage 1 I am fine with stock gearing. If you plan on camping or towing close to max weight you will spend more in the long run with the stage 2 but it will be more fun to drive empty. If you plan on keeping it and have the funds build it how you want it from the get go would be my advice. If I could go back in time I would have went stage one from the get go considering Towing, spool time, and just all around being fun to drive, but again 450 or so is plenty of hp for me. Till you upgrade your injectors and use the potential of the stage 2 you are just loosing a bit of boost at lower rpm.

 

[Adrass9]

Depending on budget I would suggest it yes, I feel like it helped with egt's while towing max weight and helped spool faster. It is one of those things that is nice to have but not really necessary to have right now I suppose. Between the two turbos like I said I did get more boost out of the stage 2 but my truck is quicker with the stage 1 I feel. With the stage 2 I almost ended up getting gears, with the stage 1 I am fine with stock gearing. If you plan on camping or towing close to max weight you will spend more in the long run with the stage 2 but it will be more fun to drive empty. If you plan on keeping it and have the funds build it how you want it from the get go would be my advice. If I could go back in time I would have went stage one from the get go considering Towing, spool time, and just all around being fun to drive, but again 450 or so is plenty of hp for me. Till you upgrade your injectors and use the potential of the stage 2 you are just loosing a bit of boost at lower rpm.

sounds good, thanks for all the information.

 

[BTL]

I have a 2003 with a stage 2 turbo and 175/30s. I usually daily drive a fuel limited MPD tune. I smoke when I put my foot in it but it clears up after a couple seconds. It has plenty of power with this tune. If I daily run the SPD tune I smoke all of the time, I do not like it, it looks terrible. It gives me plenty of power but it looks like I am driving an 1800s locomotive. When running the SPD tunes the longer I go without driving it hard, the more it smokes, even while taking it easy. When running the fuel limited MPD tune I can hit 1300 deg exhaust temps going up a grade. I hit the tow/haul button and the RPMs go up to 2300 and I cool down to 1100 degs. This is all while empty, not towing or hauling anything. If I were to do it again I would go with a stage 1 turbo with stock injectors or 175 stock injectors. I would not go with opened up fuel ports. I do not have any technical knowledge relating to injectors or turbos or tunes. I just know that my current setup is not ideal. I have a feeling I will be swapping out my stage 2 turbo for a stage 1 turbo after I start hauling a boat around.
BTL

 

[kbnw15]

When I was loaded my weights were in line with @R&Rpowerstroke. The few times I weighed the truck and trailers it all scaled out at 25k at least usually. I was not going more than 15-20 miles usually with this and only really had one big steep hill to pull to get to our landing for that farm. I never really struggled with EGTS or smoke in the tow tune. I could hardly get it to puff smoke in the tow tune ever. I really wish I would have done it sooner and paired it with 175/30 or 190/30s just because for some reason I got into the modding itch and just loved it.

If you have a chance you really should email Charlie over at KC Turbos. He answered all my questions in a relatively timely manner. I usually never had to wait more than 12 hrs for a response from him and he does a great job of clearing up what should work and why. I honestly felt like he talked me out of spending unnecessary money that I would have been buying off him anyway so that is always a guy I would recommend.

 

[Adrass9]

I have a 2003 with a stage 2 turbo and 175/30s. I usually daily drive a fuel limited MPD tune. I smoke when I put my foot in it but it clears up after a couple seconds. It has plenty of power with this tune. If I daily run the SPD tune I smoke all of the time, I do not like it, it looks terrible. It gives me plenty of power but it looks like I am driving an 1800s locomotive. When running the SPD tunes the longer I go without driving it hard, the more it smokes, even while taking it easy. When running the fuel limited MPD tune I can hit 1300 deg exhaust temps going up a grade. I hit the tow/haul button and the RPMs go up to 2300 and I cool down to 1100 degs. This is all while empty, not towing or hauling anything. If I were to do it again I would go with a stage 1 turbo with stock injectors or 175 stock injectors. I would not go with opened up fuel ports. I do not have any technical knowledge relating to injectors or turbos or tunes. I just know that my current setup is not ideal. I have a feeling I will be swapping out my stage 2 turbo for a stage 1 turbo after I start hauling a boat around.
BTL

okay thanks for the info! hitting that high of egts without a load on a grade is concerning to me. even with hitting tow/haul and dropping just below potential "catastrophic" temps is scary. imagine with a load. im leaning a little more toward the stage 1. thanks

 

[Adrass9]

When I was loaded my weights were in line with @R&Rpowerstroke. The few times I weighed the truck and trailers it all scaled out at 25k at least usually. I was not going more than 15-20 miles usually with this and only really had one big steep hill to pull to get to our landing for that farm. I never really struggled with EGTS or smoke in the tow tune. I could hardly get it to puff smoke in the tow tune ever. I really wish I would have done it sooner and paired it with 175/30 or 190/30s just because for some reason I got into the modding itch and just loved it.

If you have a chance you really should email Charlie over at KC Turbos. He answered all my questions in a relatively timely manner. I usually never had to wait more than 12 hrs for a response from him and he does a great job of clearing up what should work and why. I honestly felt like he talked me out of spending unnecessary money that I would have been buying off him anyway so that is always a guy I would recommend.

yeah ill have to shoot him an email and see hear it from the horses mouth. thanks!

 

[RBL3]

@Adrass9 ; any updates on your situation. What did u decide and what is your experience with ur decision? I’m kinda in the same boat and could use some more input.