Essential Solutions & Upgrades
Top 10: Best 6.0 Power Stroke Upgrades
Looking for the best 6.0 Powerstroke upgrades? If you’re rolling with a 6.0L Powerstroke, you already know this engine has potential, but it needs a few key upgrades to really shine. I’ve spent enough time under the hood of these beasts to tell you: the stock setup just doesn’t cut it. Whether you’re hauling heavy loads or just want that extra kick when you hit the throttle, some essential mods will make all the difference. We’re talking about upgrades that not only bump up horsepower but also tackle the weak spots that can leave you stranded. Let’s dive into the must-haves that’ll turn your 6.0L from a ticking time bomb into a bulletproof rig.
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Vinny Himes
- Comments
#1 Cold Air Intake
On every single 6.0L I have ever owned, I install an S&B cold air intake. If these engines can breathe easy, they’re much less likely to encounter common issues. You will notice better throttle response, a small increase in fuel economy, and definitely an increase in horsepower. You are relieving the turbocharger of unneeded stress by installing a free-flowing air filter, increased turbo life is a plus when a replacement turbo is no cheap fix!
Our Recommendation
#2 FICM Tuning
I HIGHLY recommend a Power Hungry Performance FICM Tune. One of the most affordable 6.0L Powerstroke upgrades that will give you the best bang per $$$. Speaking at diesel conferences around the country, I drive my trucks long distances to attend these events (if I don’t want to fly). Recently, I was speaking at a conference in Kentucky. While there I happened to purchase a “new to me” 4-door long bed Harley Davidson Edition F350. The truck is lifted and sitting on 37″ tires. Fuel economy wasn’t a concern, but I figured it was going to be pretty rough. The read out on the dash was showing 10.3 mpg the day I received the truck. The first thing I did was order an S&B intake, but it wasn’t going to be here in time for me to install it before the speaking event. So I did the next best thing I knew and loaded an 80 horse Power Hungry Performance FICM Tune onto my new to me truck. I didn’t reset the MPG read out, I just started driving. By the time I got home the following weekend, the readout on the dash was showing 13.8.
Our Recommendation
☝️☝️☝️ Watch our FICM Tuning Video ☝️☝️☝️
#3 EGR Cooler
The factory EGR cooler is junk, when it fails it will cause major issues, so you want to fix this before it fails. Bullet Proof Diesel makes the only aftermarket EGR Cooler that I recommend. At the time I am writing this, I am not an authorized Bullet Proof Diesel retailer. I am working on that, Bullet Proof Diesel is very strict about online stores slinging their parts, which I appreciate. It keeps the hack sites from having access to their parts, and ensures only good skilled, ethical shops are allowed to sell their products. I am not a salesman, I am a diesel technician, turned customer support, turned service writer, and now a diesel parts reviewer. So just because I can’t sell you this part, doesn’t make it less important. Order it straight from Bullet Proof Diesel they will get it to you in a timely manner.
Our Recommendation
#4 Head Studs
Over the past 15+ years, I’ve had 100s of customers do nothing to their head studs, then subsequently modify their 6.0’s with great success and zero issues. Alternatively, I’ve had 1000’s of customers who refused to do any mods without first addressing the head studs. Either way, here is the bottom line…these International engines were never designed to make the power that Ford pushed out of them. There simply weren’t enough head bolts per cylinder to hold the pressure. We all know that 6.0L Powerstrokes blow their head gaskets, almost as frequently as the 6.7 Cummins, and the LML Duramax. If you are scared of this happening to your 6.0, then you’ll need upgraded head studs.
Head studs are a big undertaking. I recommend finding a shop that’s KNOWN for making 6.0L Powerstrokes reliable. There are some really great shops out there. We have an extensive network of reliable, trustworthy shops around the country.
Our Recommendation
- ARP 6.0 Head Stud Kit
- Looking for a trusted shop to work on your 6.0?Leave a comment below or hit us up on Facebook. We can recommend a trustworthy shop near you.
#5 Fuel Pump
Now let’s start upgrading some known weak factory parts, that are going to result in performance increases. The first thing I would do is a FASS Fuel System. The factory fuel system has no water separation capabilities. Injector failure is very common in the 6.0L platform. Anything we can do to ensure long life out of those injectors is going to save you thousands of your hard-earned $$$. There are multiple things that will cause diesel injectors to fail, water, dirt, and air. FASS Fuel Systems is the only company out there properly removing all three of these elements from the fuel. There are a lot of other manufacturers that claim to do this, trust me, after 20 years of being in the diesel industry FASS is the only one doing this properly. Don’t fall for fancy marketing, don’t fall for cool company logos, buy a FASS and protect your diesel investment. You will thank me later!
Our Recommendation
#6 Regulated Return
This next part is once again to ensure we get as much life out of your injectors as possible. The factory fuel system naturally starves the rear injectors for fuel, the fuel comes from the fuel pump to the factory fuel filter housing which is quite restrictive. Then the fuel travels into the front of the cylinder heads and into the fuel gallery inside the cylinder head. That fuel flows into the first injector and as it takes a drink, fuel pressure and volume in the gallery drops, the second injector takes a drink and pressure and volume drop again, then the third injector takes it’s drink, by the time the back two injectors get fuel there’s nothing left. So the regulated return sends fuel into the back of the cylinder head as well as the front, making the fuel gallery a common rail as all injectors are now getting equal volume and pressure. This is going to result in better fuel atomization, which is better economy and performance! A regulated return is one of the best upgrades you can do to a 6.0L Powerstroke.
Our Recommendation
In loving memory of Danny Swafford. Rest in Peace.
#7 Cooling System
The factory cooling system is kind of a nightmare on these trucks, there are multiple rubber hoses that dry rot and crack over time, there are plastic pieces on the radiator and under the coolant reservoir that can crack and split. There’s one company I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone with their engineer and he’s done a really amazing job of addressing these issues and giving us an amazing 6.0L Cooling system rehab kit! It comes with everything you need to address all the factory cooling system failures I have ever had to address. This kit converts all those junky rubber hoses to silicon hoses that will last longer than the rest of the truck and converts the pesky plastic pieces into CNC machined aluminum.
Our Recommendation
#8 Intercooler
There’s one more stupid design that Ford let slip through on these trucks, and most of the time, in stock form this isn’t an issue. For guys towing heavy, and wanting more performance and power, the factory intercooler passenger’s side end tank is plastic, with enough boost pressure, it will split, or push away from the intercooler core. I have had this happen on one of my many 6.0L’s and I had to upgrade to a cast aluminum intercooler. This is a great upgrade because it helps reduce EGT’s and increases air density which results in more horse power that’s safe! There are a bunch of different intercoolers on the market, I like the fitment of the Mishimoto intercooler the most. They are also more commonly in stock and readily available! This kit includes the aluminum intercooler tubes and all new silicon boots, new clamps and that’s a big deal! These will replace the crappy rubber boots and plastic intercooler tube.
#9 Turbo Charger
Now that you have proper airflow, let’s take a look at the stock turbo charger. There are tons of companies making aftermarket variable geometry turbo chargers for these 6.0L’s. I personally like the VGT. There is alot of people that tell you go fixed vein. But we’ve gotten alot of complaints with the fixed vein. VGT’s are much more efficient and will stay up on boost better. That’s why I recommend the KC Turbo JetFire for your 6.0L. They stand behind their product, and customer service is his #1 goal. Any issues we have encountered, they correct it immediately. There are other manufacturers making great turbos, but KC Turbos wins the pot of best customer service paired with quality of performance.
Our Recommendation
#10 Custom PCM Tuning
Our Recommendation
- SCT 7015 X4 Performance Tuner
- NOTE: You’ll nee to get custom PCM tunes direct thru either ID Speed Shop (previously Innovative Tunes) or Gearhead.
CAUTION: Be careful, because certain PCM tunes will erase your FICM tuning. Do your research first!
Manifold
#8
The number one battle all 6.0L power strokes encounter in their quest for horsepower is airflow. The factory intake manifold and cylinder heads just don’t flow enough air for over 800 horsepower. For years, we threw bigger turbos, bigger injectors, nitrous, whatever we could get our hands on to try and break through that horsepower number. We just couldn’t do it, the heads couldn’t flow enough air to accomplish big horse power numbers. We sent a stock set of heads to a world renowned engine builder and he swiss cheesed them up to flow as much air as possible. We split a factory intake manifold in half and ported and polished it to flow as much as possible. Putting those two components together on the same truck that had us stuck at 800hp, finally let it blow past the 1,000hp mark with no other changes to the setup.
Oliver Matt changed all that when he released the SR2 high-flow intake manifold for the 6.0L Powerstroke. If your build is stuck and you want to push through to the next level, you can’t do it without an Odawg intake manifold!
Recommended Manifold Solution
Bonus Exhaust
The most important thing on your 6.0 is getting them opened up and breathing. So we don’t really care which exahust you get, as long as it breathes life into your 6.0. Our preference steers you toward either MagnaFlow, MBRP or AFE. Below we have recommended either a 4″ or 5″ from MBRP.
Our Recommendation
Other Essential 6.0 Powerstroke Upgrades
Obviously there are tons of upgrades and modifications you can make to your 6.0 Power Stroke. Below are some others we recommend or are worth mentioning if you’ve got time and money on your hands.
Other Essential 6.0L Tips
At this point, you have an awesome truck, with some stellar 6.0 Powerstroke upgrades, and it should produce many years of faithful service to you. Here are a few other friendly tips to ensure longevity of your 6.0.
Change Your Oil Too Much
Saving a couple bucks trying to stretch your oil changes out, could result in sludging of the oil, injector wear, it’s just not worth it.
Flush your cooling system every 2 years
Add back in fresh coolant. This never gets done and then major cooling system failures like, clogged oil coolers happen. It’s not worth it!
Vinny Himes
All-in-One Solution
6.0 Powerstroke Upgrades Package
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