Best Powerstroke 6.0L Upgrades - DieselPowerUp (2023)

In this guide, we'll look at a few ways to start you on your way to getting more out of your 6.0 Powerstroke.

We'll start with the basics. An EGR delete kit, air intake and exhaust are great ways to increase your truck's power and reliability, as modifying these systems allows your truck to breathe much easier and run much more efficiently.

We've compiled a short list of the parts you'll need for these upgrades for the 6.0L engine in ’03-07 Forddiesel trucks. If you have a newer truck, check out our guides on it6.4 litersiPowerful shots 6.7L.

• The best receiver for the Powerstroke 6.0L

The one key to getting the most horsepower, torque and fuel economy out of the 6.0 is a good tuner.

Sometimes called a programmer or chip, the right receiver will allow you to change the fuel map, erase codes and certain sensors, display gauges and virtual gauges to monitor your truck, and more. It is a vital part of any construction.

There are a lot of options when it comes to 6.0 receivers, but only a few give you maximum tuning right out of the box. Our favorite is Livewire, mainly for its on-screen tracking/counter capabilities.

• Blue Spring Fuel Pressure Upgrade Kit

The Blue Spring mod is a very popular performance and reliability upgrade for 6.0 and for good reason. This simple trick will increase fuel pressure by about 10-15psi, making your truck run much quieter while also reducing pressure on the injectors.

For your money it is one of the cheapest and best fuel models you can get in these trucks. Especially needed if you intend to add other boost mods to your truck.

• Turbo rear exhaust

Very simply, the best turbo rear exhaust system for a 6.0 powerstroke is a simple straight pipe (no restriction) from the turbo directly behind the truck.

Having an exhaust without all the factory restrictions has some great benefits (lower exhaust temps, faster spool up than a turbo), but my two favorite side effects are horsepower and torque!

One thing to watch out for when finding a good exhaust system: mandrel bending. This simply means that the bends in the exhaust are made with some kind of die inserted into the pipe at the bend, to prevent bending (broken into pieces in the middle of the bend.)

When you want to maximize flow and coil times, you'll want to minimize any flow disturbances, especially where the exhaust has to go around bends and corners. This makes these types of bends far superior to crush bent exhausts, they just flow much better because the middle of the bend isn't broken and doesn't impede flow. Any good exhaust will always use mandrel bends.

Our favorite for 6.0 is this show below. This is a kit that fits all ’03-’07 Ford Powerstroke truck bed sizes.

• Air supply kit

An air intake kit is probably the most common modification that people start with when looking for more performance, and the reason is obvious:

Engines need air and fuel to produce power. The more air and fuel, the more power, it's that simple. Having a supercharger like the 6.0 makes unrestricted breathing even more important.

Almost unlimited breathing is the goal of most aftermarket employees, and many of them are doing just that. Also, they are all very similar in shape. Since most of them will do the job of opening up the airflow, it basically comes down to differences in performance versus reliability, maintenance, and cost.

This Specter strikes the balance between form and function very well. Because of the heat shield design (which actually draws in cold air) and the reusable dry filters, I'd say it's the best entry price for the powerstroke 6.0. The main concern with many other aftermarket intake designs is that they leave the filter exposed to engine bay heat. This is a very bad idea, especially considering how hot the underfloor temperatures can get in these trucks.

The Specter kit solves the under-hood temperature problem with a thermal protection filter that pulls air out of your engine compartment like an intake always should. The design of the heat shield allows you to visually inspect the filter and makes removing it for cleaning much easier than adjusting the basic one. The rubber gasket they include prevents airflow around the heat shield, making the device draw even cooler air from outside the engine.

When it comes to reliability and maintenance, the best part about the dry filters that Specter uses in this kit is that they can be reused multiple times and never need oil. All you need is just washing with soap and water (rinsing from the inside out) from time to time. Alternatively, you can wipe the filter (outside) to remove dirt, which works well. But one thing I learned the hard way with dry filters, NEVER try to clean a filter with compressed air, you end up destroying the media and having to buy a new one (my wallet speaks from experience here.)

• Garrett PowerMax Turbo nadogradnja

This turbo is a huge power upgrade, if your original turbo needs replacing or you simply want up to 175 more horsepower, look no further than the PowerMax. You will be able to install this turbo with no more hassle than installing the original Garrett that came in your truck, it is a true replacement.

Garrett is at the forefront of turbo technology, and the attention to detail in the powermax really shows their innovation. One of the coolest features is the variable flap technology they incorporated into the design, which tapers down and opens up. This greatly increases the efficiency of the turbine as the revs change, which maintains maximum power from idle to redline.

• Upgrade of the EGR cooler

If you still run your truck on US roads and need to keep the emissions system intact, luckily there is an option to upgrade the problematic factory EGR cooler installed on the 6.0 Powerstroke.

This cooler is a major upgrade from the factory Ford EGR cooler. Made from stainless steel and excellent TIG welds, it looks as good as it works. Internally, their design ditches Ford's factory honeycomb (which always clogs up without fail) and instead uses rounded tubes as the medium.

They pressure test their coolers to ensure there are no leaks during installation. Airtightness is something you want to be sure of when going through the trouble of installing a replacement radiator. The installation itself is a direct replacement, so there is no need to touch or modify other EGR components.

• EGR cleaning kit

This EGR Rail Upgrade Kit is the result of a new direction in EGR wiper design, addressing many of the installation and leakage issues of today's kits on the market.

It's obvious from the close-up photos of the excellent TIG welds on the tubes and the expert machining on the plate, they really have nothing to hide in the construction like you'd see with offshore replicas.

They also seem to have paid a lot of attention to the J-tube and how it connects to the adapter plate. This is the only design of its kind that I have seen and is most likely the result of the manufacturer looking at current designs and their leak points and coming up with a fix.

• Riser tube and dummy plug upgrade kit

If your truck is having trouble starting after it warms up, you probably have a leak in your oil system, which is causing the injectors to not be at full pressure. A very common point of leaking oil pressure is the seals on the dummy plugs, which causes the fuel pressure to be too low to get the truck started right away.

If you've checked the usual electricity suspects, such asFICM, IPR and IPC and are working as intended, then you will likely have a loss of oil pressure.

A good upgrade kit to replace the dummy plugs and swivel is this kit, it solves the problems your original dummy plugs have with worn or broken seals, sealing the oil system which will bring the fuel pressure back to normal.

• 6.4 Startup Upgrade

The perfect upgrade for 6.0 trucks that have very slow starters is a much better version available on 6.4 and newer trucks. Ford has revised the gear assembly on the newer starters, resulting in much faster starting times.

It's a simple replacement, nothing needs to be changed, so this upgrade is amazing if your current startup is too slow.

• A set of head gaskets and a set of ARP studs

The most difficult upgrade is replacing the gaskets and head bolts with new gaskets and pins that hold everything together. Unfortunately, this is an upgrade that many 6.0 owners have had to do, and head gasket issues are the weak link in these trucks.

It's so common that there are now bulletproof kit options to replace everything this job requires, including intake flanges and all the other little flanges you wouldn't normally think of when ordering, all in one handy box with brand new ARP studs - which must be fitted. Factory bolts naturally can't have the same clamping force that stock bolts can and that's one thing you really need on a high boost 6.0.

The only thing to look out for when choosing a set of head gaskets is the manufacturing dates of your case. Basically, if your truck was built before January 14, 2006 and has t40 Torx bolts to hold the injectors - then you have 18mm studs in your heads. Of course, you should get a kit that has head gaskets to match these studs.

After January 14, 2006 and 2007, heads have 20mm studs. That's really the only problem with ordering a kit, pay attention to that and your parts will match when you go to reassemble the beast of a job.

• Intercooler tube upgrade

Factory 6.0 intercoolers are known to be a weak point. After years of sitting on top of a hot engine, they often break down and leak. The best way to deal with this is with an intercooler pipe upgrade kit like this one.

• Aluminum degassing bottle and Y-tube upgrade

Another huge failure point on the 6.0 that almost always needs to be addressed is a failed coolant cap and possibly a cracked and leaking plastic degassing bottle.

Fortunately, there are many aftermarket aluminum degassing bottles that solve this problem for good. My favorite comes from Rudy's Diesel as a package. They also included an aluminum replacement for the Y pipe which is another point of failure in your powerstoke coolant system.

Don't fall victim to head gasket failure from a simple coolant leak, bulletproof your cooling system before it happens!

conclusion

We hope this has answered your questions about performance upgrades to get you started on upgrading your 6.0 Powerstroke. If you have any questions, comments, or other news that you think should be on the list, be sure to let us know in the comments below, thanks for reading!