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3.0 Powerstroke Modification limits

4266 Views 23 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Killu487
I have a 3.0 Powerstroke with ~28,000 miles. Never had any big issues all regular oil changes. Recently I’ve been taking it to some drag events it’s got a few passes. The current modifications I have done to it are water meth, tune from HP tuners, and a cold air intake, I’m legally required to say it hasn't been deleted but we know the truth. I’ve got like a small 100 dry shot witch I don’t use all that often.

I’ve only had one issue with the truck and that was from the tune. It being a variable turbo at times it’ll just start pulsing the boost it’ll bounce between 15-30 psi on the throttle. It clears up after re flashing the tune or driving a few miles.

I plan to build a turbo kit soon. Maybe up the nitros. I’ve been wondering what am I gonna need to look at upgrading or reinforcing to keep it from breaking one part then potentially taking out other components in the process.
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I admire you, I just do the things needed to keep her running. It is great to hear what these things can do.
I admire you, I just do the things needed to keep her running. It is great to hear what these things can do.
If you wanna know at diesel wars I beat a 2020 Raptor. My truck does a 9.10 is my fastest pass without spray.
Edit:The drag calculator said I was making ~475 to the wheels.
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Bad thing about the 3.0 is that no body makes performance parts so their is only so much I can do before I have to start making my own parts. And if someone does make parts specifically for F-150 with the 3.0 it’s more expensive that the universal parts that go for a fraction of the price.
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Hats off to you! As a former drag racer, I can say, some times it's not just hp that gets you down the track faster, but also getting the 60' time down. Better traction off the line and maybe a higher stall converter, or sometimes even a lower rpm stall converter (for diesels).
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It’s a small market, but if you decide to sell parts, you’ll have a captive customer base.
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I have a 3.0 Powerstroke with ~28,000 miles. Never had any big issues all regular oil changes. Recently I’ve been taking it to some drag events it’s got a few passes. The current modifications I have done to it are water meth, tune from HP tuners, and a cold air intake, I’m legally required to say it hasn't been deleted but we know the truth. I’ve got like a small 100 dry shot witch I don’t use all that often.

I’ve only had one issue with the truck and that was from the tune. It being a variable turbo at times it’ll just start pulsing the boost it’ll bounce between 15-30 psi on the throttle. It clears up after re flashing the tune or driving a few miles.

I plan to build a turbo kit soon. Maybe up the nitros. I’ve been wondering what am I gonna need to look at upgrading or reinforcing to keep it from breaking one part then potentially taking out other components in the process.
Don't keep me wondering. What are your times?
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Hats off to you! As a former drag racer, I can say, some times it's not just hp that gets you down the track faster, but also getting the 60' time down. Better traction off the line and maybe a higher stall converter, or sometimes even a lower rpm stall converter (for diesels).
Suncoast has a few options for 10R80 torque converters, as well as complete built transmissions.

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Suncoast has a few options for 10R80 torque converters, as well as complete built transmissions.

I ran a 3,000 rpm Suncoast converter in my 2005 Ram with a hot cam. Really woke her up. Good company!
I ran a 3,000 rpm Suncoast converter in my 2005 Ram with a hot cam. Really woke her up. Good company!
I’ll look into that 100% because I just went to the drag strip and lost on the tree so trans brake time
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Don't keep me wondering. What are your times?
Most of my times have been around 9.40 @ ~ 70 mph after the tune. I think 10.5 was full bone stock. ~9.10 was my fastest pass. Witch that was with cool weather, methanol injection, 100 shot of nitros, performance tune with delete, no passenger seat. Next time I go to the drag strip I’m gonna go into my HP tuners software and ramp up the boost because on the launch I’ll launch on 30PSI but it’ll go down to 26 PSI though the run. So I’ll turn it up for a full 30PSI run. Hopefully run an 8 second pass. My pastiest pass yesterday was a 9.33 @ 71.59. Right now I’m limited by the stock turbo. I mean 1-2 shift as a little smoke but the 3-4 will blow some like a freight train if I want it to.
Hats off to you! As a former drag racer, I can say, some times it's not just hp that gets you down the track faster, but also getting the 60' time down. Better traction off the line and maybe a higher stall converter, or sometimes even a lower rpm stall converter (for diesels).
I know that for sure. Recently haven’t had a whole lot of money to save up for a turbo. Because of fuel and inflammation in the US. So I’ve just be ripping weight off. So when I go to the drag strip I take the 10 gal methanol tank off and use the small tank I have. Passenger seat goes bye bye. I also took off the def tank since it’s deleted it’s just sitting there not being used weighting me down. And i haven’t tried 2WD except on the street and it was just tire spinning for idk like 40ft. I might be able to get it to hook with a burnout at the drag strip.
Suncoast has a few options for 10R80 torque converters, as well as complete built transmissions.

So priority wise that’ll be far down the list because I’m thinking bigger turbo then cams then maybe a built trans. I’m vey interested to see how the 3.0 sounds like with better cams.
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Don't keep me wondering. What are your times?
When the lost on the tree ( ET class )
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Update: Thinking on getting a trans brake/ bump box from lethal performance looks a lot more affordable than a $1200-$2000 transmission

It would make it easier to launch fastest because with current factory brakes my fastest time on the tree is like a .2 because foot brake is always slower than trans brake. The bump box is plus should make it easier to stage
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I could get an 8 with more weight reduction and just spraying the house down. Maybe with the tune Turning up the boost and just a tiny bit more injector and a sprinkle of timing.
Have you removed the spare tire?, Run with a 1/4 tank of diesel? I ran a 100 wet shot on my 05 Hemi QC Ram with 3:92 gears. Got my 60' time under 2sec with the 3,000 stall. Sprayed off the line once it hooked up. Think my 1/8th mile times were around 9.2 and 70-71 mph. Rams are heavy pigs, though, haha. You will probably hook up fine in 2wd at the track if they do good prep. I could not gain by engaging 4x4 mode in the Ram. Another thing that I did was pack ice on the intake manifold to chill the incoming air. Don't know if it's a help with a turbocharged diesel, though. As you are deleted, maybe try some CenPeco Puller's oil in the diesel. I used that , racing marine diesels.
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Have you removed the spare tire?, Run with a 1/4 tank of diesel? I ran a 100 wet shot on my 05 Hemi QC Ram with 3:92 gears. Got my 60' time under 2sec with the 3,000 stall. Sprayed off the line once it hooked up. Think my 1/8th mile times were around 9.2 and 70-71 mph. Rams are heavy pigs, though, haha. You will probably hook up fine in 2wd at the track if they do good prep. I could not gain by engaging 4x4 mode in the Ram. Another thing that I did was pack ice on the intake manifold to chill the incoming air. Don't know if it's a help with a turbocharged diesel, though. As you are deleted, maybe try some CenPeco Puller's oil in the diesel. I used that , racing marine diesels.
Yes the spare tire is removed as well as the def tank and I ran it at about 1/4 tank of pump diesel. As far as prep goes I was gonna launch in 2WD but in et for some reason they let gas engines run at a diesel event. But the car in front of me had all Tyrian tires and ripped up some of the prep. And ET is the last class to run because the outlaw, and singles elite need prep cause those trucks have to have good prep or they just burn the tires off on the line. From that point on the right line never hooker up for anyone launching in 2WD the rest of the bracket. So I didn’t want to have a 4WD launch and a 2WD launch so I did my next run in 4WD just to get a more accurate time for me to dial in at. Witch worked out because I was like ~.2 off my dial in. As far as NOS goes on a diesel you don’t really want to do a wet shot you just kick on nos and dump injectors. So I do a dry shot and the methanol adds a tiny bit of HP because it can act some what like a wet shot. I’ve been looking at race diesel fuel but it’s decently expensive for a 5 gal tank it’s like $100 from VP Racing.
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With all your mods you gained 1.0 to 1.5 seconds on the 1/8 mile? We have a drag strip close to us and might have to take our Ford there for some runs. What engine and trans tuning are you running with?
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