Ford Super Duty Power Stroke: Where to Start on a Build

Before you buy one part for a Super Duty, answer one question: which Power Stroke is under the hood?

Ford has put four different diesel V8s in this truck since 1999 and they do not share parts. Inside the 6.7L run alone, the catalog tracks six separate calibration variants. Year and engine decide more here than on almost any other truck.

Start with the intake

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Intake is the cheapest real change here, rated 1 out of 5 at about an hour.

Two publish an actual manufacturer power claim. aFe Power Momentum HD Cold Air Intake System w/ Pro 10R Filter [50-73002] for the 1999-2003 7.3L carries aFe's published +17 hp and +44 lb-ft with 80 percent more flow than factory. aFe Power Momentum HD Cold Air Intake System w/ Pro 10R Filter [50-73003] covers the 2003-2007 6.0L at aFe's published +16 hp and +26 lb-ft with 38 percent more flow. Both are aFe's own numbers, not independent tests. Read the 7.3L fitment line: aFe states it does not fit the 1999 7.3L IDI, only the Power Stroke.

On newer trucks S&B publishes flow and filtration instead of power. S&B Filters Cold Air Intake [75-5085-1] for 2017-2019 is S&B's biggest published Super Duty flow gain at 57.30 percent over stock with 99.51 percent filtration on the cotton filter. Order the dash-one part number, the original 75-5085 was discontinued and superseded. S&B Filters Cold Air Intake [75-5140] covers 2020-2026 at 39.05 percent more airflow and 99.42 percent filtration.

Neither S&B kit publishes a horsepower figure. The catalog carries an estimate on both, roughly +12 to +17 hp and +26 to +44 lb-ft, and says where it came from: aFe's claims for three comparable intakes. Treat it as a ballpark, not an S&B number.

Banks builds a Ram-Air intake for nearly every engine and body window: Banks Power Ram-Air Cold Air Intake System [42210] for the 7.3L, Banks Power Ram-Air Cold Air Intake System [42155] for the 6.0L, Banks Power Ram-Air Cold Air Intake System [42215] for 2011-2016, Banks Power Ram-Air Cold Air Intake System [41890] for 2017-2019, and Banks Power Ram-Air Cold Air Intake System [41849] for 2020-2022. Banks publishes no hp or torque figure for any of them. That is not a strike against them, it just means you are buying flow and filtration.

The tune is where the power is, and where the legal question starts

Banks Power Derringer Tuner, iDash Not Included [66653] is an inline tuner. Banks says it plugs into the engine sensor connectors and adjusts fueling in real time, no ECM reflash. It is the only part here that breaks claims out by model year instead of one headline number: 2011-2014 up to +72 hp and +148 lb-ft, 2015-2016 up to +61 and +120, 2017-2019 up to +59 and +106. Those are Banks' dyno-calibrated claims. Notice the trend. Newer trucks get less.

Budget for the real cost. That part number is the tuner alone. Banks requires a separately purchased iDash DataMonster or SuperGauge to change power levels.

Edge Products Evolution CTS3 for Power Stroke [85400-100] is the wider net. One part number covers every Power Stroke from the 1999 7.3L through the 2019 6.7L, and it doubles as a mounted gauge for exhaust gas temperature, boost, coolant and trans temp. Edge holds CARB Executive Orders D-802-13 and D-802-5 on it and states it does not support removal of emissions equipment. Edge publishes no horsepower figure here. Any number you see quoted is a third-party dyno, not an Edge claim.

Now the part nobody wants to read. Emissions hardware, tuning and street legality on a diesel are live legal questions. They turn on federal rules, your state's rules, and how a device is configured. Every compliance statement in this guide is the manufacturer's own claim, CARB numbers included, and an Executive Order is not a blanket approval. Banks publishes no CARB or 50-state statement for the Derringer at all. None of this is legal advice. If you need to know where you actually stand, that is a conversation with an attorney or your state regulator.

Exhaust: know what you are buying

On any Super Duty from 2008 up, everything in this catalog is DPF-back. It starts behind the factory diesel particulate filter and leaves the emissions hardware in place. That is exactly why none publish a power number.

MagnaFlow Exhaust Products Pro DPF Series 5in DPF-Back Exhaust, Single Passenger Side Rear Exit, Polished Tip [17872] is the 5 inch polished stainless system, single passenger side rear exit, covering 2008-2026 in one part number. It is a muffler delete layout. MagnaFlow rates the cabin as mild, but the outside of the truck gets noticeably louder. If you want your Super Duty quiet, wrong pick. MagnaFlow Exhaust Products Black DPF Series 5in DPF-Back Exhaust, Single Passenger Side Rear Exit, Black Tip [17067] is the same routing, diameter and sound rating in 409 stainless with a high-temp satin black coating. You are paying for the finish, not performance, though it earns its keep on salted roads.

Banks Power Monster Exhaust System, DPF-Back [49795] covers 2017-2026. Banks markets it on 82 percent less backpressure than stock and publishes no dyno figure.

MBRP Exhaust 4in Filter-Back (DPF-Back), ARMOR BLK, Tour Profile, Dual Single Side Exit [S6290BLK] is the 4 inch filter-back in MBRP's black armor coating, sold on sound, looks and durability with no power figure. Verify fitment yourself. The catalog row lists a 2017-2024 year span but only the 2018-2019 engine calibration, and those do not agree.

Older truck: MBRP Exhaust 5in Turbo-Back, Single Side Exit Exhaust, Aluminized [S62240PLM] is a 5 inch turbo-back for the 2003 6.0L. The catalog notes there is no DPF or catalyst on that engine to remove, so it is not delete adjacent.

Boost tubes, charge pipes and the plastic problem

Ford used plastic for the cold side charge pipe. Under boost it cracks or blows off, usually under load.

Mishimoto Cold-Side Intercooler Pipe and Boot Kit, Black [MMICP-F2D-11CBK] replaces it with aluminum pipe, silicone boots and stainless clamps on 2011-2016. Buy it as a reliability fix, not a power part. A stock truck that stays stock often gets by on the factory piece. It earns its place once you tune, tow heavy, or have already had one let go. Cold side only.

aFe Power BladeRunner 3in Aluminum Cold Charge Pipe, Black [46-20109] is the 6.0L answer, 3 inch mandrel bent aluminum, also cold side only. It has a 1/8 inch NPT port already in it, so a boost gauge sender or water-methanol nozzle goes in later without drilling.

Banks Power Boost Tube System (Non-HO) [Banks 2017 Boost Tube System] for 2017-2026 and Banks Power Boost Tube System [Banks 2011-2016 Boost Tube System] for 2011-2016 upsize the boost tubes themselves. Banks quotes larger flow area, not a dyno number. The 2017-2026 kit does not fit 2023 and newer Cab and Chassis trucks, per Banks' own fitment note.

Mishimoto Performance Air-to-Water Intercooler Kit [MMINT-F2D-11K] is the one forced induction part here with a published figure. Mishimoto claims a dyno-proven 40 lb-ft with nothing else changed and 22 percent more airflow than stock. No horsepower figure. It is also the most expensive part in this guide by a wide margin, and it pays off under sustained load like towing or long grades. If you do not tow, spend elsewhere. The catalog scopes it to 2011-2016 deliberately. Mishimoto markets it as 2011 and up, but 2017 and newer is unconfirmed.

The parts that matter more than power

PPE Cast Aluminum HD Engine Oil Pan [314052100] is a cast aluminum heavy-duty oil pan with cooling fins covering 2011-2025. PPE Transmission Coolant Thermal Bypass Valve [319080000] is a transmission coolant thermal bypass valve built for the 10R100 and 10R140 transmissions behind the 2020-2026 truck, and it is the cheapest part in this guide.

Neither makes power. Neither claims to. If you tow at weight or added a tune, heat management and bottom end protection do more than another few horsepower.

Range

S&B Filters 60 Gallon High-Capacity Replacement Fuel Tank, Crew/Ext Cab Long Bed [10-1012] replaces the factory 38 gallon tank with roughly 60 gallons on 1999-2010 trucks, and one part number covers 7.3L, 6.0L and 6.4L in crew and extended cab long bed. S&B says it fills normally at high-flow truck stops.

S&B Filters 70 Gallon High-Capacity Replacement Fuel Tank, Crew Cab Long Bed [10-1003] is the 70 gallon tank for 2011-2016, crew cab long bed only. Three catches straight from S&B's listing: it sits about 3 inches lower than the OEM tank shield and will not work with the factory skid plate, high-flow nozzles will not shut off automatically when it fills, and S&B voids the lifetime warranty if you run it alongside an auxiliary tank.

Both are 4 out of 5 installs at 2 to 3 hours. Read the cab and bed line twice.

The throttle controller

Banks Power PedalMonster Torque Response Controller [64310-C] is not a power part and does not pretend to be. Banks publishes no figure because a throttle controller changes how quickly pedal input becomes torque, not engine output. What it removes is the dead spot in the first inch of pedal travel. Banks reads live engine data rather than just multiplying the pedal signal, and offers 30 response curves, five low-speed launch trims, and a reverse safety feature that softens response in reverse. That last one matters backing a trailer.

Order of operations

Intake first. Then whatever protects the truck: oil pan, transmission valve, charge pipe. Then exhaust if you want the tone. Then the tune, once you know where you stand legally in your state. Boost tubes and intercooler last, and only if you tow.

Of the 26 parts here, four publish a manufacturer power figure. Two more carry a catalog estimate, labeled as one and sourced from comparable parts. The other 20 publish nothing. On a modern diesel that is normal, and any site handing you a confident number for all 26 made most of them up.