About this episode
This episode of the Power Driven Podcast brings in guest John Schirado of Black Tie Race Fab to stir the pot and talk real-world six liter Powerstroke performance with the crew while Will is out of town. From shop banter and fabrication chops to why some folks swear the 6.0 was peak diesel engineering, we get into what actually matters for reliability, towing manners, and going fast. If you’ve ever argued brand loyalty in the bay or on the starting line, this one hits home. You’ll hear how John’s six liter became the perfect antithesis to a common rail first mindset. He’s towed to races, clicked off multiple seven-one passes, and then hooked the trailer back up to head home. The guys stack that experience against a 6.7 Cummins build and talk about what changes when you rely on high pressure oil to fire injectors. They dig into why monitoring is everything on these trucks, covering FICM voltage targets, oil pressure behavior, and IPR duty cycle so you can spot issues before they strand you. They also talk head studs and O-rings, why the 14 millimeter hardware and stout bedplate are big wins for the platform, and how a well set up compound arrangement with the factory VGT on the manifold and a big charger out front keeps the truck happy at altitude and under load. There’s plenty of street and strip reality too. Meyer shares a 7.12 airport drag pass in his own project and John fires back with times from his tow pig, which trap-calculated to the high nine hundreds. That sets up a practical discussion about converters, stall speed, and why density altitude changes everything when you live and race in the Rockies. The crew also gets into cab-off service myths, why six liters aren’t actually miserable to work on when you know the platform, and the never-ending debate over Excursions, chassis feel, and what makes a true work family hauler. By the end, you’ll understand why a cleanly tuned six liter with the right heads, studs, compounds, and monitoring can be both a dependable tow rig and a legitimate race truck. Long-tail topics you’ll hear discussed include six liter Powerstroke compound turbo setup with factory VGT, FICM voltage monitoring at 48 to 49 volts, IPR duty cycle and high pressure oil troubleshooting, Ford Excursion diesel towing reliability, and head stud and O-ring strategies for six liter longevity. It’s the kind of shop-floor conversation that makes you want to roll a cart under the truck and start wrenching. Subscribe to the Power Driven Podcast, follow for more deep dives, and check out the latest builds, testing, and parts from Power Driven Diesel. More shop debates, more dyno pulls, and more hard data are on the way.