Recently, we took a trip down to Advanced Flow Engineering in Corona, California, to witness another chapter of the age-old Ford vs. Chevy battle. With the keys in our hands to an '06 6.0L Ford and an '07 LBZ Chevy, courtesy of Laguna Speed, we were ready to let the sparks fly. Both trucks would be dyno'd in stock form to get a baseline, then fitted with AFE intakes and exhaust kits, and tested again. Finally, an aftermarket programmer provided by Rolling Big Power would be added to both trucks for their final runs.
FordThe Ford was first on the dyno, and had the added benefit of a factory boost gauge so we could monitor any change in boost once the intake and exhaust were added. In stock form, the Ford put down 242 hp and 611 lb-ft to the rear wheels, while the boost gauge swung up to 25 psi. After the intake and exhaust were added, the boost hit 29 psi (a big improvement) but horsepower and torque climbed only slightly, up to 246/621. We realized that more airflow wasn't going to help us without more fuel, so the 10-level RBP programmer was added. On Level 8, the Ford made a big jump in power, up to 334 horsepower and 687 lb-ft of torque. We tried Level 10, which was a bit much for the stock transmission, and while horsepower remained pretty consistent at 335, torque shot up to 718 lb-ft. Overall, the Ford had gained 93 horsepower and 107 lb-ft of torque.
ChevyThe Chevy started the day at a whopping 309 rear wheel horsepower, while torque was a healthy 626 lb-ft. With those kind of numbers as a baseline, we had a feeling which brand would end up with the most overall horsepower. First, the intake and exhaust were added, and the silver Chevy's numbers rose slightly to a peak of 314/635. As with the Ford, we figured the big numbers would appear when more fuel was added, so the RBP programmer was plugged into the LBZ and set on Level 4 (the highest setting). All eyes were on the hopped-up Chevy to make some Ford-beating numbers, and the truck didn't disappoint. With the added fuel, the Duramax cranked out 383 rear wheel horsepower, and 758 lb-ft of torque. The final tally for the intake-exhaust-programmer setup for our Duramax was 74 horsepower and 132 lb-ft over stock.
 First, the stock 6.0L Ford...  First, the stock 6.0L Ford factory intake was removed. This was a fairly simple job that took just a few minutes. |  Next, the AFE intake was installed....  Next, the AFE intake was installed. It became the nicest (and cleanest) part on the whole truck. These are real world trucks that are driven often and hard, so they were perfect for our test. |  We're not sure, but it was...  We're not sure, but it was our opinion that a chrome tip doesn't help add any power. Other than that, the Ford had completely stock exhaust. |
 Removing the exhaust was a...  Removing the exhaust was a little more involved than the intake side of things. |  The new AFE exhaust with a...  The new AFE exhaust with a free-flowing muffler looked much better than the stock design, and we also hoped to see an improvement in power. |  To keep the Ford from looking...  To keep the Ford from looking like an anemic stocker, a 6-inch tip was added. |
 Finally, an RBP programmer...  Finally, an RBP programmer from Laguna Speed was added to provide more than enough fuel to match our airflow. |  Who says Fords can't fuel...  Who says Fords can't fuel hard? We had plenty of black smoke on hand, as well as a 93 horsepower increase over stock. |  Oddly enough, the Chevy had...  Oddly enough, the Chevy had an aftermarket tip too. We don't think this helped much in producing a baseline of 309 horsepower. |