bishgeo

Anybody running one of these.Is banks the only one with bigger tubes.

82NDSNPR

no ats has one that i have not herd much about sperco makes one and bd makes a good one.

TXCTDSweetheart

I have the Banks Technicooler on my Ford and I really like it. It cools egts by 250 degrees and it works really good

soulezoo

This is one of those things that there is no objective data to.

Banks is a good value for the money... contact banks directly and get a whole kit (as a blem) for about $700. It is bigger and flows more than stock.

But, it is not as efficient, (don't get all caught up in the bigger tube thing, it only serves to mask the units' relative "old design") as the other CAC's on the market. It is, like stock, the admittedly inferior tube and fin design. It is better only by virtue of larger size and better flow.

Now, Spearco has long been identified as the best... why I don't know as there really is no definitive evidence that "proves" it is. But Spearco can be very difficult to install and takes some mods to do so. It is bar and plate design and holds very high psi.

BD and cool twist are similar in that they are extruded tube and fin design. Much better than stock. BD claims 90% efficiency vs. 70% for stock... (comparing inlet/outlet temps vs ambient) very good CAC's.

hellman is out there too... I know nothing about it...

Then there is the new HTT. It is like the spearco, bar and plate, but fits much better and has very high flow, but really know nothing about it other than I own one and the temp difference from inlet to outlet is very dramatic.... much, much better than stock

Again, there has been no head to head objective testing of these animals so who really knows...

I am certain that Banks is better than stock, is a good value, is probably not as good as the others I mentioned, but don't really know. I am certain that if you are not after really big (say over 600hp) HP it will be just fine and as good as any at that point. (and still better than stock)

I'll tell you, once you compare the stock to the HTT on just the physical dimensions, weight and appearance, (I am sure the others work this way too), you will be amazed at how small and scrawny the stocker is....

mulisha

yeh i agree, BD IMO is the best intercooler you can buy right now.installed one with a friend 2 months ago, lowered his egt's approx. 200deg. quality all around compared to banks. spearco would be my 2nd. choice.

J-man

Do these lower 200 degrees across the rpm range and in all driving conditions or just at certain times?

soulezoo

The answer is only at certain times...

I am throwing out completely hypothetical numbers here, but are only to try to illustrate the point.

If you are just cruising down the highway at 65mph and have, say 4-5psi of boost going on, and the ambient air temp is about 80*... the turbo is not working very hard or compressing much air so the inlet (to the CAC)air temp may be about 140*... The CAC may lower that down to say 100* at the CAC outlet. So, that is only a 40* reduction...and you would likely see that whether you had Banks, stock, BD, etc...

At WOT and pushing a lot of air, the compressor is working hard and heating up that air quite a bit... you might see something like 600*!! going into the CAC. This is where it gets interesting... the stock CAC may cool it down to only 300* The aftermarket CAC's will cool it down even more... this is where the "200*" statement comes in... it is possible then for the aftermarket versions to cool that great amount more than stock...

I have yet to see any apples to apples, head to head objective tests that demonstrate one CAC to be more efficient than others.

PourinDiesel

The Banks intercooler for the 3rd gen Cummins is a good product.
I have been running one for almost 2 years with sledpulling @ high boost and high EGT's and have not blown it up.
Several other brands had problems with their intercoolers taking dumps on them.....

kantdrive55

We have the larger tubes. It gives you more surface area for a greater cooling effect. We use the extruded tubing which also leads to less restriction that you get with bar and plate, or wave technology. We are also using more tubes for a greater overall cooling surface area. We now have a new cast end tank on them as well. We have been seeing EGT drops up to 200degs.

soulezoo

Hey Pat,

Please take this post in the spirit for which it is offered:

Why doesn't BD, or any of the other mfg's for that manner, do controlled conditions, head to head testing of CAC's?? Would this not be a great thing? And BD certainly has the facilities to do this... We the consumer would love to know.

I see it this way: you guys test all these CAC's and put out some definable and relevant data to compare. If BD is the best, you have cornered the CAC market. If it is not, well now you know what to do to improve...

What say you???

tcr

X2 great product, maybe one of the only things they got right.

tristan21

Good idea.

As I said in another post, the best way to establish yourself as an up and coming buisness would be to buy and test all the cometitors products and test them on the same truck in real world conditions. Head to head. However it would be time consuming, if a person did this and posted your findings on your website, it would garner tons of interest and a person would, as you said tell you what a person needs to improve.

kantdrive55

Hmmm a little birdie said to me that there might be some information on a few certain parts being tested by a certain company at a certain shop. That certain company might be ready to release some test information in the near future about certain companies products and how they compare to their own companies. ......... Wow that almost sounded like a fletcher reply there lol

mulisha

What Parts At Least

soulezoo

Well that little birdie can PM me the info if necessary and this little birdie can keep his mouth shut