John_P

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The Smarty Programmers, as well as Bullydog, Superchips, Diablo, Edge all plug into the "data port" connection right under the dash near your brake release lever. You then just follow the instructions on the programmers and the programmer sends the data into your engines ECM. The newer Smartys do have "change on the fly" although mine does not as it is an early model.
IMO, the Edge Products are good units,.... better than Banks contrary to what Banks says!

You asked about torque converters, specifically Banks. Personally, I would NOT buy ANY of their products! I am pretty sure their converter is a SINGLE DISC which means you only have about 34 square inches of "lock-up clutch surface area." If you buy a converter, go with a company like ATS, Goerend, Suncoast BD or some of the others that offer a TRIPLE DISC converter which gives you over 100 square inches of "lock-up clutch surface area" versus the 34 for a single disc! I run ATS in both of my trucks and am very happy with both of them and my 1996 Dodge CTD is putting down well over 800 RWHP! But alot of the members here on DTR run Goerend, Suncoast, BD or some of the other companies and have had good luck there too. Stick with the aftermarket diesel transmission companies that do it for a living, do R&D on DIESEL CONVERTERS and also race their products to test the durability.

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John_P

RoadScholar

Just to echo what others are saying about Banks not being the best thing for your 2006, but from the perspective of my 1991.0 (non-ECM). IMO Banks' strength was originally with beefing up intake and exhaust as well as adding an intercooler, which on my 91 made a huge difference. The quality of their product was much better than my stock. It certainly "woke up" my turbo and I no longer felt I was driving an old Mercedes diesel when towing a trailer. (I think I can... I think I can....)

Your 2006 has 15 years of RD over mine and Dodge/Cummins made big improvements to the intake/exhaust. Sure, Banks and other AM modifiers may have better, but it isn't worth the money. The ECM controller is where it's at and changing programming is going to make a BIG difference. Keep in mind stock programming is very conservative since it is a compromise with enviromental regulations and reliability by keeping performance (and wear) down. Also, the settings are "one size fits all" for people who use diesels as reliable daily drivers, those who go off-roading, and those who tow, etc. IOW, you can't please all the people all the time, but the factory tries.

The ECM systems previous posters have mentioned will allow you to customize performance to the way you drive, and even let you change it as you use your truck for different things. I actually welcome all those fancy sensors and gizmos since they can let one extract every last bit of performance from an engine. They are the reason why performance and fuel economy have generally doubled while keeping the engine the same size over the last 30 years. If I had your truck, I'd get a recommended ECM modifier, such as from this site in a heartbeat. Gale Banks has a nice system, but his day has come and gone. Spend wisely, my friend and stay away from Banks.

Casey

fordtractorman

Thanks for all the info guys... I guess Banks really is a bunch of BS... I have one of their books and they use charts that can really trick you... I didn't notice that before but I guess I kinda trusted them for their word...

Thanks Again,
fordtractorman

John_P

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You are very welcome Sir!

One other thing I wanted to tell you about Banks is you will hardly see ANY of their performance parts on the serious drag trucks or sled pulling trucks across the U.S. Yeah, there might be an intercooler here or there, but none of say the top Pro-Street Trucks that run NHRDA or NADM use hardly ANY of their parts nor do the top ITPA, PPL or NHRDA Dodge, Ford or Chevy diesel sled pulling trucks.

89dieselkong

The funny thing is, if you look at the breakdown of HIS serious performance diesels (sidewinder, dragster, etc,), he doesn't use many of his parts either

John_P

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Good point 89dieselkong!! He also uses PLENTY OF NITROUS so he can live up to his "NO SMOKE" mantra! The guy is full of it...........

DieselCountry85

I bought my 05 with a full banks power pack on it, never been big on banks, but, my only real complaint about their hardware is that for a performance intake horn I would expect tapped bungs for boost, water meth, ect. My uncle has an 02 HO and it came with the banks kit and everything that said banks on his truck short of the decals broke in some way. I am running the bully dog triple w/ crazy larry tunes and it WAY out performs any tuner I have seen from Banks.

soulezoo

To the OP: Banks is mostly hype and advertising. Many of us have fallen for the shiny and compelling ads. I spent some goods coin on the six-gun w/speedloader. I wasted money. Sure it provided some gains. For the money though, smarty was so much better. And banks uses mostly fuel pressure increases to get the power and that is hard on injectors and shorten the life of them.

The advise John P. gave previously was very good and deserves to be listened to.

Gry113500

I had a Banks converter in my 07 and I really liked it. It was not my first choice but I got it for $600 from a buddy who ran it for a month and said it locked up too hard. As far as the rest of his stuff goes I would stay far away from it!

mmurray

I'll say this... I have run my Bank's Sixgun w/ speedloader for 6 years with zero failures. I run it everyday for fuel economy. When towing and on occasion to mess around I'll bump it up for more power. All in all, I am satisfied with the product because it has done what I wanted and expected out of it. It has done what was advertised to me at the time of purchase. It's easy to install, easy to use and has moderate adjustability.

Do what you are doing and decide exactly what you plan to use the truck for and choose your product to fit your needs.

I had no interest in bombing my truck as it is a daily driver so I'm happy with my decision. And if it help dispel any rumors, I currently have 185,238 miles on my truck. I installed the Banks system at 35,000 miles. The only work I have had to do on my truck was the idler tensioner pulley was replaced, #4 fuel line replaced, Ball joints replaced, u-joints replaced and batteries replaced. I change my oil every 10k-15k miles depending on when I have the time, I've changed fuel filters 3 or 4 times since purchase and I'm currently on my 2nd trans filter. You decide what damage has been caused by the Banks system.

I don't think it's a bad product, just know it's not the hottest tune or most aggressive device needed for a daily driver.

dfl5150

I also have the 6 Gun on my truck because it was installed when I purchased the vehicle. The only reason I have not replaced the tuner is because I'm a cheap bastard. I have had a few problems with the module and had to send it back for repairs. I think everyone is right when they say that the system is overpirced and has a "power band". I would recommend that you go with something else and save yourself a few bucks.

Lost Lake

Compare the prices of all these Banks tuners and six-packs or whatever, then price a Smarty jr.

The Smarty does more, for less and is just so much better.
My bet is you won't find a Smarty user that thinks he over paid or wishes he bought something else. You will ALWAYS find a Smarty user who says WOW! as soon as he hooks the Smarty up and takes a short drive. The difference is instantaneous!

DodgeChallenger

Two words to say "Smarty" and "Smarty Jr".

Smarty is changeable on the fly except it is cumbersome having the programmer in your hand flopping around and driving as it is not mounted permanently. There is a Quadzilla (Scout II I believe) that claims to be able to access the Smarty on the fly and that is permanently mounted in the truck.
As I use mine for towing I can do my changes while the truck is at rest. So far I am happy with generic SW2 for towing. Sounds like you are looking to see differences while driving.

C Schomer

Sorry, Ford TM, I haven't been back. First I moved the right battery so I could build the biggest air filter setup possible and the battery had to go. I moved it to the outside of the frame, behind the cab. Then, when the truck hit about 7 yrs old the left battery, still under the hood, was boiling to death and the battery on the frame was staying clean as could be. I thought it would be nice to get more weight off the front end and get that battery out of the way, so I moved it to the left side frame, behind the cab. I used 2/0 welding cable and ran both positives directly to the starter solenoid. It took a lot of cable rerouting but the batteries will last longer in this heat. It really cleaned things up under the hood. I used Optimas so I could mount them on their sides so crap won't pile up on the posts. Craig

mmurray

For arguments sake... I paid $3000 for my Banks system. I got an intercooler, intake, programmer, stack (the speed loader) a cat back exhaust and a PDA to interface with the system on the fly.

$3000 is a lot and you can do things cheaper, but to put it into perspective I decided to put that package together piece by piece.

ATS Intercooler - $1,325
ATS intake - $280
Smarty - $800
Exhaust (Cat Back, single pipe) - $600
That total's $3,005 and does not include S/H nor some type of display or gauges or interface for adjustability on the fly... I didn't include pricing on a new filter or pda base etc...

So I guess cheaper isn't cheaper when you attempt to compare apples to apples...

But to be clear, yes you all are right. you can use a smarty and get more power for $800 and not spend another dime. But for all the components that come in a Banks kit the prices are even. You can even buy just the six-gun programer and nothing else for the $800 that you pay for the smarty if you wanted to go that route.

Just my $0.02