BAGGERMAN

i see a lot of banks bashing on diesel forums why is that.are they overpriced or lack of preformance or both or what??????

Jetpilot

For most of Banks products this is a true statement.... Normally your $$ will go a lot farther purchasing other products. You will just get a LOT MORE bang for your dollar elsewhere.

Doug Smith

RustyJC

Some people still remember Banks' advertising that their products "...won't void your factory warranty." When the fat hit the fire and Dodge (and other manufacturers) refused to honor their warranty because of aftermarket modifications (the Banks components), Banks typically sent the customer a copy of the Magnuson-Moss Act and said "good luck."

Rusty

jaybird1x

I have the powerpack and exhaust brake on my 01 4X4 Dually . At the time I was looking in early 2003 I found that the fueling box (they call it the Ottomind) had a feedback mechanism to limit the max egt by defueling.....this keeps the turbo from melting if you put your foot in it. I didn't find anyone else doing this...

Also for the automatic transmission, which in stock form is weak, they built in a feature to limit torque at the point the torque converter locks.

If you use their exhaust brake they manage the stock transmission pressure to protect it too.

HOWEVER, the best solution if you have an automatic is to get a new beefed up transmission...I chose Suncoast...and this is expensive.

Sometimes the wait on support is long....but they have always answered my questions and given good service. At times they have hooked me up to engineering as I have other mods that are affected by their electronics.

I installed the kit myself and would recommend it to anyone capable of the mechanics because it is essential to know how the electronics work with the stock computers and wiring. I have found few mechanics anywhere in the country who know the details of troubleshooting a modified truck. And forget Dodge....So you need to be able to troubleshoot it yourself in my opinion.

Of course your situation could be different from mine where I am a full time RVer and want to keep running in the remotest of places where there is little or no service.

jaybird1x

The Dodge dealership in Boise with factory rep inspection honored my engine warranty at 99,000 miles for an oil leak at the vp44.

RustyJC

I posit that the situation would have been quite different for a scuffed piston or a trashed automatic transmission. An oil leak at the VP44 can't really be blamed on a performance-enhancing "box" very easily.

Rusty

jaybird1x

Hey Rusty, That is a good point and what I argued with Dodge. But should they warrant a transmission that is carrying a greater load than it was designed for? The torque converters are marginal to begin with and if an exhaust brake is added, requiring the torque converter to remain locked during deceleration, when the design is for it to unlock, the tranny is going to break. This is from my viewpoint, towing a lot, where braking as well acceleration is important.

From a power point of view fueling without the attendent air flow enhancements like an upgraded turbo, lower restriction exhaust, and lower restriction intake for example is going to brake something too. This, in my opinion, is part of the decision or risk that we must consider when we choose to modify the truck while it is in warranty.

I think Banks is wrong if they say that there are not going to be warranty hassles with adding power enhancements to a truck.

Jay

TxDiesel007

That is the best way to sumarize banks

Its good tho, dont get me wrong, for staying within reasonable limits of your vehicle, but Most of my banks stuff is gone. Their fuel plate is nice for towing, (11 in number i think) But u can do better for less money

Tx

BAGGERMAN

thanks for the info.this is my first diesel,the truck had everything except afe,edge ez,fuel pressure gauge which i installed

getblown5.9

i boguht my 02 HO 6spd with a banks ottmind installed and i ripped it out...as well as the bank gauges, i only kept the exhaust and wastegate cuz they are just hardware that are similar to any other piece of metal made out there and not alot of difference in the power gains. the ottomind was not alot of power tho

STACKED

had a banks 800.00 big hoss chip and it. supposed to be 90 horse power saw no increase at all.

one54ton

I know the guys at Winspeed diesel and they told me this story...one day a guy came in and he wanted a full out "BANKS KIT" on his new 03 he had just bought. They tried to talk him out of it but the guy had a Edit for Gale. They went ahead and did a $4300 job (including install) on the truck. They dyno'd it not long after...it gained like 43hp and 100tq! They thought it was soo funny they have the chart stapled to the wall to show all of their "SMART" customers!

SolarYellow05

A guy I know has a truck with a six gun with speed loader, high ram intake, intercooler, and exhaust, and my truck with a missing kitty, magnaflow muffler, quad std box, and cold air intake, will barely get outran by his, less than a truck length, from redlight to redlight. Oh yeah, the only difference between ours is that he's on stock tires with 4.10s and I'm on 35s with 3.73s. I've spent $650 on performance mods, and he's spent $2000 to $3000 from what I've heard. It's like buying a John Deere tractor....50% of the price is for the name, the other 50% is for the product.

NavyChief

I put a Banks Big hoss tuner in mine, and I am more disappointed in that than anything else I have ever bought. I going to Edge in a couple of weeks, and installing a set of DD III's. For what i paid for that tuner, I could have bought the Edge Comp, and the sticks.

John_P

BAGGERMAN:

Most of the DTR Members that know me, know that I am no fan of "Banks Power!" There are alot of reasons, many of which I cannot list here because I will get in trouble. I highly respect Jack Thorpe, Lary and all of the Moderators here so I won't do that. But,......I can give you some hard "facts"
about some things Gale Banks has done over the past few years which has lead me to lose respect for him and his company:

1.) Back in 1995-1997 Mark Chapple @ TST Products conceived, developed and impemented the "fuel curve torque plate" or "cam plate" for the P7100 Pump found in the 95'-98.5' Dodge Cummins 12 valve trucks. Mark is a retired Cummins Engineer who worked for Cummins for 33 years!! He was the FIRST to come out with the plates, NOT Banks! As everyone knows, these "cam plates" greatly increase H.P.and torque in the 12 valve trucks. Well, after Mark released them, Banks contacted TST and began buying the cam plates from TST. He did this until such time that he found a company to make the cam plates for him and then he stopped buying from Mark @ TST!

2.) In late 1998, early 1999, Mark Chapple AGAIN conceived, developed and implemented the early fueling box for the then new 98.5' Cummins 24 valve engine. Mark named this fueling box the "TST Power Max 3." Well, AGAIN,....
Banks began buying the TST Fueling Boxes for the early 24 valve trucks! He would tear off the TST logos and glue his Banks logos on TST's Fueling Boxes. And AGAIN,....he bought them long enough to "copy" what TST had done and then release and market his own!

3.) Last year he placed his large, colored ads in many of the major truck and R.V. Magazines (Four Wheeler, Truck Trend, 4-Wheel and Off-Road etc.) making a "comparison" to his so called "diesel experience" versus that of his "competitors" INCLUDING Mark Chapple @ TST!! Well,....he showed himself with over 40 years experience and Mark Chapple @ TST with NINE (9)YEARS!!!!! Now,....I personally asked one of his "higher ups" about that ad and he said "I took it out of context and that Banks meant that the COMPANY,.....TST Products had only been in business for NINE YEARS!! IMO,.... that is just "smoke and mirrors" on Banks part, but that is what he seems to be good at!! Now remember,.....this is the SAME GUY who was buying the cam plates and the early Dodge Fueling Boxes from Mark @ TST because he couldn't figure out to make them himself!!!

4.) In July 2003, I attended the "ATS Truckfest" held at Bandimere Speedway, in Denver, Colorado. Banks brought their new Dodge Dakota with the Cummins Engine that set the Land Speed Record to run an "exhibition" race against the Bentz Rail Cummins Dragster. To do that, he had to install an automatic transmission. To run the LSR the truck had a manual tranny.
Well, I was advised by the owner of ATS, Clint Cannon, that Gale Banks had personally bought a full Stage V ATS TripleLok Auto Transmission from them to run in their Dakota for that event. However,.....when his own employees were asked in the pits at that event "What kind of transmission are you running?" there reply was; "It is a Banks Transmission!" Even though we looked under the truck and saw the familiar purple ATS Paint all over that tranny, his pit crew NEVER would admit the tranny was an ATS Unit!!! Why??

5.) Banks claims to have all the "Big Power" and torque for all of the major Diesel trucks (Dodge, Chevy and Ford). BUT,.....how many of the real fast DHRA Pro Street Trucks such as Garmon, Stuckey, Morrison or others are running Banks Products on their trucks??? Answer: NONE!!!!!!!
How many of the fast, powerful sled pulling Dodge, Ford or Chevy Pickups such as: Scheid, Haisley, Ingram, ***, or Chris Watson are using Banks Products for all this "power and torque?" Answer: NONE OF THEM!!!!!

If you doubt any of this, I invite you to call these people and talk to them.
Unfortunately, they are facts which are true.......................................

DTR Member "RustyJC" also brings up some good points about their so called "warranty program." There are some members here that can tell you some real "horror stories" about that too.

IMO,.....Bank has brought alot of peoples "negativity" towards him on himself!
"Actions speak louder than words!" I will race a street driven "Banks Badged" truck anytime, anyplace or anywhere and you know what???? I will WIN!!! Because over the past 5-6 years I have beaten so many of them I can't keep count!

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John_P