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Customer Q&A #5 (with Peter Treydte, Banks' Director of Technical Communications)
QUESTION #5:
You didn't directly answer some of my questions, but if I read between the lines, it would appear that there would be no benefit to me to add your upgraded intercooler, (I bought the Six-Gun etc. to tow 15,500 lbs) because the transmission and drivetrain may not take the power of a level 4 or 5 while heavy towing and climbing. Did I understand this correctly?Posted by Peter Treydte on April 02, 2007Customer Q&A #4 (with Peter Treydte, Banks' Director of Technical Communications)
QUESTION #4:
I recently had Camping World install a Banks Six-Gun, Speed-Loader with EGT and boost gauges in my 06 Ford F-350 CC SB 6.0L Super Duty P/U. I previously installed the Banks Exhaust system myself. My question relates to the Banks Speed-Loader owners manual. On Page 4, Paragraph 1, 2 and 3. There appears to be some contradiction and confusing information presented.Posted by Peter Treydte on March 02, 2007Customer Q&A #3 (with Peter Treydte, Banks' Director of Technical Communications)
QUESTION #3:
Your information has been most helpful. A couple of more questions.
1. How does Ford treat the "Six-Gun and Speed-Loader" re warranty issues?
2. Are any of the 6 settings optimized for Towing and or Economy? If not, which one's would be best for those applications?
3. Since I think you are getting more power by increasing the fuel, how are you getting better mileage at the same time?
Read on for the answers...Posted by Peter Treydte on January 15, 2007Customer Q&A #2 (with Peter Treydte, Banks' Director of Technical Communication)
QUESTION #2:
My situation is that I don't have a problem with my power output once the engine downshifts and the RPM's go up, but I want more power low down (1750 RPM) so that the engine does not have to down shift as often (and use more fuel). (One thing that I have noticed is that it downshifts when the turbo boost reaches 20 psi., is there any way to raise that figure?) This is why I am looking for figures in that range, apples and apples you know, which I understand you are unable to provide. I guess the factory figures that show lower power curves must be done on an engine dyno, instead of a chassis dyno. Speaking of the figures with a manual transmission, at least that would provide a reference point. Right now I am in the "dark", so to speak.
Another nice to have thing would be to have a second setting, or a desensitized cruise control, whereby it would act more like driver input in that it would not down shift with minor 1 to 2 mph speed losses.
Read on for the answers...Posted by Peter Treydte on August 23, 2006Customer Q&A (with Peter Treydte, Banks' Director of Technical Communication)
QUESTION #1:
I have installed a Banks Monster Exhaust and am considering a "Six-Gun and Speed-Loader." My primary application is towing a 15,000 lb. trailer (GCWR 23,000) with an '06 F-350 SRW 6.0L Auto 3.73 CC SB 4X4. I tow at 60 to 65 mph (3.73/18 in tires) which translates to 1700 and 1750 rpm. All of your charts start at 2000 rpm which is 74 mph in my truck, which it never sees towing. Consequently, my interest is in torque and power out put at 1700 to 1750 rpm.1. What is the torque and Hp increase that I will see from the Monster exhaust and at what RPM, especially 1750 rpm?
2. What is the torque and Hp with the six gun and speed loader at 1750 rpm.
3. A product that I would like to see you offer for my truck is a way to manually select 4th gear. My choices are 1,2,3,or 5th.
The higher rpm max out put numbers don't do much good for the vast majority of trailer tower's like me who don't tow at 75 or 80 mph.
Read on for the answers...Posted by Peter Treydte on June 12, 2006Stoddard Valley Cleanup
I myself was amazed at the turnout and at the amount of fun that I had. Gale Banks Engineering supported the event by sending out a support trailer, a vehicle to participate in the cleanup, and just for fun we had the Banks Power #36 Trophy Truck on hand for some testing for the upcoming Best In The Desert Blue Water Casino Parker 425. The participants in the cleanup filled 4 full-size dumpsters to overflowing with all manner of garbage... everything from beer cans to sofas to burnt out shells of vehicles. Some may say that off-roaders don't care about the environment, but it was clear at the end of the day that this group of enthusiasts took special interest in the preservation of the wilderness that we enjoy.
Posted by Peter Treydte on February 01, 2006#8117 Henderson's Terrible 400 Race Report
By guest blogger Bob Bower The terms "Racing" and "Competition" are sometimes considered interchangeable. Yet, there are times when one defines the other. In the case of the 2005 Henderson's Terrible 400 the Competition clearly defined the Race. Yes, each class has its race, and each class has its drama. But for the Stock Full class in Best In The Desert Racing series there is more.
Not to say other classes have less competition, or the racing is less astounding, but gee whiz... how many of the classes had over seven of the nine entrants all in the 1.2 mile infield at the same time at the end of the first lap? More than that, how many of the classes saw the second through fifth place finishers within sight of each other during the last thirty miles on the last lap? Not exactly a parade, but more of a brawl.
It was a battle of risk, skill and luck.The Donahoe Racing/Banks Power/Ford Super Duty team took that last thirty miles by ignoring the risk, mustering all the skill it could, and enjoyed a smidgen of luck to take the checkers with a second place finish.
But, let's go back to the beginning...
Posted by Peter Treydte on December 13, 2005WyoTech Happenings
In the last couple of weeks there have been two events in which the personalities of Gale Banks Engineering and WyoTech Technical Institute have crossed paths. WyoTech is the leader in education when it comes to hands on training in the areas of Automotive, Diesel, Collision Refinishing and Hot Rod/Custom Vehicle fabrication. Banks has taken an interest in supporting WyoTech because of the quality and employability of the students that they produce. Two WyoTech graduates currently work in the Banks Race Shop prepping the D-Max type R for its racing debut.
Posted by Peter Treydte on September 26, 200523.6 MPG from a Truck that Runs 222 MPH!
OK, you haven't heard from me in a while and I'm going to use the same excuse as everyone else; Power Tour, blah, blah, blah. But since I am doing so, I would like to continue my theme on fuel economy with a report from the Power Tour. As you know, we took five vehicles on the Tour, four trucks with diesels of various flavors and one truck with a twin turbo small block Chevy. One of the trucks that completed the entire 1700+ mile trip was the Banks Sidewinder Dakota. You remember this truck, it holds the world record as the fastest pickup truck at a top speed of 222 mph. The cool thing is, it is completely street drivable and is actually fun to drive. Now here are a couple of interesting factoids to consider:
Posted by Peter Treydte on July 28, 2005Fuel Economy Methods, Part 1
How do you calculate fuel economy? I read so many different claims about fuel economy, and I keep coming back to wondering how people arrive at their data. For instance, on the diesel forums it is not uncommon to see someone claim 24 MPG in a diesel pickup. And yet I have personally driven a Duramax LLY with a heavy load up a grade, and watching the digital mileage indicator, I have seen instantaneous readings as low as 3 MPG. That's a huge swing.
Posted by Peter Treydte on May 13, 2005A Ragin' Good Read
I just finished reading an article in the May 2005 issue of Four Wheeler magazine entitled "Rage Against the Machine." Awesome! Robin Stover details the success of Kent Kroeker's virtually stock Dodge truck in the 2004 Baja 1000 (http://www.koreperformance.com). Check out this preview article on Four Wheeler online: (http://www.fourwheeler.com/brandpages/129_0411_500/) This adventure impresses me for many reason's, but I think I just love to absorb as much off-road racing as I can, and this article offers a healthy dose of it. I would have loved to have been in Robin's position, as a rider in that vehicle, although I think I would have been nothing more than a sack of pudding at the end of the race.
Posted by Peter Treydte on May 02, 2005Who am I?
I said in an earlier blog that I was a Ford guy. Today I think I am changing my identity a bit. I think I am starting to consider myself a Diesel guy. I drive a gas-powered F-150 every day and keep thinking about what my fuel costs are going to be this summer. I would sure love to have a small diesel-powered car to commute with. Unfortunately being in California, it doesn't look like that will be available to me anytime soon. The only readily-available diesels in this Left Coast state are full-size trucks. I can't quite justify the purchase of a diesel pickup right now, and even if I did, I don't think I would be saving much in fuel costs. I am currently getting 14-16 MPG at a fuel cost of around $2.40/gal (and that's optimistic), which works out to an operating cost of about 16 cents a mile. Our Test Group Manager commutes in a Duramax dually and reports an average of about 18 miles to the gallon. At a fuel cost of $2.50/gal, that's a little less than 14 cents a mile. A savings indeed, but not quite enough to justify the purchase of a $40,000 vehicle in my situation.
Now what if there was a diesel-powered car for around $13,500 that got around 55 MPG? That brings us down to 4-1/2 cents per mile. Now we're talking. That car is available in Canada. It's the Smart car. We had an opportunity to drive one that Bosch brought to the states for show-and-tell. It was cool, but so far, it's not available here. I say, bring them on! With that car, I would be a full-fledged card carrying Diesel guy.
Posted by Peter Treydte on April 29, 2005A Trip To The Toy Shop
One of the things that I like doing sometime during the workweek is to wander through the Banks Race Shop. It is really an amazing place. I can't think of any other place in the world where I could find high-flow intake manifolds for diesel engines being developed, turbochargers being mounted on a V-12 tank engine and a one-of-a-kind diesel road race truck being built from the ground up... oh and by the way, just a few feet away is the world's fastest pickup truck powered by a Cummins ISB engine.
Posted by Peter Treydte on April 21, 2005Blue Oval Fever
I'm a Ford guy. I can't explain why, except to say that from the time I was a young kid I have always felt more partial to the Blue Oval brand than others. It could be because my dad owned more Fords than other brands. I was one of 6 kids, so we always had large vehicles. I remember going to church in an early 70's blue Econoline with a 3-on-the-tree shifter. I never got to drive that one, but I remember logging a lot of miles in it. It was replaced by a 1982 brown Econoline powered by a 289 V-8 with a variable venturi carburetor... not one of Ford's better ideas. This one I did get to drive. When I was a junior higher I convinced my dad to let me move the van from the street to the driveway to put it away for the evening. This became a ritual for me. My dad took me to get my learner's permit in that van and I went on my first real date in it. It was not what I would call a cool van either, at least not in the sense that van's were cool at some point in Americana. (Whoa, did I just admit that I was a "van guy"?!?) I also learned the importance of engine oil with that van. Did you know that the engine stops running after a while if it doesn't have oil?
Posted by Peter Treydte on April 15, 2005
