Matt's (Gearhead) tunes work great. When I added the Powermax, I emailed Matt and he sent me a new tune for it for I think $75, since I already had gotten tunes from him before. The tuning does not need to take into account the different turbo. Compared to the cost of the turbo, the tuning is inexpensive. Before I bought the Powermax, I spoke with the guys at GPOP shop about it. They sold me the kit to rehab my old turbo, but they said they really liked the powermax - they said the internals were much better made. I have had it for 4 yrs now with no troubles so I am happy. I also like the whistle

 

I have an '03 6.0L and have rust/sticking problems with my turbo. The truck is not a daily driver in fact it only has 75k miles on it. I have been having this problem over and over again because the truck sits for long periods of time between uses especially when its not hunting season or vacation time. A lot of the miles on my truck are highway miles however I do go off road mostly while hunting or scouting and on occasion just to play. I am intrested in the powermax turbo and I have a question on what I am reading about needing to install a tune to get the most out of the turbo. I am running a Gail Banks six gun system which adds fuel and boost to increase horsepower. My question is will this system provide what this turbo needs to eliminate the low end lag? Can I get maximum performance with this combination or will I need to do more? Does anyone out there also use this combination and could you give me some feedback? Thanks.

 

Bank's system is not great for the 6.0L. It does not and can not account for the PM. Custom tunes will be needed. They are actually safer for your truck with or without the PM.

 

Thanks for the info. Just to be clear, you are suggesting to remove the banks system and install this tune from Matt (Gearhead)? I don't know what your experience was with your Banks system was but I will really miss mine. It worked really good on my 03 and I really like the fact you could change the settings or turn it off completely. Having said that I am open to the change and hope the performance gains would keep me content. How would I go about getting in touch with Matt? I tried to search the site but couldn't find anything on him, probably my inexperience with the site. Are the stock injectors sufficient or should they be changed and if so what size? One last question, do you drive your truck frequently or is there some time between uses? I have been told that a lot of my problem is that my truck sits a lot.
Again, thanks for the info and your time.

 

I kept most of my Banks system - I kept the intake, the CAC pipes and intercooler and the exhaust. I went back to the stock air filter since it is good to 500HP. The main thing I ditched was the banks tuner. I bought an SCT tuner off ebay and emailed Matt - it is easier now b/c he has a website -
Gearhead Automotive Performance

He emailed me tunes - you do lose the shift on the fly - but his tunes are every bit as powerful. The trouble I had with my Banks tuner was blown head gaskets - that sucked - $4500 later and I was ready to ditch it. The shift on the fly is also bad for the transmission - it is apparently a good way to kill the transmission b/c it does not get programmed for the extra power.

Matt can customize your tunes for the powermax and it is fine with stock injectors. If I ever upgrade injectors, it will be to 155cc/30% from full force. They are quite expensive and the transmission would likely need an upgrade then too so the reality of it is that that is not going to happen for me anyway. (I would need a new tune from Matt to deal with the new injectors if I got them). I do drive the truck everyday although it is mostly around town and pretty low miles. I have had a lot less problems since I ditched the Banks tuner and got the Powermax.

 

Can anyone share with me the cost of the Powermax?

I am about to do the Bulletproof EGR/oil swap and would like a # to figure in for budgeting. They do not advertize the pricing on their website.

thank you

 

I think they go for about $1,200-1,300 but you will also want to get a billet whell for it and they are $250-300.

 

I recently installed a Rotomaster stock replacement turbo. Under $1K, new and no core required, and I am very happy with it.

Brian

 

How do these compare to OEM for reliability/longevity?

I was assuming the Garrett is a better unit than a remanufactured OEM.

 

The OEM is a Garrett.

 

Brain cramp, meant to say Powermax.