Hello guys, I am new here and couldn't find my answer so decided to sign up and ask my question. I am wondering if the Banks IQ is good enough as a gauge for my 2006 Ford F350 6.0. I want to be able to know when one of the notorious components are about to go, ie. EGR Cooler, Oil Cooler, etc. I know the IQ does the EGT and a couple of other important ones. But is it good enough? It also measures fuel rail pressure from what I can see. My problem is that I bought the truck with the six-gun tuner already installed. I figure it would make the most sense for me to use the IQ since the OBDII port is already being used. Are there other gauges that do not use the OBDII port and do more than IQ? Or would it be more beneficial to remove the six-gun and just get a good gauge?

Thank you in advance,

John

 

OR, would you say get the IQ and any gauges that I feel I need in addition, just buy them? Or are there too many that the IQ does not do and my truck will end up being decorated in gauges?

 

I'm not a tuner guy and usually don't reply to tuning posts but it is a holiday and nobody has posted yet so here goes .

I was just looking at the IQ. Pretty cool! Music, movies, Microsoft Office documents, GPS, code scanner, gauges with alarms, logging, tuning....the list goes on. Banks makes some nice stuff but the general consensus around here is that there is a problem with the tuning files. It seems Banks has had some issues with trans tuning on the F250/6.0 trucks causing premature transmission problems.

As I understand it,(and I'm no expert) a tuner capable of changing tunes on the fly uses a different strategy to change the behavior of the engine/trans. Instead of overwriting the values in the trucks computer memory, it modifies the sensor readings and "tricks" it into behaving differently (more power, firmer shifts or whatever). While this can work on the engine ok, the changes to the computer controlled trans are coarse or large, not the fine smooth tuning possible when your directly changing the preprogrammed responses in the trucks computer. Banks tuners have been "tune on the fly" -including your 6Gun- and this can be hard on the trans.

Most of the trucks running tunes here have custom programming. A quick search here will bring up 3-4 sources for software that will consider things like what other mods you have on your truck and how you intend to use it. Most of these guys have a preferred platform as far as hardware.

A Y cable is available for OBDII but it depends on the devices if they will play nice together or not. Usually not. There are multiple data busses running at the same time and I suspect each one will only make one connection. If the devices are requesting communication to different busses they could work, otherwise the one that connects first will cause the second connection request to be ignored.

Things are changing all the time and My thinking may be out of date but I would contact one of the recommended tuner gurus and ask them about what hardware works best. Several options for tuners/monitors are available.

 

Thank you very much for your time today given that it is Independence Day. Happy 4th BTW. I don't really care about the tuning, I have the manual switch and keep it all the way down, I never use the tuning. I am interested only in the gauges. And TBH, I tried putting the switch on 6 and nothing even happened, no extra power, nothing. And the six-gun is working fine, no codes or anything. It just doesn't do much. Which is why I'd consider tossing it if I could find a better gauging system. So it's either keep the six-gun in there and get the IQ, or toss it and get something that can read more sensors. I have read nothing but bad things about Banks. I'd love to have an excuse to remove it from the truck and connect something to the OBDII port that can be of some use to me. I don't like how having ANY tuner on your truck can cause reliability issues long before they are due. If you know of any gauge that will read out FICM Voltage, EGT, EOT, ECT, Fuel Pressure, etc., etc., I would love to hear about it. This isn't a tuning post, it's more of a gauge and safety post. I hope I did not post in the wrong place. Again, thank you much for answering me so fast today on the 4th.

John

 

I have no experience with Banks, and I know nothing about Banks stuff, other than what Rusty said....they are known for eating transmissions.

You just want some gauges? EGT and fuel psi require adding individual gauges and sensors since there are none installed from the factory.

 

I have an EGT sensor in there, but it's from the Banks Six-Gun. The guy had it installed b/c he had the IQ in there, but took it out before he gave it to the dealer he sold it to. Will that work? And I'll just get a fuel PSI sensor if I have to. So what does this app work with? The bluetooth and other things like scangauge? Is that how you are running your app? I am clueless when it comes to these gauges.

Thank you,

John

 

I don't know if the Banks EGT sensor will work on a non Banks gauge....if it doesn't, just swap sensors from the new EGT gauge. ( most egt gauges come with a sensor anyway)

The Scangauge is a decent gauge....although ugly. It can display up to 4 gauges at 1 time. $150 roughly

Torque Pro app is for Android phones/tablets. You can display as many gauges you want, the limit being if you can all of view them on your screen. I originally got the app on my phone, and then I wanted something bigger. I have it on a 7" tablet now. $5 for app, $25 for bluetooth adapter, and I paid $50 for the tablet.( it was on sale)

 

Bluetooth adapter

 

The pictures money pit showed kjv his post are

Top,: Torque pro app with about 10 gages called up. This is an android (and maybe iphone too) app. App cost $5(at least last year it did). You need to buy a Bluetooth OBDII reader (about $20 on eBay). This is what I use. I started with torque pro with the intent of getting something better later on. I think torque pro is good enough not to need anything better unless you move up to AE.

Bottom: scan Gage II. Most people on this forum use it. Can read about 4 more gages than turque pro, but is about $200. Takes more time to set up.

Looks like you already know there is no factory gage for fuel pressure and egt.

 

Thank you for your replies, I really appreciate it. Does anybody have any experience with the Aeroforce Interceptor? Or is there anything specific to Ford 6.0? For instance, the SCT "marries" the ford. Does anybody have experience with the SCT? This android app, is it very accurate?

John

 

Happy 4th!

If tuning isn't in the plans, that opens up a lot of options. I would start with budget considerations. Some of these things like DashDaq, or the Banks IQ can cost more than a few $$. Next is, do you want something to leave in the truck most of the time. Or just check things once in a while. If it's going to live in the truck pretty much, appearance, size and mounting options are next thing to think about. It seems to me they all have some sort of trade off.

Smart phone apps like DashBoss for iPhone or Torque for Android phones work well. You can also use the software and cables with an iPad or a Android tablet if that seem like a good option for you. If you use a phone, remember you have to get the phone out, establish a Bluetooth connection, and fire up the app every time you want to monitor.

As far as accuracy, all of these devices "ask" the computer in the truck for the value of a certain sensor and report back what it is told, so all of them are as accurate as the sensors on the truck (which can goof up sometimes).

You can get a handheld scanner that supports "Live Data". Modus is a very nice unit in this category.

Software like AutoEnginuity or even Fords own IDS are available for laptop or tablet computers.

It sounds like you're thinking of the stand alone monitors that stay in the truck. To be honest the Banks IQ you mentioned before is pretty sweet. If you're not interested in tuning just skip the tuning module -it looks like an extra cost option anyway. I would like to have one of these with back-up camera capability . The ScanGauge is probably the lowest cost option in this category. It is pretty basic (no data logging or alarms) and not much to look at (see picture above) and requires putting in some codes to taylor it to your truck but it's not a huge deal.

Another important consideration is that the truck has no sensors for fuel pressure, low side (crankcase) oil pressure, or exhaust gas temp. So if you want to monitor those you'll want a device capable of supporting "add on" sensors or install stand alone gauges for any or all of those parameters.

 

Now we're talking! This is the most helpful post yet and I thank you. Not that you other guys weren't helpful, this one just hit the nail on the head.

Okay, so I AM indeed looking for a device that sits in eye view at ALL times. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I have AE, and I already have the Banks six-gun tuner in the truck. The guy who had the truck took the IQ out of it before it got to me. So I'd just be replacing the IQ, the EGT sensor is already there and I'm not sure about the fuel pressure sensor, it's possible. But that's what you meant when you said skip the tuning, right? Don't buy the six-gun, or whatever other tuners banks has? Well I already have it. I just won't use it. So you think the IQ is a good device for gauges? I know I have AE, but I don't want to haul my laptop around all the time. But everybody knocks Banks so bad that I'm worried that the device may suck and not have too many gauges. There's no page I can find that has all of the gauges listed. That's what I'd love to see is a list of gauges it supports. Also, they have firmware updates where I'm sure they'll be adding new gauges.

John

 

Also, can I ask you another question? You mentioned AE, so perhaps you have experience with it. I checked my FICM V with it this morning. It gave me 46-48.5V ign. on, cranking and running. Is this good enough, or should I take the cover off and test it from the solder joint like you're supposed to? Can I trust the AE?

Thanks again,

John

 

In the description I read on the IQ it referred to an optional "tuning module" I'd skip that in a truck with a TorqueShift trans (and skip the 6 gun also). I'm sure banks makes some quality parts and devices, it's just the tuning I would question. These are some finicky trucks and what works well on a Dodge doesn't necessarily do so good on a 6.0 powered Ford.

 

Sure, AE should be spot on. At 26v it's getting close to repair time. How are the batteries/charging system voltage, and FICM main power?