I was wondering what the best way to turbocharge my 92 f-350 would be. Aftermaarket or a used 94' turbo. Did they drop the compression on the 94's. They were an ATS turbo correct? Don't have to worry about the tranny old one did 200,000 before it had problems so then I had it "upgraded". Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

Banks Power has a really nice system if you want to spend alot of money like $2700. It will get you to new powerstroke power. Ats also has options on the web. If you go with Banks it may be cheaper to find a shop to order it for you than buying directly from them. They say it is easy to install yourself.

 

they did not drop the compression ratio on the IDI's. they did however drop the compression ratio's when they went to the PSD's.

20.7:1 for '83 IDI
21.5:1 for '84~94 IDI
17:1 for the PSD (might be off a little on this number)

Ford used ATS as the supplier for their factory turbo systems.

There are three systems on the market that I'm aware of, Banks, ATS, and Hypermax. Both Banks and ATS are wastegated, Hypermax is not.

Hypermax comes in as the cheapest, ATS second and Banks as highest priced.

Now if you build up the ATS to match the BANKS system, the cost is the same. I did this when comparing systems before I purchased. I would recommend contacting a local dealer for a price, then calling the factory directly tell them what the local dealer wants, they will drop their price, then call the local dealer back, he will probably drop his price. This is what I did, and saved a bundle doing it.

One thing to keep in mind is these things take a full weekend to install. I will say that Banks packed their system with everything you needed to do the install except tools and a tech to do the work. It takes a good grasp on mechanical skills to install one. It's not all that hard but you have to know how to run a wrench.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/argve1/Banks.html is my page on my install.

I had many reasons for going with Banks, one of which was it was more complete out of the box. Things like tranny control, gauges, and larger exhaust were included. Whereas with ATS it was all extra. Like I said when you built the ATS up to match the Banks kit it was the same price. I also liked the location of the turbo on Banks system a little better, it sits more towards the center of the engine vs sitting over a couple of glowplugs. I do have to drop the air intake setup but it only takes a min to do so, and hooks up in less than a minute. So service-ablitly is good in my opinion. Now I have not wrenched on an ATS system but it looks like it will be a little more to get to the back injectors and glow plugs - could be wrong though since I have not done it.

I have since ridden in a truck that had an ATS non-wastegated system installed on it. She pulled great, I would say that it was as good as The Enterprise with the Banks System.

I spend a lot of time speaking with both ATS and BANKS about the turbo systems. Both claimed more power, Banks Claimed more than ATS (some one had to) but ATS said they can get the same amount of power as Banks if you turn up your fuel pump a little but that if I did I would need the extra gauges. Hummm... that was a major turning point for me.

Now I'm getting ready to order a Hypermax for my 6.9 next summer so I will be able to compare the systems a little better (plus I won't be towing with it, so I don't need the power to come on so soon wth it).

 

I've been contemplating putting a turbo on my '94 F-350. From what I've read it seems as though ATS and Hypermax are more Ford oriented than Banks.
I'ld like to hear from anyone that has used the Hypermax turbo.