I am looking at getting a banks system. I know they are expencive, but I am looking for a total upgrade, air, exhaust, gages, trans boost, ect. What is the feeling on the banks systems?

 

I like mine, but it is the original system - not the same one they sell today - and I really don't have anything to compare it to because it is the first turbo I've ever owned....

 

I am still running the system installed on my truck in '87 when it had 9K miles. It's the old non-wastegated unit, so it takes a bit to spool up... but has generally lower EGTs towing than the wastegated. The truck was originally intended for towing, so it was a good pick then. Today, I'd probably get the wastegated unit. I have test driven IDIs with the new Sidewinder kit and the off idle punch is far superior to mine. My Banks system has required two repairs in twenty years, a $5.00 rubber boot and a new air filter element (after a mouse got in there and had his last meal!), so I can attest to the quality of the parts. Heck, the original exhaust system (not stainless) lasted to 2005! Even after 20 years, it just about matches a stock 7.3L Powerstroke on the dyno.

 

Sounds like we have the same system, and like they have been installed about the same amount ot time. The manual for mine has a copyright date of 1989.

I don't know how much (if any) has been spent on repairing it since I've only had it a year, but I can say there don't appear to be any newer looking parts on it. Mine even has the original turbo exhaust system still installed - minus the muffler. I have the muffler, it just isn't on the truck!

So yeah, I guess that would amount to a pretty significant testimonial regarding their quality.

 

the system on my 88 was put on in September of 88 when the truck was 5 months old. the crossover pipe rotted out after 13 years of salt water immersion going to my fishing spot, and road salt from snow plowing.
other than the exhaust crossover, nothing else has needed replacing other than the pyrometer thermocouple that just died a few months ago.

 

banks is the best controller i've ever spent money on. i have the diesel 6 gunner with the PDA. i dealt directly with the guys at banks super nice guys to deal with. i just also installed the fluid dyne balancer on my truck. as far as i know i think bully dog is the only play you can get it from. and i'll tell you this much. if any of you guys have a twin alternator setup you have to machine the pully that bolts to the front of the balancer(dampener) cause the center whole is to small..

 

Remember there is nothing to plug a Six Gun into on an IDI, that is for the new trucks with Power Strokes.

Trans Command is the the only controller that would do anything on an E4OD automatic equipped IDI truck.

 

Hey Jim Allen and tjc transport, I have a question for you two guys, since you seem to have the same system I have. What kind of pyrometer do you have? Mine is an Isspro - dunno the model number off hand, but the scale goes from 300*-1500* and it is the old style where the pivot for the pointer is at the bottom of the face of the gauge instead of in the center of the gauge - in other words the pointer sweeps across the gauge face and only swings a little over a 90* arc instead of a 180* or 270* arc. It has a black face with white markings and a red pointer.

Does that sound like the gauage you guys have? I'm just wondering if it is the original, because the manual states that EGT readings up to 1150* MAX are OK - using the pyrometer supplied with the turbo. So that got me to wondering if mine is indeed the one that came with it.

 

i have a banks powerless pyro.

i tested it today for calibration with an infrared thermometer before i put it in the 92 superduty with a new thermocouple, using a heat gun as a source, and it reads 50º high at 500º

 

Powerless? As in no power supply wire needed?

10% high is better than 10% low any day - bigger margin of safety.

I was also wondering what kind of EGTs you see and what EGT limit you observe....

 

I love mine, with the need for glasses to read numbers close to me the color coding is great.

When the fuzzy red pointer gets to the fuzzy red on the gauge face, time to lift big right foot off floor slightly.

 

yup. powerless, as in no power wires needed to operate. except for the light. i don't know how it works other than it does.

when it was in the 88, i would run at 500º to 700º, and if pushing it with the pump turned up 5 flats, i could see 1200º+ pulling a heavy load up a steep hill. so i turned the pump back 2 flats, and it would peak out rite around 900º to 1100º. this was with open pipes. with the muffler in the system, temps dropped about 100º-200º, but this drop also accompanied the C6 trans, so i am not sure if the drop was because of the trans or muffler.

 

My solo EGTs ran about the same as tjctransport. Much of my towing was done at about 18,600 GCVWR (30-foot tow behind and an overhead camper on the truck... my "office"). My self-imposed limits were 900 continuous but I wasn't afraid to hit 1200 for short periods when honor was at stake. I set my fuel where it needed to be for max power and restrained my right foot. Because I lived at altitude, my fuel setting was a bit lower that it would be at sea level (about 1 flat, I set it by the pyro and tailpipe observation on a particular hill when I moved to CO).

Here's a "War Story"

At one point, I used to have to do a lot of solo back and forth across the mighty Rockies on I-70 from Grand Junction to Denver and back. At that point, the 1st Generation Dodge Cummins thought they ruled the Colorado passes because of being turbocharged. Most times, I just set the cruise and waltzed over the passes at the 65mph (C6, 4.10s). When you hit Vail or Eisenhower, where the steepest grades were, the Dodge guys liked to make sure the Ford or GM NA guys (usually in the slow lane at 40 mph, rolling huge clouds of smoke) noticed them as they zipped past. If I saw one coming, I'd slow down and let him catch up. He'd give me the sidelong "aren't you jealous" glance as he started to pass by. Then I'd match speed. He'd pour on more coal and I'd match speed. When I'd see the smoke really start to roll out his tailpipe, and figured he was shoveling as hard as he could, I'd use whatever I had left (which was often quite a bit) to leave him behind. On a few occasions I had to redline the tach (79 mph, God I wished for just one more gear!) and the pyro (1200) but I never lost a race with a stock truck until the second gen Cummins came out. The first gen Powerstrokes could outpull me on the hills but not by a lot (depends on their gear... I could usually beat 3.73 trucks). By the time all the modifications became common for the other trucks, mine was definitely second string. After being embarrassed a few times (turnabout is fair play, I guess), I "retired."

 

Thanks for the EGT guidance guys, and good story Jim

I may have just overlooked it, but I never did see where you said what kind of pyrometer you have Jim - is it like the Isspro I described or is it something else?

 

I still have the original one from the kit. It's a lot like the Banks units shown in the pics. I installed another on on a different truck in '98 and it was identical.