Banks upgrade worth it??

[themeaty]

Howdy, is it worth spending the money for a Banks exhaust, turbo, intake, intercooler, etc on a 12-year-old diesel?? 1996 F-350, 7.3L Powerstroke, 191,000 miles, all stock with exception of K&N air intake and Superchips tuner (modest I know). Despite dirt rust and age, the drive train and motor is in great condition (no leaks!).
Also with the increased hp and torque will I need to replace any components that might break?
I'm not an expert, any advice appreciated.
Thanks!

[realbadlarry]

Wow, I get to be the first..............NO......you can duplicate/Exceed the Banks system gains for about 1/2 the money from the vendors on this board. Call Dale @ tymar perfomance and he can hook you up. I was in your boat a couple of years ago, and these guys saved my $$$$$$$$$.

[themeaty]

Originally Posted by realbadlarry

Wow, I get to be the first..............NO......you can duplicate/Exceed the Banks system gains for about 1/2 the money from the vendors on this board. Call Dale @ tymar perfomance and he can hook you up. I was in your boat a couple of years ago, and these guys saved my $$$$$$$$$.

Whether I go with Banks, Tymar or someone else.....is it worth making the upgrades for my 12-year-old diesel?? What is people's experience? Thanks.

[bosefes]

Depends on what you plan to do with the truck, if you plan on keeping it for a while then Yes it's definitely worth it. You will see huge power gains, for simple bolt on items. Definitely stay away from Banks, it's not that they make crap products, they actually make good quality products. They just charge way too much for them. Their chips also leave something to be desired.
I would start with a full 4" MBRP (or equivalent) exhaust from the turbo back($400).

A Tymar intake from Dale Isley($120 I think) Ditch the K&N air filter, they let too much dirt by in a forced air type engine.

EGT and Boost gauges from whatever vendor you prefer(Autometer and Isspro are good)($200-300).

A custom burned chip, 4 or 6 position depending on your needs from Tony Wildman(Total Diesel Performance), he will reburn it for free also if you ever do any other mods to your truck($400 I think).

And when you really want some more power and possibly better fuel economy get a Stage 1 rebuild done to your injectors for around $800-$1000 from Swamps Diesel or Beans Diesel(it's probably time for a rebuild on them anyway).

Not including the injectors you can do all these mods cheaper than Banks and get far superior products and you will make more power. With these mods I mentioned and the Stage 1 injectors, your truck is capable of 320-350 hp and 650-700 lb. ft. of torque at the rear wheels. Hope this helps you out

Dave

[DZLJIM]

Only good thing about Banks, IMO, is their intercooler kit. If you can get one cheap, used, go for it. Good quality stuff. I've got a complete set-up that I have less than $400 wrapped up in...

Originally Posted by bosefes

...Not including the injectors you can do all these mods cheaper than Banks...

You can also do injectors yourself for not much money, too.

[edieedie]

over priced, better options for less

[themeaty]

Originally Posted by bosefes

Depends on what you plan to do with the truck, if you plan on keeping it for a while then Yes it's definitely worth it. You will see huge power gains, for simple bolt on items.

Thanks, Dave! You provided some good info to get me started. I plan on driving the truck until it falls apart. Are there any upgrades that may shorten the lifespan of the motor? A friend of mine suggested Bully Dog..... any folks have thoughts on them?

Couple things I'd like to do:

• Remove 'turbo lag' (correct term???) Turbo takes a while to spin up; starting from a dead stop is slow.
• Improve towing power and, if possible, fuel economy. Truck already tows great, so maybe not necessary?
• I'd love to get that loud/throaty diesel sound I've heard on some powerstrokes.

Thanks all!

[bosefes]

None of these upgrades will shorten the life of the motor, you are the determining factor on that(driving style). Even with these mods the truck will drive just like it does now until you start laying into the throttle, that's when it'll just start pullin like a train.
1.) Turbo Lag, this will be greatly reduced with the addition of open intake and exhaust, then the addition of injectors and chip will reduce it even further. A common problem on these trucks is exhaust leaks on the manifolds and up-pipes, even a small leak can cause a lot of "turbo lag" and reduced power.
2.) You will definitely gain towing power and economy if you keep your foot out of it. Make sure you do gauges first though, an EGT gauge is a "MUST" have if you do any mods to the engine.
3.) Pick your choice of exhaust, 4" would be a good size for your planned mods. MBRP is hard to beat, they offer a kit for your truck from the turbo back for $403.00. Sounds good too.

Dave

[themeaty]

Cool thanks for the info Dave.

[ammayernick]

I have the Banks Power Pack on my rig. Was very pricey way back in 2001(it was the only real upgrade available at the time). No problems with it so far. I've since relocated the pyro location and have removed the Banks chip in favor of a DP Tuner. I have also removed the exhaust for a dual SS Diamond-Eye. How much is the kit now? I agree with the others that you can do better for less nowadays.

[ron86toy]

I agree you can get same performance for less money.....on that note I have the Powerpac system sitting in my garage waiting to go in(customer thats is a Banks dealer gave it to me).I am NOT using the electronics from the kit....getting my tunes done by TW.I am waiting to get stage 1's and BTS tranny before install.

BTW I have 320k+ on the truck...and avg 4 to 5k a month pulling a trailer....so if you plan on keeping the truck...upgrades are well worth it