Banks System

[XinAZ]

I have been contemplating a Banks Big Hoss system for my 05 Excursion. I was wondering is anyone has one installed and how they feel about it. I would go the cheaper route of a sct tuner and exhaust, but I feel alot of dependability is lost that way. My understanding is that Banks maintains the safety net in regards to cyclinder pressures ect.. It is always tough to decern the truth from marketing stragedy sometimes . If anyone has personal experience please share...

[climatemaster]

I just installed the 6 gun pda and moster exhaust on my 06 F250. Over 100 mile per tank increase in fuel. Runs like a hi po big block.

[Patrick]

We carry everything from Banks, and I have to say they are probably the safest. They are also the most conservative when it comes to adding power. They make great stuff, but the Banks name comes at a cost. There are many many options for you, and some better than others. It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish, and what is important to you. The SCT is a great product, but you lose the adjustability on the fly. We carry just about any brand of diesel product you would want, and have played with most of them in numerous vehicles. Give us a call if you have any questions. We dont have much of the Banks stuff on our site at this time....there are never enough hours in the day.

[timmy]

I have been running Banks for the last 3 yrs. 45,000 miles on my 04 and 60,000 on my 05. I run these trucks pretty hard and tow alot of weight and have never had any problems with the tuners, had some issues with the exhaust but I seem to be all alone in that. I know quite a few fellows who are runnin Banks equipment and have never heard of any troubles! There are more powerful tuners on the market but I definetly believe these are the safest.

[ndurbin]

Banks makes quality products but the reason they are the safest is they aren't as wild in their tunes as some others. You can accomplish more with less money and still be safe IMHO. I've seen more than one Banks owner be dissappointed after he sees the numbers the kits really add after a dyno run or two.

[mschn99]

I totally agree!!! Banks makes an excelent product and it delivers exactly what it claims....BUT they dont build as much HP as others and you can individually build a better system for your rig cheaper than they provide....

[timmy]

I can agree with that! I have close to $3000 invested with Mr. Banks and from what I've learned in this forum you could get the same power for 1/2 that! Just giving you my past experience with the product...to do it all again I would definetly shop around. I have a Superchips microtuner( not to impressed ),and a Diablosport predator( seems about equal in power to the Banks )...both of these tuners are 1/2 the cost of the Banks. I'd look toward a SCT/MBRP combo for the money.

[Patrick]

Larry took a custom SCT to a guy in pittsburgh friday morning. Larry put in a EGT gauge...tuned the truck....when the guy came back he was all smiles. He walked into his office and came out with a Bullydog powerpup. He gave it to Larry and said I bought this last week....get rid of it for me.

[DiscountPowerParts1]

Tim, I feel bad for you man, for 3 grand I could have tuned, intaked, exhausted your truck, flew to your house to drink your beer and help you install, and still saved you probly $500+ bucks.....lol...and made the same or more power! Banks is nice in that its a one part number solution, it is milder tunes that focus more on low end grunt power and mid range towing power. The average Banks truck is a great drive around town with the low end tune, but it gets spanked in a race by most other tunes. There are some tune companies that will match Banks in low end and mid range, and yet put a good'ol spanking on them when the pipes start to glow red in the top end :wink2:

For the money, if a guy were going to start with nothing...I would do Magnaflow or MBRP 409 pipes...cheap but great fit. Then I would do a TS or an Evolution on a 7.3, or for a 6.0 I would go with our Custom Innovative Diesel SCT tuners that will BLOW YOUR MIND. For intakes it would be an Airaid or an AFE. If I were trying to cut cost, I may go with alluminum pipes and an AFE OEM replacement filter and not buy a tip for the exhaust. THis would get me a 320-ish rear wheel HP 7.3, or a 420-ish rear wheel HP 6.0. And I would do it for under $1400 ......not 3 grand...yikes. Add a Quadzilla Commander for a full digital gauge package with memory recall and you got yourself a sweet as heck package and even with the Commander your talking under $1700. There are ways to get'er done without getting a divorce and cashing in the 401K account......and there are ways to buy the wronge product and spend good money after bad if you make poor choices for your application. Over the last 20 years I have made some serious errors with money and parts selection on my own race truck because I did not buy the right parts the first time. There is much to be said for talking with these forum folks and doing some research before you buy, and talking to an experianced and non biased person about what you want to do and what your real needs and expectations are. If you call Banks directly, do you think they would ever mention a Juice Platinum, or a Bullydog with Outlook monitor and dual EGT capability? Not a chance! When any of you want to chat about parts, applications, why this may be a better fit than that......call Patrick or call me and we will sit down, put our feet up on the desk, and give you all time you need to decide how to get your combination right....THE FIRST TIME.

[smoker]

wow I looking at the banks big hoss package its around 3500.00 deliverd
now reading what you all are saying i sure dont now what to do
it looks like a good setup . i have heared that i have to change my head bolts with the big hoss. What kind of setup could i put together and get the same power for less or same cash

thanks in advance