I see alot of people saying not to use any of Banks' stuff. Why not? I have no experience with them, and the only thing that I'm not too cool with is the price tag that their stuff carries.

 

Nothing wrong with Banks!

 

You said it yourself, the price tag. You can get better bang for your buck elswere in my opinion. I have tried some of their products (exhaust brake) and was not impressed. Their best product is the intercooler.

 

I dig my exhaust. It sounds cool but I don't wake the neighbors up when I leave at 5 am...at least they haven't said I do. I haven't heard much positive on the rest either.

 

I've always heard that their stuff runs way too hot.

 

Banks has some good products, but even they know they are not for everybody.

That can be true of most any manufacturer, you need to decide what your plans are for your truck and then choose the products that fit your specific need the best.

 

When the words Banks is larger than the word Cummins I Draw The Line!

Some people might even get confused thinking your driving the new "Banks" truck. Most guys have banks trucks because of the times running to the bank.

 

I run the Banks TwinRam intake as well as their Technicooler with good results. It's my understanding they made their mark very early with diesels, specifically the 1st Gens and such.
With the snowballing of electronics and computerization, everybody and their brother has a chip.
Further, much of the early Banks stuff actually passes CARB standards (not sure about the newer). The two items on my heap came with a CARB exempt sticker thing.
Compared to much available now, Banks is very conservative in their ratings.

Be aware that there's a number of folks who've a friend that said such-n-such, or heard that Banks is crap. It's my observation most of those folks have zero first-hand knowledge of the stuff. Some get down right ugly about it. I'm aware of at least one instance where a Banks chip caused damage to a CTD and apparently Banks fessed up to it. It'd be silly to think all the other vendors haven't had similar issues at least once.

Hope this helps.

 

Yeap, they are expensive but the hard parts are excellent quality. The electronics are too high IMHO and it is hard to get someone on the phone. That is what drives everyone crazy from what I have read.

 

I don't know of specific problems with their products but they are overpriced. They're overpriced because they are so heavily advertised. Ask anyone outside of our community who makes diesel performance products and they'll probably say banks....

 

FYI

i had a full banks power pack, its scattered all across the US now, all my system could do was what a stock 99-01 duramax could do... My power pack came with gauges, badges a 14 cm exhaust housing which i still have, a fuel plate, and a K and N air filter... oh and a stinger exhaust and tip.....

For the 12 valve, you can get more free power out of it than u could with the full powerpack.

Its good for a moderate upgrade and if u like the name banks, but other than that, look elsewhere, u can get the same effects with

16.5 degree timing
FREE plate grind
FREE AFC positioning
FREE starwheel positioning

for even more, add a GSK, and injectors...

with a 100 or a 0 will yield you more than the powerpack itself in stock form... 16.5 degree timing itself is about 200 at most, so whats it gonna be
200 or 1200...

Rick

 

My biggest issue with Banks is the attitude Gayle has. He is an arrogant jerk, some of his ads and comments have way crossed the line of taste and tact IMHO. For that reason he will never get a penny of my money.

They do make pretty decent products, but as Rick pointed out there are more cost effective ways to get power.

 

I've priced out what you can get elsewhere separately and found that Banks kits for the 12 valve at least are very competitively priced.
Advantage with Banks is you get a system that's engineered to work as one system rather than a hodge-podge of components from different sources.
You won't get the big HP you can get with different components, mainly a plate, because Banks kits are also designed to keep your truck legal.
That's easily overcome by grinding the Banks or stock plate.

 

It's just the price mainly; at least for a 12v. I could get the same gains as their power pack for waay less $$.