I have an on 04 chevy duramax and want to try a chip just wondering if anyone is running that new banks set up and what they think
Thanks
Thanks
reviews on banks iq system?
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theshadowrider
Well-known member
I would have to disagree doodah. Banks make great products that work great. If you are look for a system that blows black smoke, ($), out the tail pipe, then don't by a banks system. They know black smoke is just unburned fuel that that doesn't do much for you. I run a six Gun on a 04 cummins 125 more horse is huge when pulling a trailer. 100,000 miles no problems.
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carlc
Well-known member
Too bad you are in CO, i do EFILive in MT. in my opinion, Banks is overpriced, and overrated. take a look at every high horse or moderately modded diesel on the net or magazines, try to find one running banks. high horse dmaxs are running efilive almost exclusively, with the exception of ppe. at least go with an edge for half the price.
Im not trying to be ignorant here, but you read too many Diesel Power magazines. Banks pays mucho money for the first dozen pages in that magazine, Gale Banks has money...he can do that. But its trash. Like i said, i am a powerstroke guy myself, but have two buddies with built duramaxes. They started with Edge, threw it in the trash because it lacked transmission tuning. Then went to the PPE Exilerator. Not a bad tuner but there canned tunes, only so much you can ask out of a plug and play tuner. Now they all have EFILive. They are both running tunes from Duramx Tuner now. Not a problem for either of them.
With that said you pay the price with reliability. Custom tuning is the only way to go, your tranny will thank you later!
There is preffered tuning for every diesel, SCT for PSD's, Smarty for Cummins and EFILive for Dmax.
Your best source for info will be diesel forums. Check them all out and see what everyone else has to say about it, and im sure you will find alot of negative posts on Banks.
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theshadowrider
Well-known member
You hit the nail on the head. "not trying to be ignorant". I have never picked up a "deisel power magazine" in my life. So, maybe leave the assumptions out. I am more of a every day driver type. When i got the truck there was only 2 chips out there. Edge 70 hp increase and banks 125 hp. So i went with banks in 04 and have never kept up with whats out there. Sorry I forgot to put IMO in my post. I am not trying to speak for you, just giving my opinion and my experience. I am not one interested in tuning my truck, I would rather use a plug and play and let someone else smarter than me do that. I would rather plug something in and go. So that is what I did and I have had 100,000 put on my truck worked great, tons more power, and great tower. So with that not sure what makes it "trash". I don't think banks is trash and there is a lot of others that obviously don't think so also. They must be doing something right or how would gale banks "pay mucho money" to advertise and have money to do it? With that being said if you are looking for one that you can tune yourself then you probably don,t want the six gun. Mine only has one little rortary nob that you turn 1 through 6. 1 for stock and 6 for 125 hp increase and that's it. I put the nob down by my lights so you can barely see it because I prefer the stock look. You can really tell the power difference when you put your foot to the floor and it's stock setting and turn it to 6 especially pulling a trailer. Plus I like it because it makes a lot of power and you are't dumping big cloud of black smoke. Hope this helps in making a decision.
dont have the iq but i can speak for the banks SL (speedloader) have had it for 4yrs.
love the display and being able every setting known to man with ease.
2 problems ive encounted was a couple of times tolling the mountains the pda lock up with a error. i erased the errors and still was stuck in stock.
other problem ive had was ive gone through two pdas. not that good of a product that just sits on the dash.
love the display and being able every setting known to man with ease.
2 problems ive encounted was a couple of times tolling the mountains the pda lock up with a error. i erased the errors and still was stuck in stock.
other problem ive had was ive gone through two pdas. not that good of a product that just sits on the dash.
tell me about this efilive i have never heard of it why is it so much better just because its a custom tune? this is my daily driver i dont need a 1000 horse truck that dumps huge clouds of dollar bills out the tail pipe just something that is going to perform and be reliable
The tunes are custom tuned to you and your truck. With your driving style and your use in mind. You can get tow tunes for exactly the weight your pulling, with being safe, not getting hot. Your not gonna get 1000 hp out of a tuner, takes ALOT more than that. Ask carlc about it he tunes EFILive and he could explain better why custom is better than canned tunes.
I have the banks stinger system on my 03 and love it.
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Clarke673
Somewhere between too dumb to quit and flat earth
X2!
I am running his EFI live tuning on my 06 duramax, dimond eye downpipe, afe intake,EGR blocked,resignator blocked, and custom 4-5-6" exhaust, and i had no problems messing with a "650 HP" 08 duramax with a bigger turbo, built trans, intercooler, intake, down pipe, 5" stainless exhaust, and full tuner. All was installed by banks.
181,000 miles, 12.9-13.3 quarter miles, 16-20 mpg (hand calculated), stock tranny, and i could not by happier. On my 03 Duramax (LB7, same engine as your 04 dmax) i had a efi live tow tune and the rest of the truck was 100% stock. It ran dead nuts with my dad's 04 duramax with a full bullydog kit and got the same milage.
Top duramax tuners
#1 EFI Live DSP5
#2 PPE Hot+2
#3 Edge Juice with attitude
#4...well don't worry about that little guy
My 03
and my 06
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carlc
Well-known member
Ok i will try to explain this in normal language, i think everyone will get it. if you have a "chip", for the most part one that you can switch on the fly i.e edge juice w attitude, bully dog power pup, and quite a few others, these catch the stock signals from stock sensors, and modify them either before or after the computer, to change boost, fuel delivery and timing. A tuner or programmer, superchips, power pup, ppe, edge evolution, etc, has "canned" or premade tunes stored on the tuner. when you download a tune, it puts that tune in and saves your stock tune in a seperate folder, so you can return it to stock. The problem with these is that you dont have much adjustability, except power levels and maybe some fueling adjustments. They also dont take into account your stock operating system, which is your current computer flash. So if you have a 2004 lb7, you may be getting a modified version of a 2001 lb7 OS, but you dont know. With EFILive, I start off by copying your stock Operating system from your pickup onto my EFILive program. I then save it so you can return to stock at amytime. All current vehicles are controlled in the computer by literally tens of thousands of tables and graphs, which control everything from your fuel gauge, to tire size, boost, fuel pressure, timing, absolutely everything. I then paste one of dozens of base tunes that i have over top of your stock program, giving a great starting point. Most of the time customers are happy with there pickup at that point, but then I can fine tune any parameter from there. The tunes can go any where from about stock to over 500 wheel horse power. I can add a turbine brake (exhaust brake), change your speedo (which everyone can do), a five position switch, pretty much anything. It usually ends up being a very clean, smooth and efficient tune. Most people just want a bit more power and mileage, so i have thirty and fifty horse tunes that work very well, and are also completely tow safe. Ok I think that has pretty well explained it, but just ask if you have any more questions. Thanks
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papa bear
Well-known member
I recently bit the bullet and installed a 4 inch exhaust, exhaust brake, and chip on my dmax LB7 that I have owned since new in 02.
This is a snowmobile website and most people on here use their trucks to haul snowmobiles - either on a sleddeck or trailer. I chose a chip for towing, not for hotrodding. Nothing wrong with hotrodding - its just not the thing I doo.
Power is always nice (and fun), better fuel economy is always nice, but the feature I really like is the exhaust brake. Towing a 38 ft trailer through the mountains is much, much more safe. Folks pulling trailers have all experienced (several times) the little econobox pulling in front of you and immediately hitting the brakes & slowing down. Driving over the top of them, though desirable, would just result in an overabundance of paperwork & headaches. The exhaust brakes really help.
I'm an advocate for system matching. Unless money is no object, let somebody else engineer the whole system for you. Putting individual parts and pieces together from various vendors can be expensive and frustrating.
The point of my story is choose a product that fits YOUR needs. As stated previously, chipping before changing your exhaust may lead to heat problems. Choose wisely!
This is a snowmobile website and most people on here use their trucks to haul snowmobiles - either on a sleddeck or trailer. I chose a chip for towing, not for hotrodding. Nothing wrong with hotrodding - its just not the thing I doo.
Power is always nice (and fun), better fuel economy is always nice, but the feature I really like is the exhaust brake. Towing a 38 ft trailer through the mountains is much, much more safe. Folks pulling trailers have all experienced (several times) the little econobox pulling in front of you and immediately hitting the brakes & slowing down. Driving over the top of them, though desirable, would just result in an overabundance of paperwork & headaches. The exhaust brakes really help.
I'm an advocate for system matching. Unless money is no object, let somebody else engineer the whole system for you. Putting individual parts and pieces together from various vendors can be expensive and frustrating.
The point of my story is choose a product that fits YOUR needs. As stated previously, chipping before changing your exhaust may lead to heat problems. Choose wisely!
thats why a temp guage in the exhaust manifold and bigger exhaust isnt a bad idea
friend of mine took off the emissions filters off his cummins, what a difference in the engine brake... works pretty effective now. cant wait to try the engine brake on the new 2011 duramaxs
friend of mine took off the emissions filters off his cummins, what a difference in the engine brake... works pretty effective now. cant wait to try the engine brake on the new 2011 duramaxs
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carlc
Well-known member
The exhaust brake is one of the best feature/option to look for in a tuner. 04.5 up have a variable geometry turbo in them, which allows the pitch of the vanes to be adjusted, creating backpressure in the exhaust, and also boost in the intake, thus making it harder for the engine to turn over, which slows it down. I have an 08 dodge with full exhaust and other stuff, and the exhaust brake works amazing. I can normally slow down to about 20 on a normal off ramp with sled trailer, and not hitting the brakes. As far as i know, Banks is the only one offering an aftermarket exhaust brake, except for EFILive.
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papa bear
Well-known member
For clarity:
There are two kinds of exhaust brakes for light trucks. (1) air pressure driven butterfly valve and (2) electronically driven variable turbo blade.
My LB7 uses the (1) air pressure driven butterfly valve. There is a air pump mounted under the hood and 1/4" tube down to the butterfly which is mounted in the exhaust tube between the downpipe and the muffler. The model I have partially closes the butterfly when you first start the cold engine. I like this as the dmax engine warms up in 1.5-2 miles rather than 8-10 miles.
From 2004.5 and on, the dmax uses a turbo with variable blade geometry. By electronically controlling the position of the blades in turbo, you can have a braking effect. Pretty slick!!
I don't know how the turbos on Powerstrokes and Cummins work - whether they would use (1) or (2).
There are two kinds of exhaust brakes for light trucks. (1) air pressure driven butterfly valve and (2) electronically driven variable turbo blade.
My LB7 uses the (1) air pressure driven butterfly valve. There is a air pump mounted under the hood and 1/4" tube down to the butterfly which is mounted in the exhaust tube between the downpipe and the muffler. The model I have partially closes the butterfly when you first start the cold engine. I like this as the dmax engine warms up in 1.5-2 miles rather than 8-10 miles.
From 2004.5 and on, the dmax uses a turbo with variable blade geometry. By electronically controlling the position of the blades in turbo, you can have a braking effect. Pretty slick!!
I don't know how the turbos on Powerstrokes and Cummins work - whether they would use (1) or (2).
Nearly all Banks products are overpriced for what they deliver.
I remember calling Banks 2 years ago when I was starting to bomb my '92 Cummins. I told them I was looking to make 300 (sustainable) RWHP. Without a P pump, 14mm H/R, or drugs... They told me it was not possible.
A couple weeks ago I put down over 350 RWHP in my DD "tune". I am nowhere near done yet. Before some of you guys start to spout off about 350hp being "easy", remember this is on a early (all mechanical) Cummins... It was factory rated at 160 HP at the crank, it made just over 125 at the wheels (stock). There is no plug-and-play programer for me...
If you want to know what is the best, talk to the best and brightest diesel guys on the planet.
www.compdiesel.com
I remember calling Banks 2 years ago when I was starting to bomb my '92 Cummins. I told them I was looking to make 300 (sustainable) RWHP. Without a P pump, 14mm H/R, or drugs... They told me it was not possible.
A couple weeks ago I put down over 350 RWHP in my DD "tune". I am nowhere near done yet. Before some of you guys start to spout off about 350hp being "easy", remember this is on a early (all mechanical) Cummins... It was factory rated at 160 HP at the crank, it made just over 125 at the wheels (stock). There is no plug-and-play programer for me...
If you want to know what is the best, talk to the best and brightest diesel guys on the planet.
www.compdiesel.com
