Banks ????

[JWendt]

I am wondering why a lot of people i have seen don't like banks products? Is it just the price or is there more to it?

 

[firemansdiesel]

I have the Big Hoss Bundel w/ PDA. I have not had any problems at all. It gives good power. It is alittle pricey, but Banks has been around for 50 years in this arena. It has built in safety features. All manufacturers have some sort of issues w/ a product.

Most people on here that bash Banks never used it and they had a friend who had friend who had another friend had problems (people like to carry on urban legends). People also see some threads bashing Banks products so they follow along with it even though they never used Banks. Take the remarks about Banks on these forums with a grain of salt. Only listen to people who actually have or had one.

The other issue is bad customer service. It may be. I don't know because I have never had to call. There are other products that give you more power for less. All depends on what you want to do. Alot of people here like to race. If you want a product that is safe and mild power and torque for towing and everyday driving. I would recommend Banks.

Also whatever you set your truck up with. Make sure you take appropriate upgrades along w/ your tuner (that is where people destroy things and then blame it on the box/programmer).

 

[Cummins724]

I am wondering why a lot of people i have seen don't like banks products? Is it just the price or is there more to it?

I had a Big Hoss tuner on my 99 for 2 weeks & hardly noticed a difference in performance. I called Banks & asked if it was broken..... they said no problem with the tuner. I sent it back & got a edge comp... ... Wow what a difference! Guys trash Banks because after they spend $3400..... they realize what they could have had. A smarty, intake, turbo, exhaust & a little money to spare. A smarty alone will crush Banks & only costs $685.

 

[jelag]

I've personally never used banks products but there have been a few threads about customers who didn't have such good results and got nowhere from banks. . 2 guys come to mind who had melt downs with their trucks that DC claimed were caused by the added equipment and those threads were around a long time... . I'm sure it hurt banks where it counts as they finally took care of the customers per their warranty agreement... .

 

[16919]

I had a Big Hoss tuner on my 99 for 2 weeks & hardly noticed a difference in performance. I called Banks & asked if it was broken..... they said no problem with the tuner. I sent it back & got a edge comp... ... Wow what a difference! Guys trash Banks because after they spend $3400..... they realize what they could have had. A smarty, intake, turbo, exhaust & a little money to spare. A smarty alone will crush Banks & only costs $685.

I also think that your money can be better spent as well. You can get more power for less money and many other products have user enabled safety features as well. With the exception that you don't have to pay 4,000 to get a mediocre chip, exhaust, and air filter. Also realize that you must pay to play and that you will break things unless you upgrade the necessary components.



Buying a product on the grounds that you don't have to modify other things to handle the power you just added doesn't make any sense to me. Be smart about what you buy and plan to use it in conjunction with the other necessary mods.

 

[MEmmerson]

I had the big hoss tuner on my old 99 and noticed a big difference. It blow a lot of black smoke the first time I took it out. Besides the edge comp is level selectable unit and the big hose is not. I all so had the monster exhaust with the power elbow and a set off there gauges. It did what I wonted.

 

[firemansdiesel]

The new Six Gun w/PDA is adjustable on the fly. The PDA is a montior that has 15 different setting displays you can choose from. Up to four will be displayed ( EGT & Boost is always displayed). I know the older Six Guns, especially with the older models had problems.

I saw the threads that claimed they fried their engines. It sounds like driver errors. Doing something they should't. It's easy to blame the Box.



JWendt -

I am not trying to sell Banks to you. You need to do research to see what you want. There is alot out there. Banks is not junk like people claim. #@$%!



BTW- If you buy Banks. Don't buy directly. Go through a dealer or performance Co. that sells Banks. Save alittle.

 

[Cummins724]

I had the big hoss tuner on my old 99 and noticed a big difference. It blow a lot of black smoke the first time I took it out. Besides the edge comp is level selectable unit and the big hose is not. I all so had the monster exhaust with the power elbow and a set off there gauges. It did what I wonted.

Really... . I had the black box big hoss & I sent it back once thinking it was broken. Maybe they are hit & miss..... mostly miss!:-laf

 

[Cummins724]

Banks is not junk like people claim. #@$%!

We only say that they don't give you what you pay for & money can take your truck alot further by going with other suppliers.

 

[TCDiesel]

Most aftermarket re-seller Do no testing of the products they offer,The first and foremost ,the add-on product should not interrupt the vehicles operation if a major mal-function occurred,You can remove the in-line fuse on all Six-Gun and PowerPDAs ,the the (Truck) will not miss a RPM,now try that on some of the so-called popular products here at the TDR. Banks is not for everyone,some owners are interested only in HP regardless off the effects on the Truck.

 

[JWendt]

Thanks all for the input so far. the reason I am looking/wondering is i want something that i can adjusted as i am going down the road. Thats the main reason i am not really looking at the smarty at the moment. Also from what i had seen that there was still a few bugs in for the 06's. i know that i will be corrected if the bugs are gone.

 

[RHestand]

My experience with Banks was not good.

I bought their intercooler in 04 for my 03 Ford 6. 0. I had blown the end cap off my stock one and wanted to upgrade from the cheesey stock piece.

The all alum. cooler was very well made, but I ended blowing (splitting) 6 hoses that attached to the turbo. (Try that towing cross country!)

Banks new they had a problem with this hose and would still only ship me one at a time. ( Made it a very long and angsiety filled trip. )

After months of my complaining they sent me a new & improved unit, I installed it, sold the truck and bought the CTD in my signature. There.

RHestand

 

[RRees]

I have "Banks" headers and exhaust on my off-road Jeep. Been on the Jeep for almost 4 years now. Seems to be holding up and works good.



I don't have any performance mods on my truck, except and Amsoil drop in filter.



Things will probably change as I learn from others on this forum, as this is my first experience with a Diesel (6 months and counting).



Later



Bob

 

[RAlberg]

personal experience: I purchase the power PDA/sixgun for the reasons noted by firemansdodge above and had installation issues. Called Banks twice a day for 3 or 4 days, left messages and never received a call back. Returned the product and had to dispute the credit card charge for lack of service and about five months later finally received credit for the return. My . 02 would be, if you decide on Banks buy it from someone who will provide service.

 

[TCDiesel]

personal experience: I purchase the power PDA/sixgun for the reasons noted by firemansdodge above and had installation issues. Called Banks twice a day for 3 or 4 days, left messages and never received a call back. Returned the product and had to dispute the credit card charge for lack of service and about five months later finally received credit for the return. My . 02 would be, if you decide on Banks buy it from someone who will provide service.

RAberg, sorry for all your Trouble, I will forward this to Colin Banks. For all members and viewers, if you need support on Banks Products that are Purchase directly from Banks ,contact us we will try and resolve your issues on technical support or Product Info. Sorry,this service is NOT available to companies that are ONLY resellers of BANKS products (Ebay etc).





T&C Diesel

 

[Bob4x4]

Bottom line is if you are relying on D/C to repair your truck under warranty do not install the banks kit.



Bob

 

[TCDiesel]

Bob4x4,According to DC what aftermarket (Power enhancements) are DC compatible or certified for truck applications. Or is this just another Charlie Daniels of the Torque wrench comment.

 

[Bob4x4]

There are no CERTIFIED enhancements:-laf Fos? I think the new members should be given a heads up on warrany risk not just sold on the Moss Magnason act as being the final word. We have tow ins all the time with some one who was told how great something was,but that someone never foots the bill for.

With the belt tightening going on across the board with all auto manufactors the warranty dollars are being looked at like never before. D/C has new policies in effect that put more burdon on the dealers. It is not a rosy picture.

I love power and performance more than most but everyone has to evaluate their own tolerance of risk before making a leap.

I met an ex Chevy tech at a dyno event last month and Chevy has tightened up at least as much as D/C

I am just saying if you can't afford to fix it on your dime you may be wiser to pass. None of this is directed at Banks only but I have my pinions on what works and what doesn't from seeing the good,the bad. and the ugly on a daily basis.



Bob

 

[firemansdiesel]

Does not matter what aftermarket product is on your truck. You risk losing your warranty. No matter what name brand it is. Even the Smarty if they can link it to that is the cause (if DC or the dealer found out you were using one).

There are alot of threads on different sites with trouble w/ the other notable tuners. One person has something wrong w/ the Banks. The s**t hits the fan. They improved their product over the years to work out the bugs. The others are just finding out.



Twest: Have you ever dyno a truck w/ the Six Gun w/PDA? Just curious. Maybe that will help.

 

[Cummins724]

Even the Smarty if they can link it to that is the cause (if DC or the dealer found out you were using one).

Well... . I guess we are lucky that the Smarty is undetectable in a 1 1/2 minute download of stock software.

Most aftermarket re-seller Do no testing of the products they offer,The first and foremost ,the add-on product should not interrupt the vehicles operation if a major mal-function occurred,You can remove the in-line fuse on all Six-Gun and PowerPDAs ,the the (Truck) will not miss a RPM,now try that on some of the so-called popular products here at the TDR. Banks is not for everyone,some owners are interested only in HP regardless off the effects on the Truck.

Oh... . so with Banks you gotta remove a fuse in the unit to get home. Sorry I didn't know. I just have to shut off the on/off button on the "other products". As far as performance products go..... have you tried other products? For the $3400 you can try them all. Also... . it isn't only about horsepower, but we do like to get what we pay for. I have respect for what Gale has done over the years & that is why I bought his product, but I was just disappointed with the performance on my truck.