Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) smarty vs banks

[BTighe]

i just bought an 02 with an auto transmission. truck came with the banks power pack installed. ive been debating on pulling the box and POS gauges and going with a smarty. my concern is for the auto trans. as much as i would like to have a 500hp truck all i care about at this point is enough power to get out of its own way and keep the trans together. i am wanting to know how high on the smarty i can go and if itll be harder on the transmission if its set to the same power level as the banks box. what about milage? i have a heavy right foot but am will to keep the smarty turned down to keep the truck together. what about stacking the 2 on the lowest level? also i moved the pyro for the banks kit to post turbo to install my optix pyro and was wondering if the banks monitors egts and if its adjustable. TIA.



ben

 

[telliott]

well i can't really help much on the transmission question, but i would definitly ditch the banks and get the smarty. if your carful and dont run it too high, your transmission should be fine.

 

[BTighe]

if i would have gotten another stick this wouldnt be in question but this auto is all new to me.

 

[blacksheepdiesel]

BTighe,

Sell the Banks, buy Smarty and try it on #1 which is Fuel Saver. More power is available to SW#3 and still safe on transmission. When you upgrade the transmission you can go all the way to #9 on Smarty and when you are ready for more stack a TST on it!!!

Godspeed,
Trent

 

[Cummins724]

My friend borrowed my smarty for a day..... his automatic shifted way smoother & went in/out of lockup perfect. He didn't want to give it back. I ran a Big Hoss on my rig & the smarty would crush it for sure..... Banks tuners are no comparison to smarty.

 

[NoSeeUm]

Well... .



If you want to hot rod, go definately with the Smarty.



If you want to tow allot, take another look at the Banks.



I had a Banks Ottomind with the Stinger SW and Dynafact gauges. Honestly, it was the best (also the most low powered) towing package I have used yet. It monitored EGT and defuel at 1150F or so. But still gave me ample towing power for 90% of what I did. It also controlled boost at 23 psi and never smoked.



If the above does not apply, get a Smarty but you will have to get used to more complication when you drive. IMO the Smarty is a very neat and exciting product. I would reccomend it to anyone.



Jim

 

[Cummins724]

Well... .



If you want to hot rod, go definately with the Smarty.



If you want to tow allot, take another look at the Banks.



I had a Banks Ottomind with the Stinger SW and Dynafact gauges. Honestly, it was the best (also the most low powered) towing package I have used yet. It monitored EGT and defuel at 1150F or so. But still gave me ample towing power for 90% of what I did. It also controlled boost at 23 psi and never smoked.





Jim

Really I had the Banks Big Hoss [red box] on my truck & didn't notice a difference in my truck. I called Banks & they did trouble shooting & said that nothing was wrong. I then ordered the Black box Ottomind & it was better than the red one, but still didn't impress me at all. Maybe I did have 2 bad boxes or something, but I am surprised that you are comparing the lowend grunt to Smarty. The 2 didn't even compare on my truck. Are the Banks boxes a hit n' miss on these trucks or what?

 

[SnoKing]

Just remember that the Smarty will bring on power at lower RPM's where your stock transmission is low on line pressure. SNOKING

 

[blacksheepdiesel]

Grossing at 26,000lbs up a mountain I was never able to get over 1200* egt with just Smarty, RV275's and boost elbow. My boost reads 30+ with Smarty which keeps egt's down. Of course I do have a 6 speed which helps as my torque converter can't unlock.

Godspeed,
Trent

 

[BTowler]

If you are ditching the gauges as well you will need to replace them before doing anything else. I would suggest an Edge Juice w/Attitude monitor, gives you all your gauges, up to 120hp with on the fly adjustability, and a turbo timer! Then add a Smarty...

 

[hummincummins2]

the smarty is awesome, you can set it to any setting you want basiclly.

 

[NoSeeUm]

Really I had the Banks Big Hoss [red box] on my truck & didn't notice a difference in my truck. I called Banks & they did trouble shooting & said that nothing was wrong. I then ordered the Black box Ottomind & it was better than the red one, but still didn't impress me at all. Maybe I did have 2 bad boxes or something, but I am surprised that you are comparing the lowend grunt to Smarty. The 2 didn't even compare on my truck. Are the Banks boxes a hit n' miss on these trucks or what?

Well...



Sorry, I am clueless about the the Big Hoss maybe I should have kept my fingers quite. My accessment is accurate between the Stinger and the Smarty SW, both of which I have own(ed) and have used quite a bit.



I don't believe that I did compare the low end torque of the Smarty to the Banks. The Smarty wins hands down. The Ottomind is an electronic box, consequently it waited for boost and RPM to come up then the torque rise was about the same as the Smarty. The Smarty just does it at 1/4 inch of diesel peddle movement and right off idle. While the Banks had low RPM torque management to protect drive line components. The total Hp for both is about the same.



The original poster is concerned about his transmission and he already owns a Banks and was asking for opinions.



Concerning too much low end grunt. I should say that I am not really a fan of it. The low RPM responsiveness of the Smarty can make my drive train groan really bad, especially under load. I have to be careful. I don't really consider that a benefit for towing. To me, that massive wear and tear is for no real reason. Getting the load started or lugging hard in too high of a gear is not as important has performance pulling up grades with the engine running in the sweet spot for pulling at speed .



FWIW I love my Smarty, and these days I run SW2. Fair enough?



Jim

 

[BTighe]

k-falls eh? were you at the dyno a couple of weeks ago?

i know a guy that has a smarty i can try so im gonna get ahold of him soon. as much as i dont care for the banks stuff its doing the job. if i can have the same HP as i do know but coming on lower in the rpms, ill be happy. if i can have that without compromising trans parts, even better. can they be stacked safely on the lowest settings? i put the banks pyro post turbo so it wouldnt defuel.

ive got optix pyro, boost, trans, and fuel installed already. after i realized the banks gauges werent back lit i ordered them up. i had gauges on my stock 06 too. just gotta have em

thanks for the replies. i think im gonna have a hard time getting used to this auto

 

[NoSeeUm]

k-falls eh? were you at the dyno a couple of weeks ago?

i know a guy that has a smarty i can try so im gonna get ahold of him soon. as much as i dont care for the banks stuff its doing the job. if i can have the same HP as i do know but coming on lower in the rpms, ill be happy. if i can have that without compromising trans parts, even better. can they be stacked safely on the lowest settings? i put the banks pyro post turbo so it wouldnt defuel.

ive got optix pyro, boost, trans, and fuel installed already. after i realized the banks gauges werent back lit i ordered them up. i had gauges on my stock 06 too. just gotta have em

thanks for the replies. i think im gonna have a hard time getting used to this auto

Yes I was at the Dyno, my truck is white. At least I put down more than the 74 Toyota 4x4.

i put the banks pyro post turbo so it wouldnt defuel.

Sounds like you want to hot rod, the Banks will limit you at every turn. For about the same money as a Smarty the Juice would be a better buy IMO. But like you said you already bought gauges, so kind of a wash now.

can they be stacked safely on the lowest settings?

I tried that with my Stinger. The Banks still manages torque and defuels on high boost. It was a very poor stack and not very effective in my opinion. I would run one or the other.

If you are ditching the gauges as well you will need to replace them before doing anything else. I would suggest an Edge Juice w/Attitude monitor, gives you all your gauges, up to 120hp with on the fly adjustability, and a turbo timer! Then add a Smarty...

But if it were me I would spend the money first on the transmission and put up with the Banks a bit longer while I had the money. Both the Smarty and the Juice are much more capable of making a mess out of it. I am not sure of your finanances, but you could be forced to fix the transmission after it goes belly up or just let the truck sit until you can.



Jim

 

[BTighe]

that toyota was impressive :-laf i had the red truck parked on the side of the road way out in BFE:-laf

well it seems my safest bet is to keep the banks on for now. my finances are stretched out right now and a blown trans would kill me. ill jump on a smarty if the deal is right but till then ill sit on the banks. truck only has 31k on it so id like to keep the transmission in good shape till i can upgrade.



thanks for the info guys.