Pat Ganahl « Banks Blog - diesel performance

The Race Shop

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, January 24th, 2003

Most companies call it Research and Development. Here at Banks, we call it the Race Shop. I think of it as the toy room.

But calling it the Race Shop is not a bit far-fetched. This shop has not only turned out several true-blood race cars, but it has also produced several world record holders. That is a pregnant statement. The emphasis, here, is on several.

There are plenty of corporations, around the world, that sponsor winning race vehicles. There are a few that actually produce them. But I can’t think of many that have produced as many record-setters as Gale Banks, and this goes back to the days of endurance racing boats, as well as cars.

The most recent, of course, is the Sidewinder Dodge Dakota sport truck, which is officially the World’s Fastest Pickup. This truck—engine, driveline, chassis, body, electricals, everything—was built, tuned, and tested right in the Banks Race Shop by our own in-house crew. The same can be said for the previous World’s Fastest Pickup, the GMC Syclone, which was built in the Banks Race Shop and which topped 210 mph with an unblown V-6 engine in ‘89-’90. And our Banks-built, twin turbo, stock-block 454-powered Trans Am still holds the A/Blown Gas Coupe record at Bonneville at 268+ mph, with a top speed of 283 mph, set way back in 1987. And then there are the multi-record holding Geisler, Vail & Banks ‘53 Studebaker, the Kehoe-McKinney-Banks “Sundowner” ‘68 Corvette, and the amazing 432 mph Al Teague single-engine streamliner. This last multi-record holder was certainly not built in the Banks Race Shop, but Gale Banks is a partner in the effort.

But to call the Race Shop a “toy room” is really highly unfair. It actually is the Research and Development center of Gale Banks Engineering. The nine employees who work there range from draftsmen, to machinists, to engine builders, to expert welders, to sheet metal fabricators, to clay modelers. More than one of them can do all of that. Just about every product produced at Banks, short of electronics, is designed and prototyped in this shop. If it has three dimensions, these guys can very likely make it.

In short, what we call the Race Shop does everything from new product design and prototyping to the wildest special projects (race vehicles or otherwise) that Gale can dream up. When I asked Race Shop Manager John Espino what exactly this department does, his quick reply was, “Rapid prototyping and proof of concepts.” Well put.

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Winning Dodge

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, January 17th, 2003

Well, here’s one for you Dodge boys (and girls). Specifically, I’m talking about the members of Turbo Diesel Register, otherwise known as TDR.

The TDR is actually based on a quarterly publication that started in 1993 with a stated purpose to be “an open forum for the exchange of information from the manufacturers to the owners,” and “to give Dodge diesel owners more satisfaction in the ownership of their truck.” The TDR magazine is a collection of regular columns written by a variety of authors, two of whom are John and Polly Holmes. John’s “Ranch Dressing” column refers to their 2JP (John and Polly) Ranch in Silver Springs, NV, about an hour east of Reno, where they raise goats and other animals with exotic “coats” for Polly’s hobby/business of producing “fiber” for spinning into yarns for knitting or weaving. John is retired, but still spends one day a week (Wednesdays) at Carson Dodge in Carson City, doing “special projects.” TDR members know he’s there, and bring in their trucks when they want something “special” done to them.

Polly’s column, “Polly’s Pickup,” is a chatty, feminine-side take on diesel trucking with multi-topics that can range from trailer-towing to her new Dodge Viper (”Snake”), to a recipe for sweet and sour chicken. They’re both gearheads, with a small collection of show-winning vintage cars and trucks. Plus they were both heavy into NHRA drag racing in the ’60s (Polly drove a G/SA ‘67 AMC Marlin). Between them, they’ve had a succession of hard-working diesel Dodge pickups, which tow a variety of trailers to haul animals, hay, and other ranch necessities. And both of them have an insatiable accessory habit. Gotta have those accessories—lots of ‘em!

Last summer they were trying to sell Polly’s ‘97 pickup, but the neighbors wanted John’s ‘00 Quad-Cab instead, so he replaced it with a white 2002, Quad-Cab, 4×4 with an automatic trans. He immediately began to accessorize it with things like custom mudflaps, cab lights, trailer hitch, rear lighting, a custom trans pan and differential covers, and little touches like painting the taillight housings body color. That’s just the short list.

About this time we had contacted TDR to see if we could get some coverage in the magazine on Banks power and braking products for Dodge diesels. They directed us to John and his new 2002. I’ve talked about prototyping new products here at Banks a couple of times, and how we need a guinea pig truck for every model year to fit our new parts to. John’s new truck was just what we needed to test-fit our products on ‘02 Dodges. He was happy to oblige. Installing a complete PowerPack and Banks Brake, with SmartLock, on John’s ‘02 was relatively simple, primarily requiring reworking some of the wiring harness to match changes in the new Dodge’s wire circuits.

But remember the new Computerized Brake Controller (CBC) I told you about on 12/13/02? John’s truck was the guinea pig for that, too. The first prototype CBC was installed on John’s truck, and getting all those little black boxes (including the Ottomind, SmartLock, and CBC, not to mention the ones that come on the truck) talking to each other politely and intelligibly took some doing. But they did. We also did some prototype upgrading to John’s torque converter and automatic transmission, but that will be Banks News for a future Friday.

If you are a TDR member, you read John’s first report on his ‘02 Dodge, including his own modifications and Banks’, in the Nov/Dec/Jan ‘02-’03 issue (#38). With the Banks PowerPack installed and working properly at that point, John reported “it ran like a scalded dog!” The next issue will have a follow-up.

But here’s the punch line for this week’s news. In Polly’s column in that issue, she’ll report on a relatively new TDR event, called Diesels in the Desert. Held last October 25th, this is a Show-N-Shine for turbo-diesel Dodge trucks co-sponsored by the Antelope Valley Chapter of TDR and Hunter Dodge in the high desert town of Lancaster, CA, northeast of Los Angeles. A total of 60 TDR member trucks descended on the dealer’s lot for the 2nd annual event, carrying 180 people, though only 18 tricked-out trucks entered the Show-N-Shine. But some of these trucks were very tricked out. The event also included vendor booths and seminars, and was followed by a barbeque for TDR members.

John and Polly, accompanied by another TDR couple in their own pickup, drove down from northern Nevada the day before, taking the Montgomery Pass over the Sierras and stopping in Bishop for lunch. The next morning John and Polly parked their new 2002 Dodge, complete with Banks PowerPack and Brake and all of John’s owner-installed accessories, in the Show-N-Shine area, and then wandered off to look at the other trucks and enjoy the show. Judging was of the “People’s Choice” variety, with trophies being given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, overall, in the show. When the votes were tallied and the trophies were presented at 2:00, guess who got handed the big one? Yep, John and Polly. You can bet they enjoyed that day. And that’s not at all shabby for a truck that drives on dirt roads on the ranch and traveled hundreds of miles to get to the show. Yes, John, I guess your new Dodge is a “magnificent manure mover,” as you say.

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Tags: TDR magazine, Turbo Diesel Register
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At the Install

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, January 10th, 2003

A couple of weeks ago, when I showed you all the different departments of employees here at Banks Engineering (at the Christmas party), I said I’d tell you more about the Install group in a week or two. Well, make it two.

I guess it should technically be called the Banks Factory Installation Center, but all of us here refer to it simply as Install.

Every day, five days a week, we normally have five to eight trucks and motorhomes in the Install building (or just outside) getting new Banks products—you guessed it—installed. Inside the building there are five lifts and work stations, three of 9,000 pound capacity and two of 15,000 pounds, so they can handle most any kind of pickup or flat bed trucks, gas or diesel. Outside, in a partially enclosed area (which one of the installers referred to as the “Banks motorhome cabana”) are two large drive-on lifts of 27,000 pound capacity each and 20 feet long, so they can handle any type of gasoline motorhome we’ve seen so far. The diesel “pusher” rigs (motorhomes with a diesel engine mounted north-to-south in the rear, behind the rear axle—by far the most common type) are so heavy that they must be worked on on the ground, so there is another stall for them in the “cabana,” next to the two lifts.

Manning these eight work stations are—you guessed it again—eight installers, known here at Banks as technicians. Each is an ASE certified mechanic with considerable experience in the field, usually consisting of some as dealer line mechanics and some in specialty shops. These guys are kept busy by Cliff Hollaway and Jim Ovard, who are the Installation Department Coordinators, who schedule each installation 1-1/2 to 3 weeks in advance. Many installations can be done in one day, even if it’s a complete PowerPack and a Banks Brake (which, it seems, a large number are). Each Banks product or system has a specified installation time, and the customer is charged for this stated time at an hourly rate that is competitive with area auto dealer shop rates. This is a win/win situation for the customer. First, you know ahead of time how much the installation is going to cost, rather than guessing how long it will take. Second, if the technician runs into glitches—and you know how often that happens if you’ve ever turned wrenches yourself—and takes longer than the specified time, you don’t pay extra. (I must point out, however, that if your vehicle has physical problems, such as frozen or sheared exhaust manifold bolts that must be extracted, or if you have made modifications that cause the job to take longer, they will charge you for this extra time, which I think is only fair.) On the other hand, these technicians install these systems on the same vehicles every day, and you can bet they have learned the most efficient methods for doing the job quickly and properly the first time. If they get the job done in less time than specified, you get to go home sooner. That’s win/win, isn’t it?

Contrast this to doing the installation at home, by yourself. No matter how good a mechanic you are, a first-time installation is going to take a lot longer than someone who does it daily. And if you mess anything up, you have to fix it. The Banks Install technicians take every vehicle they work on for a comprehensive test drive when it’s finished. They check the proper operation of such things as the Banks Brake or SmartLock, and they measure such things as manifold pressure and exhaust gas temperature (on turbo diesels) compared to quantities they know should be correct. So they know everything is installed and working correctly before the vehicle is returned to the owner. All Banks products are warranteed for 2 to 5 years (some lifetime), and if any problem arises that is installation-related, you know they’ll take care of it.

The Install guys work from 6:00 to 3:00 daily (I think they’re crazy). But that means that, if your installation can be done in one day, you’ll miss traffic driving in, and you’ll leave before bad traffic in the evening. The waiting room in the Install building is about as nice as most people’s living rooms, with color TV, free coffee, a magazine rack, and drinks and snacks available. It, and the entire install shop, are cleaned daily by the Banks maintenance crew (in fact, their shop is in the Install building, too). But many who are arriving in motorhomes, or pickups towing 5th wheels or other types of travel trailers—from all parts of the country—prefer to park in the quiet dead-end street out front (we refer to it as Camp Banks), to spend the night. We provide water and electrical hookups, and there are nearly always two or three “Campers” out there.

I’ll end with a fun anecdote that typifies a day at Install. Cliff related that one day there were six or eight customers in the waiting room, chatting away. A black diesel pickup with a sprint car-like aluminum wing on the roof pulled up outside, and one of the customers inside, from Virginia, exclaimed, “There’s a truck just like that that I see at home all the time.” When the owner of the truck came in, it turned out that it was the same truck. The two owners lived 40 miles apart in Virginia, and passed each other every day going to work. They became friends in the Install waiting room and, once their Banks parts were installed, caravanned home together—3,000 miles. As Cliff put it, “Every day we get someone from somewhere.” I don’t think I could have put that better myself.

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What Recession?

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, December 27th, 2002

You can tell by the date of this column that Christmas was the day before yesterday. Last Friday, after I posted the Friday Night News, we held our big Banks Christmas party. And the emphasis—and this week’s news—is on BIG! My job was to take pictures with our digital camera of each department of Banks employees as they were called up on stage. I’ll post them here so you can see just how big we are. I’m talking number of individuals, not individual size of employees.

The Christmas party marks my first anniversary here at Banks. My very first assignment was to take the photos at last year’s party. This is my 61st edition of the Friday Night News. Time flies.

When I started working here a year ago, we had 160 employees. I thought that was a whole lot compared to the Banks Engineering I knew a couple decades ago that had about one tenth that number of workers in one or two small buildings. Now we have seven BIG buildings, and we’re out of room again.

When I introduced Gale to a press conference at the Oakland Rod and Custom Show last April, we had already grown from 160 employees in December to 180. If you have any kind of investment portfolio that includes stocks or bonds, you know the last couple of years haven’t been good. I pointed out that in January Ford laid off 35,000 employees and closed five plants. They killed the Lincoln Continental after more than 50 years of production. Oldsmobile (one of the oldest automotive nameplates) and Plymouth also disappeared. It was a bad time for business, especially automotive/new vehicle-related business. Yet in this climate Banks Engineering was growing. Since this was a news conference, I suggested to the media present that they might want to relay this news to their business editors. I repeat this suggestion here, should any in the media happen to be tuned in.

But this Friday’s news, as we were informed by Gale during his usual “state of” talk during the Christmas party, is that we are continuing to grow at an amazing rate. As of last week employee count was 193. We have continued to introduce new products all year, including new Banks Brakes and the new Jeep line I talked about three weeks ago. Gale announced that our gross sales for this year were up more than 20% over last year, and estimated that we were up to 3,000 part numbers in our product line. When he looked to Product Manager Jeff White for confirmation, Jeff said, startlingly, “No, we’re up to more like 6,000.” All this in an economy that was lower than sagging.

I think that’s BIG news in itself. But the next logical question is, “How did this happen?” It wasn’t by accident. Gale took several specific steps to grow this company in the face of hard times. Marketing Manager Rich Shahoian, who shares the sumptuous Friday News office suite, just informed me that we increased our advertising by 38% over the last year. And our advertising was significant to begin with. Plus Rich has been tireless in promoting editorial coverage of our products as well as our performances, both in print as well as on radio and television. He has been quite successful at it in the past year. Hopefully you’ve seen some of the press and publicity he’s generated.

Speaking of performance, anyone who pays any attention to this site knows that we went to Bonneville this year and set several world records with the Sidewinder diesel Dodge sport truck. This not only generated tons of good publicity (much of it ongoing), but also touted the capabilities of light turbo diesel engines and Banks products for them.

And speaking of this web site, we have grown it significantly this year. Both the Sidewinder project and numerous new products account for dozens of new BanksPower.com pages, not to mention the Friday Night News, which was added this year. Another recent addition (again, to the spacious Friday News suite) is former Hot Rod magazine technical editor and Circle Track magazine editor/publisher C.J. Baker, who is currently writing a series of easily understood technical articles about how different aspects of diesel engines work and other subjects pertinent to Banks products. These will soon be added to the site in a section tentatively titled “Knowledge.” Watch for it. We’ll also be adding coverage of upcoming fun projects, such as the Pro Touring Camaro I wrote about on 11/22/02. All of this has resulted in a 60% growth in the number of you viewers who have tuned in to our site—just in the last six months.

Finally, given the numbers I have stated, it’s obvious that Gale has readily added to the work force to keep up with, and to produce, the product growth. At the same time, we have brought more of the manufacturing process in house. In fact, the new CNC machining center I told you about on 8/23/02 is now running two shifts. You can’t grow sales and the product line if you don’t add the people needed to make them, market them, engineer them, account for them, and all the other support groups you see pictured here. Now what we need is some more room to house all these people. Gale says it’s coming. We’ve already bought new property for further physical expansion. But, in the meantime, the Friday News suite is full!

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Lumpy’s Torrid Truck

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, December 20th, 2002

Chad Horning is a videographer who accompanied us to Bonneville for the recent running of the Sidewinder pickup to capture all the record-smashing action, including shots from an airplane as the truck sped down the course. If you live in the Los Angeles area and watch the 5 o’clock news, you saw some of his footage in the last couple of weeks as several TV channels reported on The World’s Fastest Pickup. And, as I reported here on 11/15/02, you can sample several clips of his video work on our Sidewinder web site.

But Chad is not the subject of tonight’s news. It’s his dad, Richard “Lumpy” Horning of Burbank, California. They say the movies are made in Hollywood, but most of them, as well as TV shows, are really made in Burbank, and it seems like half the people who live there work for the studios in one way or another. Richard works for a company called Easy Rider Productions, which supplies portable generators, dressing rooms, wardrobes, and other on-location support for music videos, commercials, and feature films. These are all in the form of trailers—mostly 5th wheel—that must be towed by trucks. Richard’s truck is a good-looking 2000 Ford F-350 XLT Power Stroke Super-Cab duallie long bed. He says he uses this truck strictly for work—nothing else—and since it’s always pulling heavy trailers, he knew it could use some more go and some more whoa. And after Chad’s connection with Banks, he knew where to get it.

So we fixed up Lumpy’s truck with a Banks PowerPack and a Banks Brake. Otherwise it’s completely stock, with an automatic transmission.

Now for the story. Last Oct. 27th, up in the desolate high desert near Palmdale, northeast of Los Angeles, the L.A. County Raceway (one of only two full-time quarter mile drag strips left in all of Southern California) staged a first-ever Survivor Series Chevy vs. Ford meet. The night before, one of Richard’s friends called and said “Let’s go.” But when he arrived the next morning in his convertible, for some reason the top wouldn’t go up, and it does get cold up in the high desert. So he said to Lumpy, “Let’s take your truck. I want to see how that Banks stuff works.” So they did. Then, on the way up, the friend started grinding on Richard to enter the meet. Lumpy thought the idea was ridiculous. But by the time they got there, the friend had somehow convinced him to do it. “It was only $20 to enter,” Richard told me.

This was all completely spur of the moment. The truck had a full toolbox and the 5th wheel in the bed, a heavy ball hitch on the back, and a back seat full of other stuff. Lumpy was no regular drag racer. But he decided to enter the OEM Tire class, which was for any types of vehicles running factory original or replacement tires. There were about a dozen cars in this bracket class, including several Cobra Mustangs and similar cars. Lumpy’s was definitely the only diesel duallie pickup at the event.

For his first and only practice run, he turned 16.50 seconds, but he forgot to take the truck out of overdrive. So for his first actual race, he dialed-in at 16.20. He took off with a little chirp of the tires, letting the automatic shift for itself. Toward the finish line, he said he saw some of the young spectators kind of pointing and laughing at the big ol’ diesel truck. But he won!

If you’re not familiar with bracket drag racing, each driver writes the time he thinks he can turn, or a little quicker, on his windshield. Then the starter “dials-in” these times to the starting tree, and the slower vehicle gets a head start equal to the difference between the two times. The first car (or truck) to the finish line wins, as long as it doesn’t go quicker than its dial-in time. So this racing is not about being the fastest or the quickest; it’s about running consistently close to your dial-in and getting off the line as quickly as possible. It’s more a driver competition.

Lumpy must be a natural drag driver, and the truck was plenty consistent. He won the class, running as close as 16.23 on his 16.20 dial-in. That’s good! By the final round, the kids in the crowd were standing and cheering. Needless to say, Lumpy was stoked. Now, those of you who know drag racing aren’t impressed with a 16.23 second E.T. But let’s put this in perspective. Given the full toolbox, the 5th wheel, and all the other baggage, Richard’s truck probably weighed well over 8000 pounds in “race trim” that day, but let’s use 8000 lbs as a comparison weight. Using the Quarter Jr. computer drag simulator program, using low-rpm diesel-speed shift points, if Lumpy’s truck weighed 3500 pounds, like an average car, it would run 12.60’s with the same power. And that isn’t factoring for LACR’s near 3000-ft. elevation. Does that get your attention? And its only modification was the Banks PowerPack.

Towards the end of the day, the promoters staged a burn-out contest, with $100 going to the winner. Lumpy was ready for more. Actually, he told me he wasn’t sure whether it would spin the tires at all. But he decided to give it a try. Judging burn-outs is subjective. But once Richard got those duallies smokin’ there was absolutely no question which vehicle won. It was a pretty unusual—and impressive—display. The $100 prize will hardly put a dent in the $400-$500 he’ll have to pay for new rear tires, but Lumpy says it was all completely worth it. He wants to do it again.

However, talking to him yesterday about these unexpected exploits, he actually had more to say about the Banks Brake than anything else. Remember, other than this one day of play, Richard uses this truck exclusively for towing big, heavy trailers. Last week he had to take one over the Grapevine. He said that in the past he had driven big rigs with Jake Brakes, but he said the Banks Brake on his Power Stroke works even better. He’s only had it on a couple of months, but he couldn’t say enough good about it.

Now, before all you Dodge boys get your knickers in a knot over another story about a Ford Power Stroke winning an event, be advised that (1) he won his class; there was no Top Eliminator (Ford was declared event winner; they won 4 of 5 classes); (2) it was bracket racing, so speed didn’t matter; and (3) he didn’t beat any Dodges, because they weren’t invited at all. Why so many Ford diesel success stories? Because they tell me about them and send me photos to use. If you want Dodge turbo diesel equal time, tell me about your exploits—using Banks Power equipment, of course—and send material to me at the Friday Night News. Same goes for any of you doing anything outstanding, unusual, fun, or maybe even absurd with Banks Powered vehicles. I’m open. Believe it or not.

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Tags: Lumpy's Torrid Truck
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CBC News

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, December 13th, 2002

A lot of our products tend to sound like TV stations.

CBC

It’s called an acronym. In this case it stands for Computerized Brake Controller. And it’s a patent-pending Banks exclusive that is now an integral part of our Banks Brakes. Other diesel exhaust brakes are controlled by a micro-switch, which is a simple on-off device just like a light switch at home. It must be physically mounted to contact the throttle, which means it must be adjusted to turn on when the throttle is closed (and, more than likely, readjusted periodically to keep it working properly). And, since it’s a mechanical device, it can stick or otherwise malfunction. And it only knows how to do one thing: turn on and off.

The Banks CBC is much more talented. You could say it has a mind of its own. It’s not a switch, it’s a computer. You hook it up with wires, and it adjusts itself, constantly.

But it does considerably more than that. That’s the great thing about computers: they’re multi-taskers. They can do more than one thing at the same time.

Unlike a micro-switch, which is mechanically mounted to the throttle linkage to activate when it’s closed, the CBC is electronically hooked into the throttle position sensor (TPS) to tell when the throttle closes; it’s hooked into the vehicle speed sensor (VSS) to tell it how fast the vehicle is going (including when it’s not moving); and it’s hooked into the engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT) so it knows what the coolant temperature is.

Therefore the Banks CBC can do things like turning off the brake below 15 mph. This helps you accelerate more rapidly from a standstill or low speed, with the added bonus of helping the turbo spool up more rapidly. The CBC also “cycles,” or exercises, the brake on every cold start, whether you have the brake turned on or not. This provides several advantages. First, it keeps the mechanical parts limber, so they will never stick from lack of use. Second, it helps warm up the engine more quickly. And third—this is the one you’ll like the best—that means your heater will be effective sooner. How does the CBC know whether it’s a cold start or not? Remember, it’s hooked into the throttle position sensor, the vehicle speed sensor, and the engine coolant temperature sensor. So it knows when the engine is idling, it knows the vehicle is not moving, and it knows what the coolant temperature is. At idle, the CBC keeps the brake closed on Ford Power Strokes and Dodge Cummins until the coolant reaches 140 degrees. On Chevy Duramaxes, with EGR, it keeps it closed until 125 degrees. And, incidentally, the CBC makes the Banks Brake compatible with EGR-equipped Duramaxes—the only one that is.

The CBC also cancels cruise control whenever the Banks Brake is activated.

Most drivers take their foot off the accelerator while shifting gears with a manual transmission. If all you have is a mechanical switch on the accelerator linkage operating the exhaust brake, that means the brake will engage every time you shift gears. You don’t want this. When you’re up-shifting, you want to be gaining momentum. And you want to maintain the turbo’s momentum, as well. You don’t want to damp it with a closing exhaust brake between each shift. Some brakes slam shut as soon as the micro-switch is engaged. Ours has a graduated closing rate engineered into the brake itself, so it doesn’t slam shut during gear changes. This is not a function of the CBC, directly, but it’s still good.

In fact, if the brake does slam shut, this can cause a back-pressure spike in the exhaust system, which can lead to possible engine damage if it exceeds the back-pressure limit. If the brake is designed to keep this spike at or under the engine’s pressure limit (so it doesn’t “float” the exhaust valves), that means the effective braking pressure will fall to some lower amount. The Banks Brake is engineered in such a way that the valve closing rate does not create a spike, so that it can come up to maximum allowable braking pressure for the best possible braking action. This is better, no?

And a little, solid-state computer is much better at controlling multi-task functions than a simple on-off switch, which can’t multi-task at all. The news? As I alluded last week, we’ve had the CBC for the Ford Power Stroke and GM Duramax exhaust brakes for some time. And this week we are announcing a CBC for our Banks Brake for the 24-valve Dodge Cummins, as well. So now we not only have the only Computerized Brake Controller on the market, but we also have the market covered with CBC’s for the current line-up of turbo-diesel pickups and sport utility vehicles. It’s not a TV station. In terms of diesel trucks, especially if you’re towing a load, it’s better.

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The Jeeps are Coming

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, December 6th, 2002

Two things this week. The primary news is that we are tooling up for a new line of Banks products for Jeeps. The secondary subject is the process of tooling up, otherwise known as prototyping.

We’ve been noticing a few questions and answers on web site chat rooms talking about whether Banks is going to make products for Jeeps. The answer is yes, we are. We are going to make TorqueTube exhaust manifolds; cat-back, all-stainless, mandrel-bent exhaust systems including a straight-through stainless Dynaflow muffler; and high-flow air intake systems. Our first target is for ‘91-’03 Wranglers with the 4.0L straight six engine. As of today, we have a ‘99 and 2001 model in our shop, to which we are fitting prototype TorqueTubes. We have the basic design determined. The question, and it’s not a really big one, is exactly how the outlet will be configured.

See, the big problem with prototyping is that Detroit (or Toledo) keeps changing their mind. One year the catalytic converter is here, next year it’s there. One year it has one here, then it has two there. Worse, on several lines of vehicles, they might have cats in California and something else in other states. For most of the ‘91-’03 run the Wrangler used a welded steel tube exhaust manifold that they kept changing because of a persistent cracking problem. Then, a couple of years ago, they switched to a cast iron exhaust manifold set-up to solve the problem. So how are you supposed to design, and sell, a new exhaust system to replace—or match up to—all these variables? That’s what our engineering department is faced with constantly. And we’re only talking mechanical intake/exhaust system here. Imagine what it’s like when we’re trying to interface with ever-changing, highly complicated electronic systems—which we are daily.

While prototyping a new product here at Banks our first goal, of course, is to improve performance and reliability, not to mention economy, over the stock parts. But, at the same time, we have to maintain the emissions legality of the vehicle, we have to design the best fit and finish of the part, and we have to design a part with the best value for the customer. A big part of the value is designing a part that will fit the most applications, rather than having to build, and stock, several different part numbers. That’s the niggling point we’re at on the Jeep TorqueTube. We might be able to make one part, with different “down tubes” (connector tubes) to the stock catalytic converters, or we might have to make two slightly different manifolds to cover the ‘91-’03 Wrangler line. They might have it decided by the end of the day or sometime next week.

But that’s the news—Jeep products are coming. After TorqueTubes for the Wrangler, intake and exhaust systems will follow quickly. Then we’ll do the same for Cherokees and Grand Cherokees. And there are even plans for product for the new Liberty, 4-cylinder and V6.

Actually, the prototyping for these new Jeep products has been relatively easy, compared to some, primarily because it doesn’t involve electronics and there have only been a few running changes in the year models we’re addressing (which is more than a decade). Another new product, that I had been planning to announce here for the past two or three weeks, has been significantly more complicated. It is electronic. We already have it in production for Ford Power Stroke and GM Duramax applications. But for the Dodge (and again we’re talking nearly a decade) we keep finding variations year-to-year. One big problem in prototyping is that you actually have to test, or fit, the part on every year and model of the vehicle you claim it applies to, unless you can be assured by the manufacturer that there have been no changes from one year to the next. These days we’re lucky if there haven’t been two or three running changes in one model year, not to mention regional differences. And imagine what it’s like prototyping new products for motor homes, where several different companies are using the same engine/chassis in slightly different configurations, and even the same make and model comes in a variety of different lengths.

I’m glad I don’t work in the engineering department. Tune in next week to see if I have news of another neat new Banks product. I think I will.

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One Camaro to Go

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, November 22nd, 2002

At least one magazine calls them Pro Tourers: a new kind of hot rod with big wheels, very low-profile tires, big brakes, super-tuned chassis, a 5 or 6 speed manual trans, and plenty of horsepower. In other words, a hot rod that drives in something other than a straight line and for distances longer than a quarter mile—much longer.

The ‘68 Camaro under construction in our Race Shop is just such a vehicle. It sits on a chassis jig right next to Rick “Speed” Lefever’s incredible Mercedes 500-SL quad-turbo Pro Mod race car, and Speed splits his shop time working on both vehicles. We’ve been bragging so much lately about our Project Sidewinder Dodge sport truck—the World’s Fastest Pickup, period—that we’ve pretty much overlooked the Camaro project. Heck, it doesn’t even have a name. But it’s pretty incredible, too.

The trouble is, you really have to look to see what all has been done to it. I wouldn’t call this car subtle. But a lot of the modifications are not readily apparent. And Speed is not one to buy a part when he can make it himself. I can’t begin to tell you how much of this car is hand-fabricated.

It began when Gale’s son Andrew acquired a very scruffy ‘68 Camaro a little before he began to drive. It was just a bare body shell at the time, but he and a friend were going to fix it up and make it Andrew’s high school driver. But one thing led to another, and it became a full-on Banks project. Andrew’s been out of high school several years now.

At my house, we call it “we could syndrome,” especially when it comes to car projects with me and my son. You know, “We could do this…and we could do that…”. Some of it gets done, lots doesn’t. When Gale gets going on “We coulds” they can get pretty radical in a hurry. But they usually get carried out—eventually. To say this car is overbuilt is an understatement (just take a look at the rearend housing—and that’s only what you can see on the outside). That’s why it’s been in the project stage quite a while. But this week’s news is that it’s finally on wheels and tires and has a December date set with the paint shop. After paint comes window glass and then upholstery.

The main mechanical component left to build is the engine. It is currently comprised of an iron, 4-bolt main Oldsmobile Rocket small block and a pair of GM Performance splayed valve, symmetrical port aluminum heads. A pair of high-flow, compact Garrett turbos are in place, and they will blow through an electronic fuel injection system as yet to be determined. Same for the crankshaft, so we don’t know exact engine size, but it will be over 400 cubic inches—probably 427. And horsepower numbers anywhere from 800-plus to 1600 have been bandied about, but I’ll bet it’s toward the higher end of that range.

Will it run over 200 mph? We already did that on Mrs. Orcutt’s driveway with much less engine. With a twin-turbo 454 in a stock-bodied Firebird, Gale ran close to 300 mph at Bonneville. But the real beauty of this project car is that it will steer and stop, too. It has ground clearance and creature comforts for cruising cross-country. Which is exactly what it’s intended to do—Pro Tour.

We said it’s slated for the paint shop, but we didn’t mention what color it’s going to be. Come now, do you even have to ask? They’re sending over several samples of red sometime next week so Gale can choose one.

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Banks Power for Workhorse

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, November 15th, 2002

At close to 500 cubic inches, the GM 8.1L Vortec in the Workhorse chassis is already the most powerful gasoline motorhome going. So how did the Banks engineers figure out how to get 22% more power out of it? That’s 66 more horsepower and 77 more lb.-ft. of torque. They did it the way we always do—by building prototypes and testing them exhaustively to see what really works best in the real world. That’s why it always takes a little time for us to introduce new products for new vehicles. There are no instant solutions here. But the news this week is that we now have Banks Power available for the 8.1L Vortec in the Workhorse motorhome chassis at both the PowerPack and Stinger levels.

More specifically, Banks uses the same methodology for achieving power increases in nearly all applications: more airflow in, more airflow out. Both the PowerPack and Stinger systems include a Ram-Air intake filter to flow more and cooler air into the engine. It lasts a lifetime and doesn’t need servicing until 50,000 miles (servicing kit included). On the exhaust side, the Banks all-stainless, heat-shielded Dynaflow muffler (no, it doesn’t come from an old Buick; we make them specifically for each application), increases exhaust flow—that is, decreases backpressure—by 65% over stock. Behind that, our mandrel-bent, stainless steel, 4-inch diameter Monster Exhaust slashes backpressure a full 70% over the stock tailpipe. These are impressive numbers that anyone could claim, but we have accurate test data to prove it.

The PowerPack system also includes our stainless steel, mandrel-bent TorqueTube exhaust manifolds with machined 5/8-inch thick flanges for gasketless mounting. If you’ve ever run regular exhaust headers on a vehicle—especially in areas where they salt the roads in winter and especially in hot environments like a motorhome engine housing, you know that they are prone to rusting and warping, which leads to blown gaskets and lots of noise. Our TorqueTubes don’t do that. They’ll last virtually a lifetime. And they’re even designed to protect your spark plug wires (have you priced a set of those lately?).

Being a hot rodder, this last part is what always amazes me. If you take the hot rod approach, with more cam and compression and ignition and carburetion to make more power, you have to expect a decrease in fuel economy, an increase in coolant temperature, such things as a rough idle and noisy exhaust, and general abuse of components in your engine such as bearings, valves, pistons, rings, and cylinder walls. But the Banks approach—increasing airflow—does just the opposite. It actually lowers the engine’s operating temperature, which both increases the density of the air charge for more power and reduces wear and tear on the engine. And it also increases fuel economy. How can you increase power and increase fuel economy at the same time? That seems impossible to someone like me. But Banks does it by increasing the engine’s efficiency. Gasoline engines, in particular, are highly inefficient. They lose power sucking air in, compressing it, and pushing it out (pumping losses); through heat to the coolant; through heat out the exhaust; and to moving parts (friction and inertia). Reduce any of these losses, and you both increase power to the driveshaft and you decrease the amount of fuel needed to make that power. It’s called a win-win situation. And in a big motorhome like a Workhorse, you know you could use some more power—especially when you’re entering an on-ramp or climbing a grade—and you definitely could use some help in the gas mileage department. Come to think of it, the new Banks PowerPack and Stinger systems for the Vortec 8.1L V8 not only last a lifetime, but they’ll also pay for themselves over that lifetime. That sounds like a win-win situation, too.

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See Sidewinder Run

by Pat Ganahl

Friday, November 15th, 2002

Seems like hardly a week goes by that we don’t have something new to tell you about Project Sidewinder. This one will be short.

The news is that we had a video crew at Bonneville to capture all the action and sounds surrounding our record attempts, and you can now sample it on our Sidewinder web site. Webmaster note: As this is a very old blog entry, the links have changed. You can now watch a cool video of the Sidewinder Dakota here…

Coupled with footage he had been shooting in our race shop as the truck was being built, Patrick McKinley of our Art Department has spliced together five short clips showing (1) the truck under construction, (2) driving into Bonneville towing its own trailer (not riding on one), (3) activity in the pits, (4) interviews with Gale, driver Don Alexander, and crew chief Sheldon Tackett, and (5) an actual run as seen from the ground, from the air, and inside the cab at speed.

To hear ambient sounds and music, especially for the interviews, you’ll obviously need speakers connected to your computer. If you don’t have a program called Quicktime loaded in your computer, you’ll have to do so. The page with the videos tells you where to click to download it. Then click on each video separately to view it. They’re very short, and they’ll be very small on your screen. But take a look. The one of the truck runing down the salt at 200+ mph—especially if you’re wired for sound—is worth the price of admission.

Patrick has also edited a 23-minute video of all aspects of the Sidewinder and its record-setting runs at Bonneville, culled and spliced from well over 15 hours of footage. It’s really good, and people who’ve seen it have been asking for copies. Word in the opulent and spacious Friday News office is that we are going to make multi-dupes of it and make them available to our customers so you can watch it—full sight and sound—on your home VCR’s. It’s not ready now, but watch this space to see if and when it will be available.