Banks Power System

[Acrown01]

Just bought a 2007 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36D gas with Ford V10. Noticed it struggles climbing hills. Lots of down shifting and engine running between 4000-5000 rpm. Friend suggested looking into a Banks system to increase performance. Wandering what experience others have had with either Banks or other performance enhancement products. Thanks

[tahiti16]

With an 07 he should have the gen 3 engine with the highest output V10. One might be your perception here, what did you come from before this? Last MH we had was 460 with 3 speed, our 06 V10 5 speed is a race car when compared to that! However compared to my 323i convertible it somewhere between turtle and snail! 🙂

Some have stated that Ford has pulled most of the capacity out of the V10 in Gen 3, starting 06 model year chassis, and even Banks when I talked to them said the improvement wasn't as drastic as with previous years.

In my case I will generally let the trans shift itself and hold the throttle to not exceed 4K, it will speed up if I let it climb to 5+K but the fuel consumption climbs much faster than the speed! :B I am not in that much of a hurry these days and tend to try and speed up some before hitting the bottom of the hill.

[Its4mykids]

I put the full Banks w/ K&N filter on my truck (see below) in 1999 after I got tired of changing exhaust manifold gaskets for the fourth time. Not sure if I really saw any difference in power or MPG, but I haven't had to deal with a leaky exhaust manifold gasket since! That alone made it worth the $$$. If it wasn't for the exhaust manifold gasket issues with the 460, I probably would not have added the Banks purely for performance.

[Daveinet]

Patrol 65 wrote:
I have Banks and it comes down to how fast you are really going prior to climbing a hill. The slower the approach, the harder the climb. However, mine only downshifts once and only upshifts when I crest the hill. I like the Banks unit in mine because the engine is really quiet going down the road with plenty of power.

That sounds like the Banks is tuned to high, or possibly too peaky of a power band.

[Gale_Hawkins]

Being in the wrong gear is typically cause of no ability to gain speed up a hill. Steep hills and/or heavy loads can max out the ability of any engine however.

I found out when we got out west with the 1992 Chevy 454 TBI it was best to pull the real hills in second gear (4L80-e transmission) if I wanted to maintain 45-50 MPH to save fuel and keep the temperature gauge in the normal or below normal open road temps even when at WOT it would go the same MPH.

The only time I could not gain speed in first gear was going into Kingdom Come KY State Park (14% grade) and up the Old Priest run into Yosemite. That is not a condition I ever hope to repeat because on both mountains a crash landing would not have ended well.

The V-10 I am told is good to 5000+ RPM if you need full climbing power. On our 454 I try to limit it to 4000 RPM since that is the WOT (on flat ground)up shift point programmed in by GM.

[AllegroD]

Patrol 65 wrote:
I have Banks and it comes down to how fast you are really going prior to climbing a hill. The slower the approach, the harder the climb. However, mine only downshifts once and only upshifts when I crest the hill. I like the Banks unit in mine because the engine is really quiet going down the road with plenty of power.

Good truth. Had a 2003 V10, 2 valve. in the last MH, Coachmen Aurora 3480 DS, 35' 10". It provided some improvement on hills. It depended on when I was able to get into the gas, before the hill. Once in a very steep hill, I could not gain speed, only maintain. If I got into the gas before the hill I could get significant gain in the initial part. Before the banks, I would lose RPMs and speed, significantly.

I do not think I would put one on my current V10, 3 valve. It is good enough.

[Patrol_65]

I have Banks and it comes down to how fast you are really going prior to climbing a hill. The slower the approach, the harder the climb. However, mine only downshifts once and only upshifts when I crest the hill. I like the Banks unit in mine because the engine is really quiet going down the road with plenty of power.

[hershey]

Daveinet wrote:

hershey wrote:
Installed a Banks on a 2002 Workhorse MH and it would chirp the tires in three gears...

I really can chirp the tires in 3 gears, but I'm running Thorley's :B

Seriously tho, probably safe to assume you have the first GEN V10, which means helping it breath will make a huge difference in power. That engine is known to not flow air very well, and has significant potential for increased performance by improving air flow. Personally, I prefer Thorley Tri-Y, for the broader power curve than a single tube header. You also need to make sure you have straight through mufflers, as baffled mufflers do not flow as well, and can often be just as noisy or even more noisy. It will also be worth while to deal with the intake at the same time. You can piece together something from K&N, or buy a kit from Banks. But either way, the first GEN V10 has a lot of potential for improvement by improving flow. They second GEN does not have anywhere near as much potential.

Looks like the first lair loses this contest 🙂 🙂
Seriously, the Workhorse chassis only used the Workhorse V8 engine (A GM Engine). But it was fun to drive after the installation - minus the K&N air filter. If you google the K&N air filter comparison to any other air filter on the market, it fails miserably. It does little to restrict the air, but it also does little to filter the air.

[demoon]

Put full Banks on my former 01, 2 valve V-10. Minor improvement in shift patterns and no increase in overall performance or MPG. I did not feel it was even close to worth the $$$$$. Now have an 06, 3 valve, and will not consider Banks for this rig.

[Daveinet]

Hmm, that did not used to be the case, which was also consistent with owner reports on RVnet. Wonder if they are including chipping the engine now.

BTW: IF you choose to, you can search for dyno tests of Tri-Y VS long tube. There are a few completely independent tests out there.

[RLS7201]

Banks seems to thing their power pack system offers more for the second generation (2006 and newer) engine than the first generation (2005 and older) engine.

2 valve V10
Gains Up To:+53 hp/+69 lb-ft

3 valve engine
Gains Up To:+56 hp/+70 lb-ft

The Tr-Y ver. long tube torque issue for MH engines has not been proven either way. Banks does offer chassis dyno results while Thorley and Gibson elect not to.

Richard

[Daveinet]

hershey wrote:
Installed a Banks on a 2002 Workhorse MH and it would chirp the tires in three gears...

I really can chirp the tires in 3 gears, but I'm running Thorley's :B

Seriously tho, probably safe to assume you have the first GEN V10, which means helping it breath will make a huge difference in power. That engine is known to not flow air very well, and has significant potential for increased performance by improving air flow. Personally, I prefer Thorley Tri-Y, for the broader power curve than a single tube header. You also need to make sure you have straight through mufflers, as baffled mufflers do not flow as well, and can often be just as noisy or even more noisy. It will also be worth while to deal with the intake at the same time. You can piece together something from K&N, or buy a kit from Banks. But either way, the first GEN V10 has a lot of potential for improvement by improving flow. They second GEN does not have anywhere near as much potential.

[hershey]

Installed a Banks on a 2002 Workhorse MH and it would chirp the tires in three gears..
OK, so I stretch the truth a bit. But:
It did make a noticeable difference in its power on hills. Didn't do squat for fuel mileage but I was after more power so I wasn't disappointed.

[crimmps49]

Installed the Banks transcommander shortly after purchasing our V10 MH and have been more than pleased over the last few years. We also put in the air cleaner system and that eliminated the fan kicking in all the time. Gas mileage didn't really change, but performance did. Good luck.

[Passin_Thru]

Ebay has a Superchips Ford Turbo Diesel & Gas V10 Module. Try it 1st. These chips can turn up the horsepower of your engine without hurting it. Banks turbos make a lot of noise IMHO and don't do much. There are better aftermarket products out there.