Banks Speedbrake on a Duramax

I just returned on a round trip from Arizona to Oregon up thru the 395 AZ/CALIF/Nevada boarder and back thru Tahoe. There are multiple major grades 8000'+ and many 4,6 and 8 mile 6%+ grades.
This was my first trip after installing the Banks speed brake and IQ on my '06 Duramax 3500 pulling my 40' loaded 16k lb toybox.
What a difference. Used the manual mode set on High with brake applications in order to assist in quick hard braking when/if needed (and was needed, especially thru Reno and Sacramento... Some crazy driving going on there....). And switched to auto set between 50 and 55 mph at the top of any grade.
Last year on same trip, I hurt the brakes due to demand. This year, almost didn't need them coming down the grades. This system worked flawlessly, and maintained the desired speed manually shifting between gears as needed.
As stated before, the only regret I have, is waiting to now to install it.

Duramax Tuning

Really good tuner.

I guess we are lucky with our grade braking towing a 22920lb combined load because it works great for us but the higher loads the newer truck can handle ours would need some help.

chevman

I had the speedbrake on an 09 duramax. Worked great. Did have some trouble with faulty cabling, but other than that, it worked great...probably better than my stock, 2011 chevy EB.

Lenny K wrote:

MARKW8 wrote:
Thanks for the replys. Went to Summit Racing this evening and ordered it. $608.00 plus tax. Just got the speedbrake with no extras.

Mark

Mark, I tow in the medium setting and found that when going down a real steep incline I can force a downshift by quickly turning it to the high setting and back with no use of the brakes. The brake is very aggressive in the high setting.

Thanks.

Mark

MARKW8 wrote:
Thanks for the replys. Went to Summit Racing this evening and ordered it. $608.00 plus tax. Just got the speedbrake with no extras.

Mark

Mark, I tow in the medium setting and found that when going down a real steep incline I can force a downshift by quickly turning it to the high setting and back with no use of the brakes. The brake is very aggressive in the high setting.

I went with EFI live with 5 modes. I included two haul modes, light and heavy both with turbo brake. The only time the turbo brake is energized is when "Tow/Haul" is selected and the engine is over 2000 RPM and braking heavily. Does it make a difference when needed? I can definitely say YES!

Thanks for the replys. Went to Summit Racing this evening and ordered it. $608.00 plus tax. Just got the speedbrake with no extras.

Mark

I had one on my 08 it worked great holding speed while towing down hill. I had the switch on mine with the 3 settings, along with the foot brake activation. I ran it in Medium setting while towing my 10K plus Jayco, never a problem it always made me feel confident and under control. The Onstar will not give diagnostic reports with the Speedbrake installed, I didn't care about that. I think it is a very good product, I highly recommend it.

MARKW8 wrote:

msjdbman wrote:
Another alternative is the BD Diesel VVT turbo brake. It is a pretty easy plug and play set up. I've had mine for almost a year and love the thing. I will admit, I don't have alot of miles on it, but what little I have used it I've been extremely pleased.

Thanks, I just heard of this a couple of days ago. It sounds good but is $80 or so more than Banks.

Mark

When I bought mine, the BD unit was about that same amount less than the Banks. Must be Banks got a little more aggressive with pricing. Check Thoroughbred Diesel and a few others....perhaps the BD unit has come down in price too. I'd almost bet the BD unit is cheaper now than when I got mine...that's the way it usually goes:S