Banks on Ford V8?

[divingdoc]

Can anyone tell me what they think of a full Banks System on a Ford V8 in a Newmar MH. Does it really increase the power and torque to help you get up hills. Is it worth 3K to have it. Thks

[Scarab0088]

Your post was buried in a Thread about the Ford V10...so it has been moved to it's own new thread.


Thanks for contributing

[olfart]

The Banks setup - to me - is just too much money. I did install a good set of exhaust headers and that makes the engine run a little better on the hills. But no more mpg. That's all done with the right foot :-)

[ralphie]

Banks was well worth the cost to me when I added it to a '97 460 motor, but I don't think it does that much for the newer motors.

[John USA]

Originally Posted by olfart

The Banks setup - to me - is just too much money. I did install a good set of exhaust headers and that makes the engine run a little better on the hills. But no more mpg. That's all done with the right foot :-)

Did you go duals, or do you have both headers tied into a single exhaust?

[olfart]

I only run a single 3 inch exhaust from the headers - thru a 70 series flow master mufflers. Has a fair bark to it. It's not a race car. So I don't go over 3500 rpm and didn't want the cost of duals.

[the_vfox]

Our 1993 Kountry Star had the banks systems on it, it was 454 from GM. Amazing performance gain. Our Bounder did not have the banks on it, it was like night and day, especially towing and taking the hills. I would pony up the cash for the Banks.

[ARFFMAN]

I install the complete banks system on my 1995 Kountry Aire. All I can say about Banks is WOW! HP increased was amazing and torque increase was Awesome! Worth the 2100.00.
I also installed the recommended transmission (Transcommand) I highly recommend it. With the added HP the transcommand takes the strain away from transmission. I love the way the Engine and transmission performs. I highly recommend it. Its amazing what giving the engine more air and the ability to get rid of it will do for it.

[Shaky]

I have the Banks installed on my '97 460. It did improve my ability to climb grades and accelerate. I went with the single large exhaust. The change to the air intake and headers are what really make it all work so well. In exceptionally steep upgrades I still move with the semis, but The performance on normal grades and flat land is impressive. I've actually gotten over 9mpg after having the banks installed. The 460 will never be a gas miser, but the Banks Power Pack does all it can to improve your mileage. Is it worth the money? That for you to decide. I'd do it again. When this engine gives up the ghost I'd really like to install a high performance 460 with the Banks system. There are a lot of options available for the Ford 460. It was their best big block and one the best big blocks overall ever built. JMHO

[gruelens]

I fulltimed for 5 years in a 97 Itasca Suncruiser 38' with the 460 v-8. I really enjoyed the extra power from the full Banks system with trans command. Increased economy did result, but not enough to warrant the change.

As mentioned before, the factory set up is restrictive to the large displacement 8 cylinder 460 Ford. The Banks plumbing helps get air into and out of the engine. Banks claims gains up to 85 hp. and 118 ft lbs of torque. That can significantly increase your power to weight ratio.

Banks Power | 93-98 Ford - 7.5L Class-A>>PowerPack® System

The OP asked if the Banks system is worth the money. I would suggest that is a personal decision for an individual. Each has different financial situations and priorities.

[mpaton]

Originally Posted by gruelens

As mentioned before, the factory set up is restrictive to the large displacement 8 cylinder 460 Ford. The Banks plumbing helps get air into and out of the engine. Banks claims gains up to 85 hp. and 118 ft lbs of torque. That can significantly increase your power to weight ratio.

The OP asked if the Banks system is worth the money. I would suggest that is a personal decision for an individual. Each has different financial situations and priorities.

I agree with this poster on all counts, but I feel the part I highlighted in red deserves some more explanation. These power and torque gains are enormous; could they possibly be true?

I looked more closely. I would have expected that the gains would be the result of a comparison between peak power before and after and between peak torque before and after.

That's not what Banks does. The nature of a more free flowing exhaust system is to be less restrictive, and the higher the rpms rise, the more that lack of restriction is felt. So the rpms at which peak power and torque happen are higher. So at the rpms at which a banks equipped engine is making best powwer or best torque, the standard engine has had a reduction in power or torque from its maximum. That means that if we measure power or torque increase at these higher rpms, we'll see a bigger difference.

And that's what Banks does in their advertising. It's not what I expected, but that doesn't make it wrong. I think they do good enough engineering that they don't need this level of marketing, but that's just me.

Do their products make more power or torque than the other exhaust systems out there if we measure them in the same way? I don't know, but that would be the way to fairly compare them.

In my opinion they're good, but not enough better than the Gibson system I bought to justify the extra cost. And some of the other manufacturers seem to be phasing out their 460 systems, so there will be less choice in the future.

I'm not sure I'm such a fan of their Transcommand product. Their explanation of the problem they are trying to solve is spot-on, but I think it can be better solved with a mild "shift kit" to hydraulically speed up the shifts.

[House Husband]

There's more to the Banks system than torque, HP & fuel mileage.
The banks system is 308 stainless steel. Won't rot out.
No gaskets are used on the header flange or "Y" pipe connections. So no gaskets to fail
It is the most complete, perfecting fitting kit I have ever installed on any thing.
All necessary heat shields are provided. With out the heat shields the shift cable and emergency brake cable will over heat and fail. Starter heat shield is also provided.
No drilling, filing, banging or bending to make the parts fit. It all works.
I installed my 460 banks kit 11 years ago and have not had to touch it since.
The trans commander does skew the line pressure curve to increase shift firmness.
The line pressure curve can also be skewed with a voltage divider built from two 10W 5 ohm resistors.
I would do it again in a heart beat.

Richard
95 Bounder
F53