Category: Density

Sidewinder Type-R: Ready to Race! or Ready to Race?

Some of you might know (and most of you didn’t have a clue) that we actually went out and put some miles on our little red pick-up a couple of weeks ago. “What, you went out and raced without telling me?” you say. Well, the answer is “yes”, I guess. We didn’t really want to make it a big production since she was going into combat for the first time, and in all reality we are still in the testing phase of this grand experiment. I mean we all like being in the spotlight, but who wants to get burnt? I’d kind of say it was like being a great singer and going to a Karaoke contest at a local club, rather than going on American Idol and bombing out on national TV while getting crushed by Simon (not that I ever watch the show… I hear things about it. Really).

May 2, 2006

Riding The Big Hoss

Think of your diesel truck as a sleeping giant.

September 5, 2005

High School Biodiesel Brain Power

There are lots of articles being written about “home-brewed” biodiesel today but I’ve felt that most of these backyard projects getting ink are the automotive equivalent of brewing moonshine. I say this, because while the end result is probably combustible in a diesel engine, the biodiesel fuel produced is not refined and finished to any known standard.

Here’s a project worth mentioning for a variety of reasons. Technology Teacher, Michael Winters, at San Gabriel, California’s Gabrielino High School’s Tongva Technology Center began an Eco-Fuel Research Project five years ago to educate his students on the benefits of alternative fuels.

July 20, 2005

The World’s First Road Racing Pickup Truck

How many of you know that Banks’ Race Shop is building a roadracing truck? Did you know that the truck is going to be diesel powered? That’s right! A diesel powered roadracing truck! And it will be twin-turbocharged!

What’s the big deal you say? Well, diesels have several advantages over gasoline. First is mileage. Diesels generally achieve 20-40% higher mileage than gasoline-powered equivalents. Improving mileage means less fuel stops in an endurance race. This is a huge advantage and one that can shave critical minutes off of a team’s total time.

July 6, 2005

Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour: A Huge Success!

Perhaps you’ve noticed the lack of blogs from all of us during Power Tour? The days went by like lightning. There was, literally, no time to blog. Here’s how our tour went.

Day one:
Wake up (5:30 a.m.); shower; shave; meet in hotel lobby (7:00 a.m.); quick breakfast (7:15 a.m.); schlep bags to the truck-of-the-day (8:00 a.m.); drive to event city (usually around 300 miles); park truck at booth (2:00 p.m.); get swarmed by gawkers (2:01 p.m.); talk to people about Banks products (2:01-8:00 p.m.); pack up trailer (8:00 p.m.); eat dinner (9:00 p.m.); sleep (10:30 p.m.); zzz

Repeat six times.

June 15, 2005

A Ragin’ Good Read

I just finished reading an article in the May 2005 issue of Four Wheeler magazine entitled “Rage Against the Machine.” Awesome! Robin Stover details the success of Kent Kroeker’s virtually stock Dodge truck in the 2004 Baja 1000 (http://www.koreperformance.com). Check out this preview article on Four Wheeler online: (http://www.fourwheeler.com/brandpages/129_0411_500/) This adventure impresses me for many reason’s, but I think I just love to absorb as much off-road racing as I can, and this article offers a healthy dose of it.

May 2, 2005

Banks’ Intercooler For Third Generation Trucks

When Banks Engineering came out with an intercooler for the Third Generation trucks my first thought was, “Why?”

April 30, 2005

Power Touring

A few of us here at Banks are stoked to be going on Hot Rod’s Power Tour this coming June. I’ve been threatening to go on Power Tour since they started it. What is it nine years already? Anyway, this was the year I was going to do the long haul in my ’63 Biscayne. Of course, I’d need to change its 4.56 gears to something a little more highway friendly. But, that’s easy.

April 21, 2005

Turbo Lover: Part One

Have you ever heard a sound that gave you goose bumps just by hearing it? Ever since I was a kid that magic tone for me was that of a turbine whine. To me it just sounds like power incarnate. I mean…what’s more powerful sounding than a jet taxiing and taking off? That is the sound that suckered me into buying my first turbocharged car: the underrated Merkur XR4Ti. I like my vehicles to be different, and this one sure fit the bill. Aside from looking like the forbidden love child of Saab and a Ford Escort, it had a blown Pinto 2.3 liter engine that whined louder than a dentist’s drill. Turbo lag was BIG, but when it finally built up the power its demeanor turned from that of a timid koala bear to a raging donkey and squished my unassuming passengers deep into their seats. Sweeeet!

April 20, 2005

Giving Something Back

I’m sitting in my office waiting for the guys from WyoTech to arrive. This morning, I get to put something back into the diesel industry. I volunteered to work with WyoTech on the development of a light-duty diesel curriculum (with a high-performance overlay, of course).

We’re talking diesel pickups. There are now millions of them. The opportunity is huge for a young student as the demand is only going to get larger.

April 15, 2005