The Leader in Diesel Performance
David Downs Goliath at Baja
(From the Archives – Circa November 2004)
A virtually stock 2003 Cummins diesel-powered Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 Pickup truck takes 3rd Place in the “Stock Full” class at 2004 Baja 1000. The truck is equipped with Banks’ Six-Gun Bundle.
Straight Talk With the Man Largely Identified as the Creator of the Diesel Aftermarket
If your goal is to pull more weight more efficiently, and you are looking for more power and fuel efficiency in the process, where do you start?
A 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab 4×4 gets a Big Hoss Bundle — with the new Banks iQ!
OK, you haven’t heard from me in a while and I’m going to use the same excuse as everyone else; Power Tour, blah, blah, blah. But since I am doing so, I would like to continue my theme on fuel economy with a report from the Power Tour. As you know, we took five vehicles on the Tour, four trucks with diesels of various flavors and one truck with a twin turbo small block Chevy. One of the trucks that completed the entire 1700+ mile trip was the Banks Sidewinder Dakota. You remember this truck, it holds the world record as the fastest pickup truck at a top speed of 222 mph. The cool thing is, it is completely street drivable and is actually fun to drive.
Throwing a bunch of guys together for a seven day, 1,700-mile tour is bound to have its ups and downs. This sign found in Joe’s Crab Shack in Kissimmee, Florida on the last day of Power Tour says it all. The merry bunch of Banks employees (and journalists) that traveled with us now share a common bond and many memories that will last a lifetime.
We did the ‘long haul’ with virtually no problems to speak of and the 2005 Hot rod Magazine Power Tour was a great success. It was an excellent way for Gale Banks Engineering to meet its customers and make new friends and champions for our current and future products.
4:44 a.m.
Okay, the trip stared off badly when the shuttle van that was supposed to pick me up at 4:00 a.m. hadn’t arrived by 4:30. When I called, they told me, “oh, our driver just now told us he was experiencing vehicle trouble…” Great. What about my ride to the airport?
The shuttle company called a cab for me and my $45 trip to the airport wound up costing $68.30. The shuttle company is going to pay me the difference. Yea – there’s money I won’t be seeing again anytime soon. The only saving grace was Richard, my taxi driver, was also an Armenian philosopher. I got an Armenian history lesson on the drive to the airport. Interesting.
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.
Banks Power teams up with Kent Kroeker and his KORE racing Dodge Ram.
Banks Sidewinder All-Terrain, industry’s first diesel-tuner truck packages Banks Sidewinder All-Terrain packages debuted on Hot Rod Magazine’s Power Tour 2005, and Banks’ Power Stroke 6.0L, Duramax and