1200 HP | Building a Monster Truck Engine 13

In today’s episode, we get to 1200 HP, but the wrong way. Watch the full episode below to find out what the wrong way is. It’s no secret Banks has been developing the latest iteration of its super-charged twin-turbo Duramax. As long-time fans will recall, the first set of super-turbo diesel engines were installed in go-fast boats used by, well, we’re not at liberty to say. Suffice it to say the concept was proven in the very harshest of environments.

Building a 1200 HP Engine

Today’s engine began its life as a Banks diesel dragster engine. The Monster Truck engine program was born when a request came from Dave Sparks (Diesel Bros) to build a 1,300 horsepower engine with an ultra-fast response. It’s no secret Dave had been suffering from throttle response issues in his now-famous Bro Dozer monster truck. He was in a constant battle with throttle lag. Wheel stands, endos, and backflips, all require a lightning-fast response.

More Time to Focus

Flash forward… with Covid shutting down live events, it afforded the Banks engineering team more time to develop the powerplant. In the latest video, Gale pushes the engine past 1,200 horsepower but not after discovering a bizarre balancing act between blower speed and boost. Over the course of five dyno runs, horsepower went up as supercharger speed was reduced. It was a head-scratcher. That is until Gale studied the differences of each run, with friend Dustin Whipple of Whipple Superchargers.

The first run came in at 852 horsepower. When he backed down the blower speed, horsepower increased to 956 using the same air-fuel ratio. Gale then further reduced the blower speed and horsepower rose to 1,017 again with the same air-fuel ratio. It appeared as though the turbos were coming to life the more he backed down the blower. For the fourth run, he added fuel and the engine produced 1,172 horsepower. How were the turbos able to make more boost even though the supercharger they were blowing through was spinning at a slower speed? Think of it like walking through a revolving door. How can you slow down the door yet move through the doorway faster? It’s a puzzle that Gale solves in part 13 of Building a Monster Truck Engine.