A basic inline tuner can add power, but if it cannot see what the truck is doing or recover cleanly from a fault, it becomes a liability. The Banks Derringer Tuner is built around OBD-II communication, so it can use live vehicle data for dynamic tuning instead of running a simple fixed strategy. That is what makes it a smart tuner. The other part is failsafe behavior. Derringer includes a watchdog circuit that monitors the system. If the unit detects a problem or loses power, it drops the truck back to stock operation instead of leaving you with a dead pedal or a stalled engine. That matters when you are in the throttle and need the truck to stay drivable. On the same Ford 6.7L, same day, same dyno, and same road, Derringer also made the strongest power of the inline tuners tested. The point is not just peak gain. It is getting real added power with protection logic built in, instead of gambling on a box that cannot manage a failure.
Gale Banks frames the discussion around a specific claim: for the Ford 6.7L Super Duty, the Banks Daringer is the only inline tuner worth considering. The argument is not presented as a general preference, but as the result of direct comparison testing against other inline tuners sold for the same truck. Banks positions the Daringer as different because it is both a power-adder and a protective system, rather than a simple signal-altering box.
According to Banks, the Daringer is the only "smart" tuner in this group because it includes OBD connectivity. That OBD cable links the tuner to the truck's ECU and allows the unit to tune dynamically instead of operating as a blind inline device. In Banks' explanation, that connection is what enables the Daringer to monitor operating conditions and safeguard the truck while still delivering the claimed power increase.
Banks says the company purchased the competing tuners and tested them under the same conditions. The comparison was performed on the same truck, on the same day, in the same weather, on the same dyno, and over the same road. The purpose of that setup was to remove as many variables as possible so the differences in measured output and behavior could be attributed to the tuners themselves rather than changes in environment or vehicle condition.
In the reported test results, the stock truck produced 389 horsepower at the road surface. With the Daringer installed, the best gain was 59 horsepower, for a peak of 443 horsepower. Banks then lists the competing tuners in descending order of improvement. The AF Scorcher showed a best gain of 33 horsepower. The TS Performance MP-8 produced a best gain of 26 horsepower. The Stealth delivered a best gain of 24 horsepower. AG Diesel was last at 14 horsepower, which Banks characterizes as such a small increase that it raises the question of whether meaningful additional fuel was added at all.
Banks emphasizes that power output alone is not the main distinction. The Daringer is described as the only tuner in the group with an onboard watchdog circuit. Under normal operation, signals pass through relays, are processed by the Daringer CPU, and then are sent onward to the truck's ECU. If the unit detects a problem or loses power, it is designed to enter a failsafe mode automatically. In that state, the system is supposed to return the truck seamlessly to stock power rather than interrupting operation or leaving the engine in an unsafe condition.
To demonstrate the importance of failsafe behavior, Banks describes a test performed with the Stealth tuner installed. During acceleration, power to the board inside the unit was intentionally shut off by disabling the 5-volt supply. The truck was brought up to roughly 2,500 RPM and then accelerated hard. When the tuner lost power, the accelerator pedal reportedly went dead and the engine shut off completely. Banks presents that result as evidence that some competing inline tuners can create a serious drivability and safety problem if the module loses power or otherwise fails while the vehicle is under load.
The same type of test was then repeated with the Daringer installed. Again, the truck was brought to about 2,500 RPM and accelerated, and the unit was subjected to a power interruption. This time, the truck continued to pull instead of shutting down. Banks says the system remained operational at stock power, which is exactly the intended failsafe behavior. Once power to the box was restored, the additional tuned power returned. In Banks' telling, this is the practical proof that the watchdog and OBD-enabled control strategy are not just design features on paper but functional protections in real driving conditions.
Banks concludes that the Daringer stands apart from the other inline tuners in two ways: it produced the largest measured horsepower gain in the comparison, and it maintained safe, usable vehicle operation when the tuner was disrupted. The combination of dynamic OBD-based control, watchdog protection, and a demonstrated return to stock power under fault conditions is presented as the reason he considers it the only inline tuner for the Ford 6.7L Super Duty that delivers power, efficiency, reliability, and safety together.
