Banks 6 Gun Tuner

[S.CalinaStroker]

Still doing my research on Chips/Tuners. Anybody got any feedback on the Banks 6 Gun Tuner. I am trying to stay under $400.00 and have found some Banks 6 gun tuners to fit my range. They advertise that this system monitors and backs of with any sense of danger. It also looks like a 6 stage tuner that is adjustable on the fly. Any feedback? Here is my current choices and want the most for my $$. SuperChip, Bullydog Pup, Edge Evolution, and the Banks 6 Gun.
Any of these to stay away from? They are all in my price range.

 

[oi8228oi]

first of all what motor you got.... and what year.....
second the cheaper 6 guns are the ones that dont have EGT limiting on them.... personally i would suggest staying away from a tuner and looking more at a 6 position chip like TS, or Diesel site's, or Tony wildmans. and i say this because with any of the tuners you need about 15 mins to change programs, vs a chip you flick the switch and your in the next program.... i have a bully dog power pup on my 7.3 and as soo as im ready im gonna sell it and get a chip with a switch... also if you decide on the power pup tuner PM me and i let it go a little cheaper then a brand new one....

 

[S.CalinaStroker]

I have the 03 ' 7.3. I still have the factory warranty and do not want the risk of losing it. I do understand the popularity of the chips but what kind of $$$ are we talking about? I am a beginner and not ready to fork out top $$$. Trying to stay at the $400.00 range or below.

 

[whatabudro]

@$400 You're in a bad situation. The first thing you need to do is buy gauges not a chip or tuner. If you want to buy a tuner setup that has the gauges built into it then thats fine but I don't its offered at that price. Once you start playing around with modifications to these trucks you need to monitor certain things like tranny temp and egt's, and the factory tranny gauge is not a gauge at all, its a dummy light that moves when it's too late, so it doesn't count. Get gauges take notice of the readings in stock trim, then buy a chip or tuner later when you want to cut loose of more cash.

 

[oi8228oi]

i know some chips are above 400 but also many are below 400... but before i went and did a chip theres 3 important thing that should be done first....

most important is a Full 4 inch exhaust from turbo back... if your looking to go cheap there always alumminized... if ya want it to last forever theres 304 stainless Steel... the most popular brand around seems to be MBRP, i persoanlly love my Hog exhaust...

Next most important would be the Gauges Pyro, Tranny, and boost. and remember you dont have to go with an a Pillar... theres always under dash, that holds 3 gauges, or you can do what i did and go with a bully dog outlook monitor that will take care of your pyro and boost then just add a tranny gauge...

next would be a free flowing air intake... being your on a budget i would suggest the tymar http://superdutydiesel.com/wiki2/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=38 with the ZOODAD mod http://superdutydiesel.com/wiki2/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=12

the zoodad mod can be done with the factory air cleaner still in place....

now if these things are done that i would say its safe to go ahead and run a chip but with out these things you run the risk of doing serious damage to your motor.....

 

[S.CalinaStroker]

Got the 4" exhaust on today. I went with the 4" MBRP. It is on and ready for the next step. I was not speaking of spending 400.00 total. I was trying to stay around 400.00 for a tuner or chip that can easily be taken off if I have to take to the Stealer for any warranty issues with the motor. My total budget for current Mods is around $1200.00. I have spent 400 of my 1200.00 budget. Going for guages, intake, and a tuner next. Trying to get ready for a towing trip to Fla. in a couple of weeks so I can check out the performance on that trip. Will be towing a 7,000 lb. Travel trailer to Talahassee, FL to watch my Clemson Tigers give Fla. State a lesson in football....lol.

 

[CHPMustang]

Exhaust,Intake,gauges,chip/programmer (in that order) unless you tow frequently then gauges come first

 

[Tbar]

You need gauges before you buy the chip...................especially if you are getting a t-wildman or similar chip.


Tbar

 

[S.CalinaStroker]

I'm trying to go ahead and purchase the remaining items this week, so I will be buying guages and a chip this week. I should be o.k. for the air intake until I can afford what I want. I am currently running a K & N stock replacement filter. Want to upgrade to the AFE Stage II, but wanna put that off till more $$ is available. Think I will be o.k. for a 800 mile round trip tow, without the intake mod?

 

[whatabudro]

You'll be fine without an intake on your short trip. If warranty is your main concern then go with a tuner until it expires. With a chip you have to remove some silicone/epoxy from the ecm and it will be easily identifiable. A tuner is no guaranty of keeping your warranty, but the safer of the two. If you go with a tuner you can remove it via the OBDII port but always remember to clear codes even after that, as some codes are left behind that let them know something was done. There is still no safe way of doing this as once the heads are removed in a major failure there are tell-tell signs of misplay. That's where the gauges come into play. Keep the egt's below 1200 and below 350 at shutdown and all should be OK on your end. If you have failure that happens to coincide with performance installs that is not the fault of the performance mods, your on your own budget fighting the big guys lawyers. That's why I installed gauges and exhaust but nothing else until the warranty expired

There is really no need at all in installing performance mods in these trucks for hauls. It's all what you talk yourself into. These trucks perform flawlessly under stock conditions and handle everything thrown at them. It all comes down to making the decision of how much of the bite your about to make you can chew.