most power for the buck

[John Deere]

My humble opinion is stay away from Banks, they have pretty full color ads in all the Peterson Mags but guess what pays for those ad$$$$$$$$$$$$$. They have decent products but are just outpriced if you ask me.

You can do just as well putting together your own stuff, especially if you are handy with stuff like that.

I agree with Mike, I have had experience with Banks systems three times and have only liked the sidewinder turbo that is on my '88 7.3, the powerpack system that my brother put on his 96 was a disappointment powerwise and too pricey for the powergain. The stinger plus system that my dad put on his 97 is useless, I had to remove the chip because the egt's go through the roof if you don't study the pyrometer, and it to didn't add as much power as was expected and was pricey for what was received.

You will be money ahead to round up the parts yourself instead of buying the Banks kits. If you insist on a sytem purchase, I believe companies like Western Diesel put together packages and sell them at good deals. (chip, exhaust, intake, and guages)

In my '02 I have a 60 hp chip, 4.7 through 14.7 ohm variable resistor mod., removed the cat, installed the Ford/Donaldson air filter conversion, but I installed guages before I added any mods. I now have plenty of power to my 29' flatbed trailers and 24' livestock trailer, and Egt's not a huge problem so I haven't been able to justify adding larger exhaust yet. I have about $1,000 in mods. mileage avg's about 16.5-17 empty, I have hit 19mpg twice on road trips.

 

[BK Meyers]

mods...

My 2000 F350 is stock also. Thru research on this board and some others there are some very effective and relatively inexpensive mods that seem to work very well:

#6637 air filter set-up

Walker BTM muffler

Zoodad intake mod

I have the #6637 filter and the Walker BTM on my truck and have been very pleased with the increased performance versus the money spent. I would like to try the Zoodad mod (pretty much a freebie), then possibly the Sonnax valve body kit and a Superchips programmer.

BigDaddyTank has some very good photos of the filter and zoodad mods.

I stayed away from doing a 4" exhaust due to reading where many individuals experienced turbo surge/stall after the install. The fix was another mod to the turbo (wicked wheel, etc.). For my needs the stock size exhaust system works fine, just needed it to breathe a little better.

Have fun and enjoy the truck,
BK Meyers

 

[whatabudro]

I believe companies like Western Diesel put together packages and sell them at good deals. (chip, exhaust, intake, and guages)

Western Diesel has been out of business for sometime now, but check this sites sponsors there are a lot diesel shops offering package deals. Budro

 

[John Deere]

Oops, I guess that shows how often I buy from them.

 

[robtoya]

I'm a little confused as to the difference between a programmer, chip, tuner, etc. Could any of you explain the difference to a diesel rookie. thanks.

 

[CHPMustang]

I'm a little confused as to the difference between a programmer, chip, tuner, etc. Could any of you explain the difference to a diesel rookie. thanks.

Tuner and programmer are essentially the same as you'll go from the Tuner/Programming unit with a cable that plugs into the OBDII port just under the dash above the right knee,the tuner will upload the program you want and return it to stock programming as well.

With the chip it plugs into the PCM that's mounted on the firewall,some chips are switchable on the fly just by turning the knob up a notch to the next setting (60HP and up) here's BigDaddyTank's installation Article to give you a little more info.

With the tuner you can plug in,read Diagnostic Trouble Codes and clear them.

Both have their advantages but it's all what the owner wants

Bill

 

[robtoya]

Thanks for all the great info guys. I think that I will be piecing together package starting with gauges and intake exhaust, followed by a TS 4 or six position chip. It looks like I can do it all for around 1300 bucks. I'll keep all of you posted on the progress. Thanks again.