Scoping out possibility of some engine mods. Worth it?

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Give me Banks or give me Death.... No speculation!  I Have it: Their is no substitute. JMO

Dan
 
I put the Banks system on a new Winnebago with the 460...It really helps but forget better mpg, you will use more fuel enjoying your new found power.

Put Bilstein shocks on if it hasn't already been done as those stock Ford shocks were trash.
 
I have not driven a Banks molded 460 I have done the homework on building a 460 for an older 1988 motor home. (it had 1987 chasse) The last of the carbureted 460s. You might be better off taking the money and putting it in a savings account to put down on your next motor home.
That being said there are things that will help your situation. Number one improvement girt the gear venders. The next is to look at your intake hose it probley still has a baffle in it to reduce noise (it restricts air flow) remove it. Make sure the air intake hose is un obstructed and reaches forward of the front firewall. I also recommend a set of long tube headers not racing headers. They will improve your low end torque. Thorleys are good so are Gibson. A good exhaust with low restriction mufflers will also help.
I think you still have a distributor not the later coil packs. Make shure the vacuum advance is working properly and the timing is set right. You might be able to bump it up a little.
That?s enough for now.
Bill
 
I have a 98 Winnebago 35 foot and pull a Honda CRV. We are loaded to the max all the time. I installed the Banks Power Pack System which includes the headers, stainless exhaust all the way back and a modified air intake. I aslo installed the transmission controller from Banks at the same time. The results were amazing as far as power, the same mountains that I used to pull at 40 to 50 mph I can now pull at 60 plus. There is way less downshifting and it runs far cooler, the fan clutch rarely kicks in even at summer temps in the desert southwest. As far as fuel mileage, it makes very little difference, maybe 1/2 mile per gallon. However you are using much more power so if I drove it at the same speeds as before it may do better. I can't be happier with the system, a lot of research went into their products and it shows. Not cheap but if I get a good product I don't mind. I bought my system from Performance Truck online at a very discounted price over Banks themselves. I bought the transmission controler from Jegs Performance online also at a better price.
 
I also have a 1996 motorhome with the Ford 460.  I thought I was looking at replacing the exhaust manifolds because I was getting a slight exhaust leak when the engine was cold, then it went away.

As it turned out, the manifolds were fine - the tube carrying exhaust gas from the left manifold to the EGR valve on the intake manifold had a slight crack.  When the valve was closed (it closes until the engine warms up) the pressure forced the exhaust out the crack.  I discovered the problem when the tube eventually failed completely.

If it turned out that I had to replace the exhaust manifolds, I would likely have spent the extra money to upgrade to the Banks headers instead of buying new stock manifolds.  But since the stock ones are fine, as is the rest of the exhaust system, I'm not in any hurry to do so.

Like others have said, you'll get some improvement in power.  But I really doubt if it is enough to justify the price.

Same for the Gear Vendors.  Yes, you'll get some improvement in being able to keep the engine closer to it's peak power band.  But it's at a cost of having one more control to keep track of (the Gear Vendor doesn't shift automatically, you have to tell it what gear you want it in).

And given that our coaches are already 18 years old, I'd rather put the money towards my next rig.  These kinds of modifications are money down the drain - they may make the rig perform slightly better but they don't make any difference in all in the price you'll get when you decide to sell or trade.
 
I installed a full Banks kit on our 98 460 powered Pace Arrow. Noticed a difference in power climbing hills out west but absolutely did not gain on fuel economy. I do not think it is going to improve performance much back east.


To support what has been said it will be money thrown away on a motorhome that old.
 
Lou Schneider said:
I also have a 1996 motorhome with the Ford 460.  I thought I was looking at replacing the exhaust manifolds because I was getting a slight exhaust leak when the engine was cold, then it went away.

As it turned out, the manifolds were fine - the tube carrying exhaust gas from the left manifold to the EGR valve on the intake manifold had a slight crack.  When the valve was closed (it closes until the engine warms up) the pressure forced the exhaust out the crack.  I discovered the problem when the tube eventually failed completely.

If it turned out that I had to replace the exhaust manifolds, I would likely have spent the extra money to upgrade to the Banks headers instead of buying new stock manifolds.  But since the stock ones are fine, as is the rest of the exhaust system, I'm not in any hurry to do so.

Like others have said, you'll get some improvement in power.  But I really doubt if it is enough to justify the price.

Same for the Gear Vendors.  Yes, you'll get some improvement in being able to keep the engine closer to it's peak power band.  But it's at a cost of having one more control to keep track of (the Gear Vendor doesn't shift automatically, you have to tell it what gear you want it in).

And given that our coaches are already 18 years old, I'd rather put the money towards my next rig.  These kinds of modifications are money down the drain - they may make the rig perform slightly better but they don't make any difference in all in the price you'll get when you decide to sell or trade.
Click to expand...

Just to clerafie you can set the Gear Vendor to auto shift or manual. You will get at least a 22% reduction in rpm at cruise. This should give you a little better milage.
Some times you don't look at payback. Some times it is about making what you have do what you want it to do.Thus making the jorney better till you decide you want to upgrade.
Bill
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
Just to clerafie you can set the Gear Vendor to auto shift or manual. You will get at least a 22% reduction in rpm at cruise. This should give you a little better milage.
Click to expand...

The F53 with the E4OD already has an overdrive gear - the engine is turning about 2400 RPM at cruise, just about right at peak torque which is where you want to be considering the load.  Going any lower would be counterproductive.

The only thing the Gear Vendor will improve is the 2nd to 3rd gear gap, and even in a 35 ft. coach towing a car it only comes into play going up a steep grade.  Even here in the west, 90% of my driving is flat and mostly level.  Probably more so in the rest of the country.  Like I said, it's just not worth throwing that much money at a minimal problem.
 
Thanks for the input, everybody. Interesting how there are so many different opinions on the same thing. Some say the power increase will be fairly minimal, while others say the difference is like night and day.

As far as the GearVendors, it may help with minimizing downshifts during uphill climbs, but as Lou says, my tranny already has an overdrive and, yes, the RPM stays around 2300 or so during cruise (I usually cruise around 60 mph... no reason to push it).

The only reason I'm even considering anything is due to the lack of umpf on uphill climbs. Like I said, even a longer grade on a bridge makes it kick out of overdrive and the RPM shoots up. My concern, too, is that it will only get worse with a toad. Sure, Florida is mostly flat as a pancake, but we do plan to head north with it. The hills of the Appalachians aren't what they are out West, but they'll still work the rig.

I know, investment-wise, it is a loss. Mostly. But, we just bought it about 4 months ago. We do plan to keep it for 4-5 years or so before trying to upgrade. Plus, as anybody here will attest, there is a certain element of pride that goes with RV ownership. :) It might be 18 years old, but it's in really good shape, doesn't look 18, and its mine. :)

So, anyway, we shall see. The likelihood of me doing both upgrades is damn near zero. But, we'll see about doing something. And, yes, there's always the possibility (and a decent one) that I'll just keep it as is.
 
Getting used to the Ford 460 and worse yet the V-10 when it starts screaming to put out the power you need to climb grades is disconcerting but IIRC the max power is somewhere around 3700 Rpms on the 460 and north of 4000 on the V-10.
 
banks has not been in business this long with out building good products, and good package deals. I have sold many of there products to my customers. I have not owned anything with a banks product on it. With that said, who cares if you will ever get your money back out of it? If you drive it, and are alway's upset with the lack of power,do it.

We have a 06 tour with the c7 cat, runs great, but still alittle slow on the big hills, I droped i think $3200 on a ts8 programer, afe air filter, and aero exhaust system. Will i ever get it back? NO do i really love driving up the hills now? Hell yes, it made a huge difference, and now i enjoy the drive so much more. After all isn't that what its all about? ;)
 
One bit of "Generic" advice I will add.. There are many "Chips" out there that all "Guarantee" to improve your performance and/or MPG.
Banks Power Pack, is a proven system that works, IT may not deliver much in the way of MPG improvement but it will enhance performance and the record of the company is very good.. Few who have a banks power pack properly installed ever have engine problems caused by it, Very Few.

ULTRA POWER. likewise, not as expensive and not as bold in their claims, but  This one too has a good track record.. Though I have heard of cases where the engine manufacturer has blamed UP for a problem.. I'm convinced it was not UP and .... The company (one of two that I know of) that distributed the UP and installed it on the affected motor homes made good and took care of their customer (Redlands by the way,  Im sure Brail's would do as well).

Some of the chips out there are offered by companies that won't be around a month from now.. And one common trick is to take a chip from say a Silverado and drop it into a Motor Home (Both with the 8.1 L Vortec engine)  This gives the MH a bit more MPG, but .. Knocks out the anti-lock brakes and causes other issues,,, And may destroy the engine.

In one week I had a nice chat with THE (not a but THE) Customer service rep from Workhorse and a (not THE) rep from Ford.. Both told an identical story save for one involved a Motor home with the Chevy V8 and the other a Ford car and engine.

In both cases the customer had "Greatly improved" the engine with upgrades, and modifications all designed to improve MPG, Performance or both..
And in both cases had blown the engine.  And in both cases: Warranty denied.

I might add, Neither Banks nor UP were part of those upgrades.
 
I have the 1999 V-10 on a 35' class A and the screaming at high rpm seemed wrong. Anyway, I installed the full Banks kit, from air filter to headers to exhaust, with the special chip and the transmission upgrade. I certainly feel the increase in power, especially on hills.  The engine revs high but sounds like it's being serious rather than hurting.  The engine is breathing freer in both the intake and exhaust side, so when you get to 4,000 rpm it is still pulling rather than running out of breath.

The transmission thingy increases pressure for firmer shifts and less slip.  Remember, heat is the major enemy in a transmission and to the extent slippage is reduced, so is heat.

The power increase is nice and well worth it in my case.  Your rig is totally different than mine so I can't generalize.  There may be a mileage improvement but I have not seen it because I enjoy the greater power, which of course uses gas.  At least it is no worse.  I bought Banks for the power, not for any savings and am happy.  Oh, the engine runs a little cooler on the flats, probably due to easier breathing.
 
I cannot argue with Banks quality, as that is a given.  However, after having a full Banks, including Transcommand,  would never do it again.  The installation was on my 01 class c, with the 2 valve V-10.  IMHO, the improvement in power was just not there.  The Transcommand did improve shift points.  We now have an 06 V-10, and although I wish it had a little more omph, I have no intention of touching it.  By the way, no dealer would give me any extra for the 01 having the Banks.
 
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