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Old 11-10-2017, 08:24 AM   #1
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Banks Power for 8.1 Chevy Workhorse

I am considering Banks Power intake, exhaust, and reprogrammer for my 2007 Adventurer Workhorse chassis. Any comments, suggestions, or experiences would be appreciated.
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Old 11-12-2017, 05:36 PM   #2
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You didn't say why you are considering a Banks system. If it is for increased horsepower, then maybe. If it is for increased mpg, you will be dead and your rig in the junk yard before you pay for it. I've talked with owners who have installed a Banks system and love the performance especially in the mountains out west. If you live and camp in the flats, don't waste your money.
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Old 11-21-2017, 10:41 AM   #3
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Very early on I got the UltraPower ecu tune done and it added quite a bit of punch, but then I'm only about 17,500lbs loaded. Here's their site with specs and ordering info: https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/Ultr...-Custom-Tuning

Mileage is dismal no matter what, unless we have a tailwind going down an incline, empty. LOL
Actually, we can get almost 10 on the level if I hold it at 60 when unloaded, not bad for a gas motorhome. Frankly I think the diff gears are too tall, it doesn't even shift into overdrive 'till 60, and the engine is well under its power curve there.

Anyway, you should know that both the exhaust and intake on the workhorse are quite efficient, and unless you're drag racing yours I doubt you'll notice a difference. Flow really only shows up at the very peak HP on a dyno, but maybe Banks can show you something worth the $$ they want for those parts.

For $595 I think the Ultrapower tune is worth it, the rest not for me. And you won't see much mpg gain because better performance just means you accelerate a little quicker so our foot negates any efficiency gains.

Let us know what you decide and how it all works out. Oh, and be sure to do the sparkplug and Taylor wire upgrade first as well - cheap update for best efficiency. Let me know if you need links on these.
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Old 11-21-2017, 04:56 PM   #4
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I agree with CJBROWN. If you're looking for performance, okay. If you're looking for MPG it'll never pay for itself unless your MH is your daily driver, then maybe. I installed headers on ours, broken exhaust manifold studs. It did improve performance but the main reason was I didn't want to deal with broken studs a 2nd time. MPG, can't say but I've yet to hear anyone say that headers improve MPG.

I just drive it, MPG is going to suck no matter what. Sometimes I slow down some, other times I want to get where I'm going. As everyone says, if your worried MPG you shouldn't own a MH.
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Old 11-22-2017, 09:09 AM   #5
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The mileage thing on RV's catches a lot of people off guard. They'll even shoe-horn themselves into a sprinter conversion to pick up some mileage. But if you do the math, for the average RV'r that drives four or five thousand miles a year, the difference isn't enough to base a decision on.

For the sake of argument, let's say you drive 5K miles a year, which is quite a lot, we're more like 3 or 4 thousand as weekender and vacationers, but let's call it 5K. A gas coach might average 8mpg, your actual might be a little more or a little less. Now let's say you spend a couple of grand to pick up 2mpg, which I highly doubt, but let's go with that anyway. At current fuel costs of $3.50 - I'm being generous, it's probly less, but let's say 5K@8 is 625 gals @$3.50 = $2,187.50 or a monthly average of about $182.30.
So with your performance upgrades you now get 10mpg, so your burn is now 500gl, @$3.50 - and now you'll likely want to burn premium which costs more, but let's keep with the original for argument sakes - your annual fuel cost is $$1,750 or about $146 per month, or a difference of about $37 per month. For me that won't even buy a campsite for a night in CA, and we spend more than that on sushi lunch. LOL.
And your $437 annual savings would take at least five and a half years to break even - even if you can make these numbers pencil and my bet is you can't.

Now let's take that sprinter class-C that gets 14 on diesel. First of all your servicing costs are going to be at least double, but let's just look at the gas situation. The average annual difference for 5K miles is $938, again, even if you can make these numbers work, or about $78 per month. And people will spend all kinds of money to buy one of these, and then squeeze into a too-small unit, to save $78 a month. And they think they really did something!

Now if you drive a lot, like back and forth across the country, thousands of miles a year, then it makes sense to get a van conversion and shoot for that 22-23mpg. Otherwise, for most RV'rs these numbers just don't amount to much at all. If you monthly budget is so tight that $78 would make a difference then my advice is to re-think the whole process and choose something less costly in the first place.
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