SEMA 2013: Banks Announces Turn Key Powertrain Solutions

Exciting times for Banks Power at this year’s SEMA Show. Banks had what seemed like half a dozen big announcements over the course of the week and today, Gale Banks announced that Banks Power will be offering complete turnkey powertrain solutions.

The initial offerings will be a 630T V6 and 866T V8 with 6-speed transmissions behind them offered in either a two- or four-wheel drive (transfer case available) configuration. The 630t is a 3.0L V6 high-speed diesel.

This engine will be offered in 221 to 268 horsepower (at 4,000 RPM) configurations and will feature many of the latest options available like: dual over head cam, aluminum cylinder heads, compact graphite block, bedplate and common rail injection. Complete with a Banks Techni-Cooler Intercooler and a variable geometry turbocharger. To handle the tuning, Banks has worked with Bosch to create their own line of stand-alone controllers aptly named the AutoMind EDC.

The other engine is a 866T which is based off a 6.6L Duramax engine. These are offered in 275 to 575 horsepower versions. That is in single turbo options, but there is a “sport” version that can be built with up to 1,500 horsepower. The 866T will also be offered with AutoMind EDC stand-alone ECM. This means that this powertrain can be installed into anything that can physically handle it. We are excited to see what people will use these for over the next few years.

Banks Power has a long history of building and manufacturing performance diesel engines. Most people aren’t aware of it, but Banks (Gale Banks Engineering) has been producing engines since the mid ’70s for the military. To produce an engine for the military means that it has to pass the NATO 400 hour or 800 hour test (land engines use 400 hours, while marine engines are 800 hours). These tests are at max load, wide open throttle for the given amount of hours. These are brutal tests and truly push engines to their limits and the fact Banks has been able to continue to produce engines for this many years is a testament to their ability to produce durable engines.

Behind these engines, will be a Banks 6745E 6-speed transmission. These transmissions receive their power through a multiplate lock up converter. The transmissions themselves have been designed to handle the specific package power ratings and feature an overall gear spread ratio of 6.01 (first gear ratio divided by overdrive ratio). The first gear ratio is 4.03:1 and 6th gear is .67:1. This means that the car, truck, buggie or whatever you slap this mean combo in, would have good off the line performance all the way through to high-speed performance.