Proven Diesel Power

The truck we used for this article is a 1997 3/4-ton Club Cab 4x4 with an automatic and 17,584 miles on the clock at the time of the modifications. It was chassis dyno-tested at Banks' facility before and after the installation, and we performed 0-60 acceleration tests and 40-60 passing acceleration tests with the truck both unloaded and pulling a 7,248-pound trailer. Mileage was also scrutinized before and after to see what the gains or losses would be.

Dyno Test Results - 1997 Ram2500 Cummins

The results were impressive. Although our findings (251 hp at 2,200 rpm and 661 lb-ft of torque at 1,900 rpm) were somewhat less than what Banks has found on other trucks it has tested (264 hp at 2,600 rpm and 697 lb-ft of torque at 1,900), we were astonished with how big a difference the PowerPack makes. Gale Banks pointed out that the discrepancy between the power numbers is because the truck we chose for testing is a California model equipped with an EGR valve. When you consider our numbers, remember that we're talking rear-wheel horsepower, which takes into account the power losses in the rest of the drivetrain, and the findings still show significant power gains.

Another surprise was the change in mileage. Typically a major performance modification will hurt gas mileage, but that was not the case with the PowerPack. With the truck both unloaded and loaded, it increased almost 2 mpg. And as though all this other stuff weren't enough, the PowerPack knocked between 2 and 5 seconds off every acceleration test. The one factor that wasn't reflected in the testing was the drastic driveability changes. Before the mods, the owner noted that it took time for the turbo to spool up and that passing, especially when loaded, had to be planned far in advance. Now, the owner happily reports that with plenty of power on demand, the big diesel feels much closer to a gas engine, and it can pull up grades better than it ever could before.

Acceleration and Mileage