Finding the perfect new truck is never easy. In our case it was even more of a challenge because we needed one that could
do it all. From daily driver to chase truck to prerunner to tow rig our new truck had to be the ultimate in multi-tasking.
The search was long and arduous but it finally came to an end when we happened across a smoking deal on a barely used 2005
Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab 4x4 equipped with the venerable Cummins engine. With the stout diesel mill under its hood the Dodge
is an excellent tow rig. The smaller dimensions of the Dodge would make it easy to drive and park in and around our overly
congested confines of Southern California. Its coil-sprung, live axle front suspension is rugged and capable of gobbling up
bumps at speed or while crawling. With all of these strong attributes, the Ram would be a great multi-tasker and after some
wheeling and dealing it was ours.
In stock form the Cummins produces 325 HP and 600 lb-ft of torque. While these are definitely strong numbers we are greedy
bastards and wanted even more of a good thing so our first stop was to Banks Engineering. Anybody familiar with diesels is
also familiar with Banks as they have been in the business of extracting more horsepower and torque from diesel engines for
the last three decades. Over the years they have also built a reputation of reliably making impressive gains and that was
key to us, as our Dodge will undoubtedly see its share of travel in remote areas. To make the most of the 5.9-liter Cummins
diesel we decided to install the top-of-the-line Banks Big Hoss Bundle along with the trick new Power PDA. Follow along as
we dissect the components of the package along with the results.
The heart of the Big Hoss Bundle is the Six-Gun Tuner, which produces the majority of power.
THE BIG HOSS BUNDLE
The Six-Gun Tuner: At the heart of the Big Hoss Bundle is the Six-Gun Tuner. Modern diesel engines are completely electronically
controlled so it is no surprise that the most significant gains are from a tuner that modifies computer-determined parameters
such as fuel pressure, pulse width and timing. By altering these parameters from stock the Six-Gun allows for gains up to
112 additional horsepower and 259 additional lb-ft of torque (with the Speed Loader upgrade and airflow improvements). The
Six-Gun gets its name from the ability to choose from six different power output levels that are adjustable on the fly.
The tuner is built with several important safeguards to protect the transmission and Cummins engine. Dubbed AutoRate and ActiveSafety,
the two systems work together to monitor torque converter lockup, turbo behavior, transmission slip, exhaust gas temperature,
coolant temperature and cold engine conditions. Should one of these variables fall out of spec or exceed limits, AutoRate
will automatically pull power back to a safe level until normalcy is returned, regardless of the power setting of the Six-Gun.
Once everything returns to spec, the additional power of the selected setting will be automatically restored. On top of this
the Six-Gun constantly monitors itself to ensure proper function and will automatically bypass itself should it ever malfunction.
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