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THE NEW iQ FROM BANKS POWER WORKS NOT ONLY HARDER, BUT ALSO SMARTER

Story Steve Temple Photos Steve Temple and courtesy Banks Power Anybody who uses a diesel pick-

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to tow a trailer or off-road rig to a trailhead knows there?s more to it than simply stompin? on the throttle and headin? for the hills. All that wonderful stump-pulling torque from a turbocharged mill comes at a price. Not in dollars and cents, but in good operational sense. For instance, it?s important to monitor the engine vitals closely so you don?t cook the turbo with high exhaust-gas temps (EGT), or bog the engine in a high-speed lug. Not only that, when you head back down to the flatlands, using an exhaust brake properly keeps the wheel brakes from overheating, since diesels don?t have the inherent compression braking of a gasoline engine. This level of driver involvement surely holds your interest, but there must be a smarter and easier way, right? Well, Banks Power found one with its new iQ. Developed over a two-year period, this micro-computer is the diesel owner?s new best friend, offering 10 / ORA JAN/FEB 2010 fingertip control of Banks? array of performance-enhancing products. ?I?m a futurist,? Gale Banks rightly proclaimed at a SEMA press conference introducing his latest brainchild, ?and electronics are the future.? Well, not exactly ? they?re actually right here and now, rather than on the horizon. The iQ has the brain power to operate not only engine tuners and exhaust brake systems, but also a rich menu of other features, everything from vehicle diagnostics to GPS-calibration of the speedometer to watching the latest movie releases. We don?t recommend the latter, however, at least while driving a diesel. We speak from experience here, since we?re accustomed to herding a one-ton dually Ram powered by a Cummins turbodiesel through the Sierras around Lake Tahoe on a regular basis, towing boats and trailers through those steep mountain switchbacks. We?ve developed a habit of eyeballing the dual-needle aftermarket gauge mount- ed on the windshield post, which indicates both boost level and EGT. When the EGT indicator climbs near the dreaded 1200degree mark on the way through Donner Pass, rather than cannibalizing our beloved Cummins, we disengage the overdrive to kick up the revs and blow out the excess heat. Trouble is, as we?ve grown older those little needles have seemed to grow smaller for some reason.

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Gale Banks highlights the display functions of his new iQ micro-computer at the 2009 SEMA show.

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