Gale Banks could have invented that familiar expression about thinking outside of the box. Long known for developing a number of innovative high-performance projects, his latest endeavor is not just a hot ride but a whole new approach to diesel performance. Banks is out to prove to the road-racing world that a 6.6L Duramax diesel can rev up like a gasoline engine and best the competition.
"I'm taking all of my years of gasoline performance and applying it to a diesel engine to make it more gas-like," he explains. "We got rid of some of that diesel torque and lost some of the weight, because we like it to spin faster." And in the process, he created a whole new breed of engine. Think of Banks' truck as crossbreeding between a sturdy Clydesdale and a thoroughbred racehorse.
It's easier said than done, of course, but keep in mind that the Duramax engine is very robust, so it has plenty of oats to spare. "The durability of this thing is unbelievable," Banks says. "We've tuned it to death and haven't hurt it."
Let's take a look at just how much power he's squeezing out of a Duramax. Normally, a stock LLY block calibrated with a manual transmission cranks out 310 hp at 3,000 rpm and 605 lb-ft at 1,600 rpm. Now, imagine it revving up to as much as 5,000 rpm-nearly 2,000 rpm above redline. Depending on the tuning, Banks' dyno figures show outputs of 650 to 700 hp and 800 to 900 lb-ft of torque. Note that the horsepower more than doubles, while the torque increase is about a 50 percent gain (we'll explain why in a moment). More torque could be dialed in, but the Banks team has to make sure the rest of the drivetrain will survive this flood of power. What a concept-and one that requires digging into some serious tech details.
Before getting into that, however, let's cut to the juicy part. Gale Banks wasn't just planning on printing out dyno sheets. Instead, he hitched this spotted pony engine program to a tube chassis GMC Sierra race truck and created the Sidewinder D-Max Type-R. The "R" refers to the fact that it's been heavily modified for road course racing.
The plan is to have the truck compete at the 2006 National Auto Sport Association series in the Super Unlimited Class, which can include World Challenge and other high-end road-racing cars. Other endurance events are in the works, as well. (Lest you think it's odd for a diesel to compete in an endurance event, look no further than the Audi R10 TDI that just won the 12-hour race at Sebring.)
Getting a truck to run hard and long in a road course race required a massive amount of development to build the NASCAR-style chassis and fabricating the aerodynamically enhanced body panels.