Hypermax or Banks . 88 f350

[troy]

I know everyone here has been through this a thousand times, but I've read thread after thread and searched through forum after forum. I want to turbo my 7.3 idi n/a 88 f350. Through everything I've read the hypermax pulse turbo and the banks sidewinder are hard to choose between since banks is waste gated but has bad reviews about their service. And being the hypermax is non-waste gated but has great service.
I use my truck as a daily driver so I don't need a turbo for pulling power. Mainly for the economics of it and being that here on the big island I have to climb hills all day no matter where I drive to .

 

[troy]

I know that the hypermax produces power at higher rpms which makes it better for towing. But the banks produces boost at the lower rpms which is better suited for highway driving and climbing hills

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

i wonder whatever happened with the last rumor of banks no longer selling idi turbo kits.did it ever happen or are they still selling 'em? anyone called 'em lately?

troy, the sidewider doesn't produce any less boost than a non WG turbo in the mid/upper rpms.it produces the same amount and it boosts up off the line quicker than non WG.

 

[troy]

That would be my question too...I keep reading about these rumors that banks will no longer produce turbos for idi engines. Yeah that's the thing too is the hypermax has that lag to it...so would I be better suited with a banks due to its faster response time just for daily driving?

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

so would I be better suited with a banks due to its faster response time just for daily driving?

i have no idea.there's never been a time where i said to myself; man i wish i had a non wastegated turbo right now for this driving style,location and this load i have on back or in tow.
perhaps because i don't have experience otherwise though.
iv got a sneaking suspicion that if your N/A right now and you place any turbo on it you come across,your gunna enjoy the tuck a whole lot more.
go with what you can afford.you'll be happy.

 

[crash-harris]

From what I've read, Banks will no long be producing the kits. They're still out there, but once they're gone they're gone.

 

[troy]

i wonder whatever happened with the last rumor of banks no longer selling idi turbo kits.did it ever happen or are they still selling 'em? anyone called 'em lately?

troy, the sidewider doesn't produce any less boost than a non WG turbo in the mid/upper rpms.it produces the same amount and it boosts up off the line quicker than non WG.

i have no idea.there's never been a time where i said to myself; man i wish i had a non wastegated turbo right now for this driving style,location and this load i have on back or in tow.
perhaps because i don't have experience otherwise though.
iv got a sneaking suspicion that if your N/A right now and you place any turbo on it you come across,your gunna enjoy the tuck a whole lot more.
go with what you can afford.you'll be happy.

I like that answer thanks..
Idk I guess I've gotten kind of technical to this situation having all these things that I have to take into account like the boost pressure staying under 12psi, which kit is best for these engines , what has more bang for its buck. I just want to make sure I don't blow up my engine

 

[troy]

What really made me think hard was one day I was parked I had just stepped out of my truck. And this guy I guess he was on vacation here . he started complimenting me about the truck ...and he asked if it was turbo charged , I told him not yet, and he's like Good don't do it you'll blow your engine up. He said his son had one and he just had the whole engine rebuilt a 3000 dollar rebuild and he put a turbo on it after the rebuild and 2000 miles later he blew the heads...I told him yeah he was probably racing...plus I'm not going over 10-12 psi and I don't race. I have this truck because my dad had one when I was young, and owning this truck brings back memories and its a classic what more could I ask for. I didn't buy it to race if I wanted to race I'd swap out the engine for a stroker...but for the cost and headache of a swap I'd rather build a beautiful machine out this truck and keep it as stock as I can

 

[crash-harris]

I will say, it's a helluva nice place to have a nice one too

 

[Ottoparts]

I'm running a Hypermax set up.
I had both the Hypermax and Banks kits sitting on the floor of my garage. I looked them over for awhile and called each one. As it looks as if you already know, Banks customer service sucks. They offered me a new kit versus replacing a few items. At the same time they mentioned that once the few kits left on the shelf were gone, they would be done with the IDI. Mostly I will not forget the bad service I received from Banks. As I was not spending high dollars, they made me feel as if I was wasting their time.
When I called Hypermax, nothing but awesome service. Answered all my questions, gave me a parts run down/link. Also mentioned that they were not planning (at least anytime soon) on ditching the IDI kits. Bought the parts I needed and received them quickly.Now this was a few years ago and things may have changed.
I like how the Hypermax works. Around town I only see 2 to 3 psi. But once I start pulling, the turbo kicks in and works well and PSI climbs as needed. I also like how the Hypermax piping works and there is plenty of room between the engine and cowl/firewall. The Banks has a larger "Y" pipe set up and really (in my opinion) clutters up/make things tight between the engine and cowl/firewall.
Just my experience/.02 cents. Good luck with whatever kit you choose to use.

 

[troy]

Wow that's the first official answer I've heard so far that banks is discontinuing their idi turbos...oh well then I guess I'm gonna go with hypermax ..still the whole kit with exhaust and gauges plus the shipping to Hawaii is gonna cost me my legs and an arm or two...I hope it'll be worth it

 

[TahoeTom]

I have a Hypermax pulse turbo. I put it on after an engine rebuild. I bought it new. The only difficult part was the drivers side up pipe was hard up against the firewall seam even after cutting and bending the seam flat. I had to do some additional surgery to gain clearance. I live at 6300' and have to climb a pass any way I go to leave the area. My truck was a smokey pig climbing passes NA. The only plus was no tailgaters. Now I can cruise up these passes and not smoke out the place. You would get the same result with any of the turbo kits. Head studs would be a useful upgrade, but I probably didn't need them at my power level.

 

[troy]

I have a Hypermax pulse turbo. I put it on after an engine rebuild. I bought it new. The only difficult part was the drivers side up pipe was hard up against the firewall seam even after cutting and bending the seam flat. I had to do some additional surgery to gain clearance. I live at 6300' and have to climb a pass any way I go to leave the area. My truck was a smokey pig climbing passes NA. The only plus was no tailgaters. Now I can cruise up these passes and not smoke out the place. You would get the same result with any of the turbo kits. Head studs would be a useful upgrade, but I probably didn't need them at my power level.

Same thing where I live..I don't live at 6300 ft but I do live and drive ranging from 2000 to 3000 but the hills here are steep for the most part and I hate having a train behind me because there aren't any passing zones since the roads are winding

 

[Agnem]

A wastegated turbo is a city turbo. A non-wastegated turbo is a highway turbo. Easiest way to sum it up. Fact of the matter is, a wastegated turbo is intentionally undersized, primarily these days for emissions reasons. The industry is in fact, moving away from them, because they are too restrictive and make it harder to get good fuel economy. The variable vane turbo was the hot ticket, but they have all proven troublesome to some degree, and the electronic actuators make them costly. The new thinking is parallel turbos with a blender to chose between the two. Holset and Borg are both committed to that method at this point. But of course two turbos mean twice the money. A properly sized non-wastegated turbo is the most sensible, most sustainable turbo design there ever was, or ever will be. And on our high compression engines, their really is very little difference in wastegated versus non at lower rpms. I have both kinds and see little to no difference in how they operate under 1600 RPM.

 

[Black dawg]

If the wastegate is left operational and not adjusted to some stupid high level of boost, I think it is a much better choice. I have messed with my non wg setup for a lot of years, and have gotten it to where it spools pretty quick for the exhaust housing size.....but one drive in a truck with a wastegated setup makes me want to start over with a wastegated kit on mine. I have never been to low elevation in my truck, so maybe that is my complaint with non WG turbos?

I agree that WG turbos intentionally are under sized (exhaust side), but non wastegated turbos are intentionally oversized (exhaust side).