| 2006 Gmc Sierra Diesel Six Gun Bundle 2006 Gmc Sierra 2500hd
Diesel trucks are known for being workhorses. These oil-burning powerplants make power by compressing the air in the cylinder to the point that it is super-heated. Then, the injectors shoot a spray of diesel fuel into the cylinder filled with that hot air. The hot air then ignites the fuel and pushes the piston down. So unlike a gas engine that uses the spark plug to ignite the fuel, a diesel uses a very high compression ratio to do it. Knowing that diesel engines have lots of compression on tap, the aftermarket industry has found ways to shoot the torque numbers skyward.
Gale Banks Engineering is a company known for adding grunt, but with the price of diesel fuel going up, the company started tweaking the parts it sells to also add better fuel economy. Such is the case with the Six-Gun Bundle, which includes a Ram-Air Intake, Monster Exhaust, and a PDA Tuner all in one part number. Forget mismatched components; everything in the Six-Gun Bundle is engineered to work together to maximize your engine's power and efficiency.
| Our guinea pig for the Banks Six-Gun Bundle is an '06 GMC Sierra 2500HD equipped with a 6.6L LBZ Duramax Turbodiesel. The truck has been doing a great job towing a pretty heavy trailer, but the pain at the pump was getting out of hand. After the goodies were in place the truck had all kinds of power on tap, and we saw a gain of 2.2 mpg on the highway.
The bundle replaces factory airflow restrictions with free-flowing components that increase intake airflow and air density and expel the exhaust with virtually no backpressure.
The company balances the improved airflow with fuel tuning that delivers up to 54 percent more horsepower and 68 percent more torque than stock. This is tire-smoking, scenery-blurring power that keeps its cool and still delivers better mileage. We saw an average of 12.5 mpg in the city go up to 13.5 mpg, and the highway average went from 14 mpg to 16.2 mpg on an '06 GMC Sierra 2500HD with the 6.6L Turbo Duramax. Those numbers are impressive by themselves, but take into account you will be 12 truck lengths ahead of a stock truck at the end of a quarter-mile drag race and they get even more impressive.
We took our bone-stock GMC to the Banks facility in Azusa, California, to have the professional technicians install everything while we snapped the pictures. Even though the install took the better part of a whole day, it is still geared toward the do-it-yourself guy. All you will need is a decent set of tools and the common sense to read all of the instructions before starting. If your toolbox isn't up to snuff, check out the Banks website. It has a link to approved installers across the country and hopefully one in your neck of the woods. Our local shop happened to be the manufacturer-aren't we lucky?
| 2006 Gmc Sierra Diesel Six Gun Bundle banks Six Gun Bundle
What's In The Box?The Banks Six-Gun Bundle is three proven sets of parts all combined into one big ol' box. The Banks engineers have spent years tweaking these parts for optimal performance, all without becoming unsafe and melting down your motor. You get a Ram-Air Intake to fill the motor full of nice fresh air, a 4-inch Monster Exhaust to expel the spent gasses, and a nifty PDA Tuner that tells the computer what to do with all of these new parameters.
| 2006 Gmc Sierra Diesel Six Gun Bundle 2006 Gmc Sierra
The Final WordWith everything installed, we pulled the truck out on the road and pulled the trigger. The truck took off with a nice deep growl, and the smell of burnt rubber filled the cab. It was hard to believe this was the same truck, especially when we calculated our mileage. We guess we know why Gale Banks decided to call this system the Six-Gun. We wonder if there is a Rocket Booster system in the works.
The proof is in the pedal and the pump:
Stock
City: 12.5
Hwy: 13.5
Six-Gun Bundle
City: 14
Hwy: 16.2
