Gale Banks is expanding the power capacity and data gathering capabilities in one of its dyno cells as the company will soon start shipping a number of new performance engines, including the powerplant for the Oshkosh JLTV–the military’s replacement for the HMMWV or HumVee.
“Big Blue” is the nickname given to the new dyno that has a capacity of 2,500 lb-ft torque and 3,000 horsepower. Top speed is 11,000 rpm.
“We intend to push ‘Big Blue’ real hard with our 427 supercharged, twin-turbo diesels, our BBC twin-turbo marine program and our upcoming Chevy LS twin-turbo street-race engines,” says Banks.
The new water brake is based on the Froude 490 series, which is the foundation for the SuperFlow Black Widow series. Banks says his brake is configured differently to support higher power and uses the SuperFlow console and dyno control system with in-house-developed engine docking, combustion analysis and data logging.
Shown on the video above is a Banks military project that will be used in the JLTV tactical vehicle. The intake design is blurred as Banks continues development. Recently, an entire warehouse was filled with more than 2,000 specially built Duramax engines that will be used as the foundation for the program. The engines come off the line (see below) without most of the external components, like dampers and oil sumps. The engines will be used as “feedstock” for numerous Banks programs, including marine and racing in addition to the military programs.

Thousands of specially built Duramax engines await shipment to Gale Banks Performance for conversion to military or marine use.