Tranny upgrade required?

White Knight

Member
Jul 20, 2009
31
0
6
Thompson,MB.
My lmm is still stock. I am considering the Banks Powerpack system to aid in towing. According to what I read, I should be near 500 hp and 900 tq. Will I require an upgrade to the tranny/torque converter? If so, would a drop-in Sun Coast Gmax fit the bill? I've read about a lot of experiences of others due to failures of their own or others. Any advice would be much appreciated. I have next to no experience on these trannies, but I know I can handle a complete swap easily. Thanks in advance for any help you can be.
 

brandon06dmax

the reckoning
Apr 29, 2013
365
0
0
jactionville nc
Brother the banks is a waste of money if it were me I'd say efi live from a reputable tuner a s&b intake 4in exhaust lift pump and a built trans and that will put u between 520-550 on a big tune and will tow awesome on a tow tune
 

hotdogstand

Member
May 27, 2013
35
0
6
Norfolk, VA
I vote EFI Live. If you're only getting Banks for the on-the-fly tunes, EFI DSP5 has that. If you like the screen and gauges, get EFI live and an Edge Insight, you can control your DSP5 from the Insight and view gauges, I think it's like 20 different parameters.
I've never run Banks, but nothing beats custom tuning, ever.
 

coker6303

Keep Calm and Chive On!!
Aug 6, 2009
2,484
0
36
40
Houston, TX
Last I knew of the insight didn't allow you to control the tunes on the LMM with EFILive. Maybe they changed that.

Go EFILive with a DPF delete, basic intake or drop in filter and get a solid 400rwhp tune. This is basically how I had my LMM set up for towing before I built the trans. The tow tune was 423hp and the street/strip tune dyno'd 478hp.

If you have the coin, build the trans and get some good, strong tunes. A stock turbo duramax is extremely fun on the street with a big tune! lights quick and clean!
 

Hot COCOAL

May the farce be with you
Jun 9, 2012
4,433
0
0
Banks has pros and cons, it's not all bad, but it's not all that great either. And to quickly answer your question, yes you would need at a minimum a trans go Jr kit to hold that power, a built trans should be at the top of your list if your planning on running bigger power, now 500/900 isn't huge power, but it's alot for stock parts. Although the newer trucks like the lml have stronger transmissions, they still were not designed to run more power than what they leave the factory with.

Read the fine print on the banks stuff, yes, 500+whp and 900+ ftlbtq is possible, however, it's not attainable until you buy everything. To get the max power banks claims, you need the tuning software, the IQ monitor, the triple disc converter, the intercooler, hot and cold IC tubes the intake exhaust etc etc. besides the banks stuff has too many "nannies" in it's software, EFI LIVE is the way to go for sure, you just have to use prudence when you use it, make sure to buy tuning your parts can handle and work up from there.

The only cool thing about banks, is the fact that its all made by the same place all the parts are meant to compliment each other, it's really safe, and you can buy the stuff in "power packages" it's really simple stuff to use as banks has taken every bit of guesswork out of the equation for the user, however, that also limits the ability to customize, or tailor the truck to drive the way you want. Also banks has no provisions in its software for turbo upgrades, injector upgrades, cp3 upgrades, so on and so forth (it's been over two years since I talked to anyone at banks, maybe that's changed now?)

So what is your end goals for your rig?
 

Hot COCOAL

May the farce be with you
Jun 9, 2012
4,433
0
0
Ah, I just re-read the OP's original post, op has an lmm, I thought he said lml, so, 500/900 is dangerous for the lmm, its dangerous for an lml too, but not as bad. You need to install a trans go jr kit and stock trans tuning(+150whp) or build the trans and get built trans tuning(+230whp) stock trans tuning is pretty fun, built trans tuning is only like having one, more powerful tune than stock trans tuning

Stock trans max effort tuning= 450-480
Built trans max effort tuning= 530-550

What do you want out of your truck? I'll warn you, it gets real spendy real quick making the leap from a stock to built trans.
 

White Knight

Member
Jul 20, 2009
31
0
6
Thompson,MB.
Thanks for the replies. My intent is to have a little more power for towing my Rv. Nothing too much, I'm not interested in doing anything that will end up costing me more money( in repairs). I think what I'm really looking for is to be able to ease into freeway speeds a little easier, and being able to handle large hills/mountainous terrain a little better.
 

Hot COCOAL

May the farce be with you
Jun 9, 2012
4,433
0
0
Do the trans go jr kit upgrade to the valve body of the trans, then get a stock trans efi live tune, keep it out of kill mode and you will be just fine:thumb: