John Espino of Gale Banks Engineering has proven that his company has morphed from a hardware engineering / manufacturing firm by taking a big step into the ECU electronics realm for your race car hauler. John introduced us to the Banks iQ Dashboard PC. The Banks iQ is a true in-car PC packed full of functionality for use inside and outside of the vehicle.

This powerful micro-computer lets you know the inner workings of your vehicle’s ECU, letting you see what’s beyond your dashboard gauges. You select what you want to see and how you want to see it. Set alarms, adjust gauge colors, read and clear codes, log data, and find out how quick your vehicle really is. You can play your favorite tunes, watch videos, play games, and review your Microsoft Office documents and more with it. Banks iQ has PC power that fits in the palm of your hand, and with a rechargeable battery you can take it with you wherever you go.

Now you can plug in a Banks Diesel Tuner and/or Banks SpeedBrake™ and use the 5″ color touch screen for adjusting power levels, controlling your downhill cruising speed, and adjusting the braking intensity. This ingenious technology also allows for custom tuning of numerous performance parameters, measuring vehicle performance, reading your altitude and GPS corrected speed, and much more all on the fly!

As for hardware, Banks is a distributor of GM Duramax 6.6L diesel V8 engines. In 2008, General Motors granted Banks a worldwide exclusive to produce and sell marine engines based on the Duramax. John was displaying some really wild stuff, like a supercharged twin-turbo Duramax diesel producing 800HP @4500 RPM and 900lb-ft from 1600 to 4600 RPM! They supercharged it for maximum low speed power and transient response and turbocharged it for high speed power and cruise efficiency. Be prepared because it’s almost ready for production!