Cylinder Head Development
Additional power comes from making the engine a more efficient air pump. This begins by improving airflow through the cylinder head.
Extensive cylinder head modifications have been tested at Banks® for the Project Sidewinder Cummins® compression ignition (diesel) engine. Cylinder head expert Victor Bangle handled the porting and polishing on the four-valve-per-cylinder head in preparation for dyno testing. Optimum intake and exhaust valve sizes continue to be evaluated in an effort to extract maximum flow from the head. The goal is maximum power output, but also drivability, low emissions and fuel economy for the ultimate street/competition combination.
The hand reshaping, contouring, and polishing of the ports is time consuming, but porting also produces the best airflow gains. When the final configurations have been determined through flow bench and dyno testing, as well as actual vehicle testing, a CNC milling program will be created to accurately reproduce the high-performance ports on Banks Big Hoss™ replacement cylinder heads.
Cylinder Head Modifications
Comprehensive cylinder head modifications and flow testing have been conducted on numerous Cummins heads at Banks. This cylinder head work allows the Banks engineering team to explore what can and cannot be done to the port configurations and valves, as well as possible ways to create efficient manifolding for the turbo system. More porting and flow work will be undertaken as refinement of the Big Hoss head continues.
