Do Diff Covers Work Or Are They Just Bling?

[splinter]

Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
...I would get a bunch of aluminum computer heatsinks and use Arctic silver thermal epoxy and have the steel diff cover and axle tubes near the carrier bearings appear like a porcupine...
Other engineers agree with you.

 

[hatt]

 

[4WD]

Long video … but very interesting case against flat back differential covers.
I only ever used a G2 which was curved … and had all the fill, drain, and oil level plugs.
For off-road I'd still use another brand … but for serious highway towing = Banks seems for real.

 

[hatt]

The design looks well thought out. I'm curious how long until I see one on the road.

 

[cronk]

Originally Posted by 4WD
Long video … but very interesting case against flat back differential covers.
I only ever used a G2 which was curved … and had all the fill, drain, and oil level plugs.
For off-road I'd still use another brand … but for serious highway towing = Banks seems for real.

I put a G2 on my Superduty, I like that it still had the curved, oem type shape. I wanted something with a drain plug for easier service. Im happy with the G2, quite thick and sturdy!
Has a magnetic drain plug as a plus!

 

[CarbonSteel]

Video is too long to watch, but one of his main points of discussion is aeration and how flat back cover cause/increase it.

There are videos of clear OEM covers which show how much aeration occurs with a stock cover and the flat back covers have about the same. His marketing skills are excellent in that area, but I have not seen an exponential difference.

What would be interesting would be to see how much aeration his cover has/creates as a comparison.

Aside from that (for me) that cover is downright *****...

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted by 2015_PSD
What would be interesting would be to see how much aeration his cover has/creates as a comparison.


Couldn't agree more. Too verbose, too long, with obligatory "to be continued' sucker bait.

 

[4WD]

For sure and the thick/stiff machined flange keeps it sealed tight.

 

[4WD]

Just surfing the web they are close to $400 (guess that includes the pricey Amsoil) …

 

[hatt]

Unless Bank's is giving fake numbers the Banks cover lowers the oil temp over the flat back covers about the same amount as the flat back covers lowers the temp over factory stamped covers. While using less oil. It appears to be a superior design if your intention is to lower gear oil temp.

 

[bulwnkl]

Interesting video. My favorite quote: "The major axle manufacturers know what (BITOG edit) they're doing."
...and then he goes on for 30 more minutes to essentially say that they _don't_ know what they're doing because here he is selling you a different axle cover. (-:

He wasn't able to demonstrate a need for this, even though he destroyed a chassis dyno by loading it to unreasonable levels for far too long in the attempt.

Banks does a _great_ job with marketing. He uses a bunch of almost-science, says flattering things about some of the work others have done (the OEMs), all while deftly misdirecting you to irrelevant silliness. I think he could do a great job as a professional teacher, so long as he had nothing to sell and could restrict himself to relevant things.

 

[4WD]

I don't read it quite that way ... he's saying you have to maintain the curve following the ring gear ... stock capacity is fine ... and Banks can actually cool the oil with less air entrainment

Sure it's long ... but he covered many days of research

I don't own something or tow heavy enough to justify the cost ... but I do like the multi plugs that all of them feature and would buy G2 again

 

[bulwnkl]

He sold his cover against a single aftermarket competitor, then threw all aftermarket covers into that same box. He has never been able to demonstrate a need for _any_ aftermarket cover unless he uses absurd tests (pulling a 6% grade, loaded "heavily" (close to max?), at 60 mph, FOR AN HOUR?! Be serious!). He talked about fuel savings vs. a single competitor, but didn't bother to say how much extra fuel his cover will _cost_ you because your fluid is over-cooled >95% of the time. The whole video is a masterpiece of garbage marketing, and I bet it will work like a charm.

 

[4WD]

What single … did he not say this one is the top seller and the others copied it …?

 

[hatt]

99% of aftermarket diff cover sales are pure marketing. There are millions of trucks running around with hundreds of thousands of miles, the factory cover, and maybe the factory fill.

 

[4WD]

I bought mine to:

Change oil easily
Maintain ideal oil level
Ease of fill
No worry about steel plug stuck in cast iron housing
Take samples from flat plane plug after high water crossings
Extra quart of lube (I buy gallon jugs)
Stiff/thick machined mounting flange … reused factory gasket
Cooling … I was not sure about that

Being it was not even visible (no huge lift kit) bling did not matter
I don't see your math working for me

 

[hatt]

I picked up a lubelocker gasket and reused my stamped cover. Pulling and replacing the cover in the future shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes. Pulling the fill plug to sample isn't a huge deal in the unlikely event I'm crossing deep water. I can see the utility in more plugs and a heavy duty case if you're a serious offroader. For most people it's of limited usefulness when you get down to it.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted by bulwnkl
Interesting video. My favorite quote: "The major axle manufacturers know what (BITOG edit) they're doing."
...and then he goes on for 30 more minutes to essentially say that they _don't_ know what they're doing because here he is selling you a different axle cover. (-:

He wasn't able to demonstrate a need for this, even though he destroyed a chassis dyno by loading it to unreasonable levels for far too long in the attempt.

Banks does a _great_ job with marketing. He uses a bunch of almost-science, says flattering things about some of the work others have done (the OEMs), all while deftly misdirecting you to irrelevant silliness. I think he could do a great job as a professional teacher, so long as he had nothing to sell and could restrict himself to relevant things.

Captures the entire series in a nutshell. I said early on this was all a marketing ploy for his "new and improved" cover and it seems I was right.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted by 2015_PSD
Originally Posted by bulwnkl
Interesting video. My favorite quote: "The major axle manufacturers know what (BITOG edit) they're doing."
...and then he goes on for 30 more minutes to essentially say that they _don't_ know what they're doing because here he is selling you a different axle cover. (-:

He wasn't able to demonstrate a need for this, even though he destroyed a chassis dyno by loading it to unreasonable levels for far too long in the attempt.

Banks does a _great_ job with marketing. He uses a bunch of almost-science, says flattering things about some of the work others have done (the OEMs), all while deftly misdirecting you to irrelevant silliness. I think he could do a great job as a professional teacher, so long as he had nothing to sell and could restrict himself to relevant things.

Captures the entire series in a nutshell. I said early on this was all a marketing ploy for his "new and improved" cover and it seems I was right.

I think his air scoop thing looks cool, but for anything other than a truck/towing application it is just added drag. For performance cars a cover with ports for remote coolers is much more effective,
for example, although a wee bit more expensive.

 

[4WD]

That's just marketing