A LOOK AT THE WHIPPLE SUPERCHARGER FOR THE BANKS POWER L5P DURAMAX DIESEL CRATE ENGINE

A supercharged L5P Duramax V8 diesel engine is not what comes around every day, but Banks Power is about to offering it up as a crate engine that puts out 650 horsepower. For the 2021 SEMA Show, that engine is going to be showcased in an old Chevy truck that may or may not give you tetanus (which is why it’s grimly nicknamed “Lokjaw” – happy halloween, everybody!). For more details on the supercharged L5P, Dustin Whipple, vice president of Whipple superchargers, gives us a closer look.

Supercharged L5P Duramax V8 Diesel Engine From Banks Power And Whipple

Dustin Whipple says that he and Banks have been buddies for a long time now, and have often talked about collaborating on a project, but they just had to find the right one. Since diesel engines are mostly known for turbocharger setups, the two decided that this would be the perfect project for a great SEMA Show unveiling, featuring a kind of forced-induction that the Whipple company is known for.

Why a supercharger on a Duramax 6.6-liter? In the words of Gale Banks, “because it’s sick and it’s wrong.” Or more easily put, it’s different.

The Whipple Supercharger

The Whipple supercharger is created as a massive Gen-5 3.8-liter front-fed setup, the same type of design that was used in the 5.0 Coyote motors that have seen so much success. The front-end of the diesel configuration uses three different belt-plane setups. The setup that runs the two-drive twin-screw supercharger is a 12-rib multi V-belt. The supercharger should spin about 4 times faster than the camshaft. That would make the supercharger spin at somewhere between 18,000 rpm and 20,000 rpm.

Although the Whipple supercharger for the Banks Power 1966 Chevy “LokJaw” SEMA pick-up truck is a bit of a one-off design, the idea is to make it something that will be an option for the company’s new line-up of diesel crate motors. The supercharger diesel will be just one of three setups that Banks Power is working on. The two other diesel setups will be unveiled at Banks Azusa, California Plant at a later date. Those two diesel engines will consist of a turbocharged setup and a super/turbocharged setup, otherwise known as twincharged. These crate engines are excepted to put out anywhere from 700 horsepower to north of 1,000 horsepower. Torque hasn’t been specified.

While Whipple works mostly on the supercharged design, Banks Power works on the other engine corks like tunning and intercooler setups. But what both Banks and Whipple say they are very passionate about is making a setup that is emissions legal. They like the idea of customers being able to buy it and operate a compliant vehicle, or whatever else diesel lovers want to do with their Whipple supercharger diesel application.