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'Killing a Duramax' Gale Banks YouTube series methodically tunes a diesel to death

Learning or perfecting a skill by watching YouTube videos is known as attending YouTube University. GM Authority picked up on one of the video site's more fascinating courses, hosted by Gale Banks; in a fair world, he should be referred to as Professor Banks when it comes to diesel engines and truck tuning. A few months after GM introduced the updated L5P 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V8 in the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD that ships with 454 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of torque, Banks decided he wanted to methodically tune the engine to death. The purpose of the resulting series, called "Killing a Duramax," is to push more power out of the engine in order to discover which parts break and when — or, as Banks puts it, force-feed the Duramax "until the crank hits the street and the heads hit the hood." With that knowledge, Banks can figure out all the weak points on his way to building what he calls a "Superturbo," that being a supercharged, twin-turbo race engine with more than 1,000 hp. What makes the series fascinating is Banks' knowledge, paired with the company's comprehensive iDash engine monitoring system that keeps tabs on a glut of parameters every step of the way. So for instance, you get Banks explaining the differences between inches of mercury and barometric pressure, how those are different from the water content of the air measured in grains, then showing those readouts on the iDash, then explaining in detail how they affect the air density in the Duramax system. The stock Borg-Warner variable turbo gets a lot of airtime — Banks accuses it of being "out to lunch" because he feels it's the weakest link on the engine. That turns into a turbo teardown and a deep explanation of performance pitfalls, such as when air pressure on the turbine begins to diverge from the boost pressure coming from the compressor. Banks says he can keep close tabs on where power's coming from, because the iDash monitors the horsepower contribution provided by the ambient air, the turbo, and the intercooler separately. The major changes so far are a stouter Precision 7675 turbo and TurboSmart wastegate (episode 5), a twin intake (episode 6), a custom liquid-cooled intercooler from a marine engine, a new GM oil cooler and synthetic oil (episode 10), and new injectors (episode 11).

Wards names its 2015 10 Best Interiors list

Wards Automotive has named the winners of its 10 Best Interior awards, covering a wide but affordable array of vehicles. Where last year's list contained two six-figure vehicles, including the $372,800 Rolls-Royce Wraith, this year's is, well, a whole lot more reasonable. The publication lists the Mercedes-Benz C400 at $65,000 (which seems off), making it the most expensive vehicle here. That said, we'd argue that the entire C-Class line deserves to make this year's list, owing to its varied and high-quality selection of materials. The other vehicle to break the $60,000 mark, meanwhile, is the $60,675 Ford F-150 King Ranch, which has 327,000 pounds of leather lining its interior. Only one other German car, the BMW i3, and one other pickup truck, the GMC Canyon, managed to make this year's list. Here's the full list of this year's winners: 2014 BMW i3 ($52,550) 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum ($51,175) 2015 Ford F-150 King Ranch ($60,675) 2015 GMC Canyon SLT ($40,465) 2015 Honda Fit EX-L ($21,590) 2015 Jeep Renegade Limited ($33,205) 2015 Kia Sedona SXL ($43,295) 2016 Mazda6 Grand Touring ($33,395) 2015 Mercedes C400 ($65,000) 2015 Nissan Murano SL ($41,905) See what we mean about the mainstream vehicles? Not only is there a distinct lack of luxury brands, it's the price of some of the vehicles that surprise. The Honda Fit, Jeep Renegade and Mazda6 are very reasonably priced, especially when you compare Wards price with the starting price. The Renegade Limited starts at less than $25,000, the Mazda at less than $22K and the Fit at under $16,000. Head over to Wards for a more detailed explanation of why each vehicle won. Featured Gallery 2015 Ward's Automotive 10 Best Interiors View 10 Photos News Source: Wards Automotive BMW Chrysler Ford GMC Honda Jeep Kia Mazda Mercedes-Benz Nissan Truck Crossover Hatchback Sedan nissan murano gmc canyon Interior jeep renegade WardsAuto kia sedona wards 10 best interiors mercedes c400

Next-gen GMC Canyon spied with big screen and heavy camo

The next generation of midsize GM pickups is well on its way to being ready, and these new spy shots give us an early look at the new interior inside the GMC Canyon. To our delight, the new Canyon interior doesn’t even remotely resemble the current truck. The relationship between the refreshed SierraÂ’s new interior and what we can see in these Canyon spy shots is impossible to ignore. While itÂ’s not an exact replica of, or a shrunken version of, the CanyonÂ’s screen hardware looks similar to the SierraÂ’s. We can see the volume knob sprouting out of the top left corner, and the whole screen is surrounded by shiny black plastic. The software itÂ’s running is GMÂ’s new Android Automotive-based infotainment that weÂ’ve already sampled in the 2022 Yukon. Just like in that vehicle, we can see that Google Maps is the native navigation system, and it features similar shortcuts on the left-hand side of the screen. Below the screen, the next-gen Canyon features all of its climate controls. The model weÂ’re looking at here must be an upmarket trim, because itÂ’s featuring heated and cooled seats. Another indication that this model could be a Denali (or other higher trim) is the small piece of wood trim on the door that is mostly shrouded by camouflage. We canÂ’t make it out all that well, but any amount of wood trim in a midsize pickup means luxury.  ItÂ’s difficult to make out whatÂ’s going on with the steering wheel, though we can see what appear to be silver switches flanked by flat black buttons. The instrument cluster is similarly difficult to see, but if the little glimpse of a “125 miles to empty” readout is any indication, it could very well be a totally digital cluster. WeÂ’ll need to wait to fully confirm that thought, though. When it comes to the exterior, there isnÂ’t a whole lot to see under the heavy camouflage. We have a reasonable look at the grille behind the mesh, and the front LED lighting signature is partially visible, too. WeÂ’ll note that there isnÂ’t much of a front bumper on this test truck, which is giving it the appearance of being an off-road capable pickup — itÂ’s just nowhere near as extreme as the Canyon prototype we spied last year sporting a ZR2-style suspension.  Big wheels fitted to this tester gives more credence to it possibly being a Denali. The rear is perhaps even more covered up than the front, making it even more difficult to see what GM is hiding.