Dyno results..

[Keithc8]

Well since the subject of dyno testing has come up and my name was mentioned I want to talk a little about them. You have engine dynoes and chassi dynoes and there is a place for both. I would never ship an engine out without putting the engine dyno to make sure it was right and to check for leaks and other problems. Since there is no way to dyno test with the exact exhaust that ever engine has we use a set of headers about the size that most of the engines run. We do not run with side pipes because they are all different and we have built up a nice quanity of dyno results with the headers that we have to compare against. If a customer wants to provide there complete exhaust we can dyno test with them. You have all sorts of variables in the car from the exhaust to the air cleaner to the under hood heat the carb may see.
We normally see about 20 to 25 percent decrease in power in the Cobra's due to the exhaust and other factors listed above. The independent rear suspension robs more than the straight axle rear end as well.
We have to keep our dyno set up very close and this is done with calibrating with actual weights. We have NHRA drag race customers that know exactly what their cars will run and how much power it takes to do that. You will also be interested to know that these cars will put done what the engine dyno says and sometimes more so it might be the car that the engines goes in more than a dyno being off.
In the end they are both tools used to make the engine run better for the customer and we are a lot better of with them than without them becaue I remember those days and the many trips to the track when we did not have them. We can put the same engine with the same power in two different cars and one will out run the other one.
Most engine dynoes correct to a certain standard so that you can compare in the winter and summer. Most Chassi dynoes have a correction factor as well for the same reason and if they do not take your car in when the weather is about 50 degrees and no humidity if you want a big dyno number. You will have to richen up a little in the winter and lean down in the summer if you want best results. If you live at altitude you can run more timing and will need to lean the car down if the engine was built at sea level.
Like I said I know that my engine dyno is correct because my drag race customers know exactly where they are. I have seen as much as 70HP difference in just the sidepipes on these Cobra's. It is where most of your power is robbed. I had one FE engine with 650 engine dyno HP or flywheel HP that made 550 rear wheel HP with our side pipes and tuning and this was thru an independent suspension. We picked this guy up 50 rear wheel HP with side pipe work alone.
Just depends on what you want to do with your car. There is a place for both and I think it is a good ideal to get a new engine chassi dyno tuned after installation. I have seen cars with not enough fuel system and they would have burnt a piston or hurt the engine if they ran it hard with what they had. Just a lot of things in the car that matter as well. It is a complete package that needs to work together.

Good luck, Keith Craft