I don't think this has been mentioned yet but I wanted to make a quick point.

The majority of cars setup to get down on the 1320(like mine) have parts that kill results on the dyno. 9" rearend with big gears, TH400 setups with huge unlocked converters, steel driveshafts, 28" slicks, etc..all can make pretty significant losses for a car on the dyno compared to having stock parts of that nature.

Me and my group of friends have always considered dyno numbers to be a pretty mute point when it comes to the track. Back in the day(like 4 years ago at this point) who all remembers Matt98SS? he was one of the very first to get a bolt on car flying by using a big converter and so on..I watched his car dyno as I recall 298 or even less RWHP and that same week the car went 12.0 at the track.

Why cuz the car was setup to run and was pretty lightweight as well..

I see dynos for tuning only, if it hits a big number its just something you can brag about while out drinking.

 

HP numbers sell engines. Torque (power band) wins races. With power band tuned in on a dyno, one should choose stall and gearing to run in this area. Simple tuning fact. One other area to take in consideration is rate of acceration, how fast does the engine rev to get to its power band. With this said 2 equal cars with equal power, the faster accellerating engine will always win.

Cstraub

 

My car really isn't setup for drag racing either aside from tires. I went 10.93 @ 124(all motor) with basically a street setup and tires. THe car didn't dyno well last year but this year it did.
Phillip

 

My preference is to be able to run good at the track. My car has never been on a dyno and I doubt it will. I tune it at the track. I want my car to produce big power from 5500 to 6700 rpm, which is the RPM range where my YPT4000 converter keeps my TEA headed TR224 camed LS1.

On the other hand if my car were my only means of transportation I would have a 3200-3500 rpm stall and I would want it to have good mid range power.

I do not street race so I cannot say for fact how my car would do against a 450 rwhp 6sp LS1 from a roll. However I feel extremely confidant it would hold it’s own.


John

 

IMO dyno #`s mean plenty. If I dyno twice once stock internals one cam and heads I can judge what kind of hp was gained from a mod. Going by just track #`s is very hard since without proper traction, weather , and driver the #`s wont be there to show the full effect of the mod. Ive seen plenty of stock internal cars running mid to high 11`s with under 350 rwhp to know the setup is just as important as the hp in 1/4 mile times. If I gain 30 hp from one set of heads and 50 hp from another on the same dyno Id think that would mean something when I went to the track . But thats just my opinion.
BTW what is the point of using SAE correction if we are not using it to compare dyno #`s from around the country. I dynoed 425 SAE corrected but the actual hp # was 450 RWHP . If I went to the track that day I would be racing with 450 hp. So If I compared my 425 sae 1/4mile times to someone in FL (Where it could be 80+ deg and humid) 425 sae car at the track I would have a possible 25 hp+ advantage. I know you can use a DA correction to get what his car could have run but What time would that person post? what they actually ran or what there corrected 1/4 times would be. Ive never posted a corrected time when I ran in the summer.

 

i would like to have my car setup for high speed racing - don't care about numbers on the dyno, drag strip is ok, but not for me, i love when i feel my car pulls nicely from 50 up to 160 and up

i think it all comes down what you do with your car... what kind of racing you do...

 

I think this has turned into a very valuable post and people will learn things from this. Too bad all posts can't be this way. Lets keep this going.

 

I like TomQ's comments - what kind of racing you do. In the end thats what matters. Some people won't be happy with a wheel standing 1/4 mile car, they might want to have a "street" powerband with a peak at like 5K rpms which would make it fun for them.

Personally, I like the big top end pull on the street.

 

im with gomer. i built my car to have a nice poweful streetable car. havent taken it to the track and maybe plan to go once or twice a year. et's, 60', and mph arent important to me as just cruising in my car down the 101 with the ttops off and the sun setting behind the ocean

 

Well, like everyone has said - each person will have their own opinion of what they want to use their car for and how they race it.

Personally for me I like having a 1/4 mile - stoplight race car that may not dyno as high, but can run the distance of the track and can pull hard from a stop. I think this type of car is more fun on the street anyway as I rarely race on the freeway and frankly wouldn't want to (where a high dynoing stock geared car would shine.) I find running steep gears and DOT's on the street a kick in the pants.

First of all I have no opportunity to go 160+ on a freeway and if I did and there was an accident..... well, I'd say it's pretty much over for anyone in that situation not to mention a felony driving offense if I were caught. Most of the street races are drag races and even the roll races I've done are from a slow roll like 20MPH or so up to about 100 before we have to let out anyway. JMO of course.

 

I've learned a few things this year while running a dyno.
1-highest dyno HP means nothing.
2-Just use it as a tuning tool.

Case in point.My car has been dyno'd over 70 times and track tested.My car has put down 440rwhp and ran a 11.90 at 117mph with 1.80 60'.That same day I added some fuel to see what it would do and ran a 11.73 at 120mph with 1.80 60'(comparable 60').Went back to the dyno and the car only put out 415rwhp.That made me a true believer that dyno's are just for basic tuning and mean nothing on the road.

 

I've come to the conclusion that they both hold equal weight.

If a car dyno's great, but doesn't get great E/T's.. then something is missing from the equation. Could be the launch, the tune, the driver, the suspension- whatever.

If a car runs great at the track, but dyno's low- then there is room for improvement. Then you know that there is more to be had.. and your closer to realizing your goals, and incrementally add power-producing modifications to optimize the performance.

I wouldn't disgard the baby with the bathwater here..

 

I only care about track times.

 

I only care about dyno numbers.

 

How is the car running these days mike?
I have not seen you or heard of u at the track in a while.

 

My car is running fine. I drive it all the time. I have not been to the track in a while though. I need to get a new set of drag rims.

 

I've posted this before, but it is apropos, so ...

The only car I have ever had on the dyno was my street racer. It would pull the front wheels in good air and nail you back in the seat. After dyno tuning, it had more peak horsepower, but felt slower on the street (no more wheel lifting) and was slower at the strip. I haven't put a car on a dyno since. My bolt-on, 3600 lb, 4.10 12 bolted, M6 car runs 116 in the quarter with tuning on the street for street performance.

 

Well said! I have to agree with that!

If dyno numbers don't mean **** then why do ALL the NASCAR teams use dynos for both engine development and chasis testing? Clearly, the dyno stuff means something for tuning regardless of if one cares about it or not.

Going from a roll is most important for my 99 T/A M6. For this car dyno numbers and top end charge are critical.

So what's important also depends on the customers application.

 

I perfer power, and I generally measure that on the dyno. On the dyno isnt where its matters, its where its measured. Driving the car around town is where it matters, and thats generally not on a drag strip.

Couldnt care less what a car's 1/4 mile time is, all that means is tires, gears, and weight to me (not my cup of tea). Now, if a car runs 11's full weight on street tires (and no, I'm not talking bout ET streets), then, THAT 1/4 mile time is important and impressive and it says something to me about power. I don't drive a race car to work everyday, I drive a street car, so 1/4 mile means **** to me.

In summary, 2 cars...
1) runs 12.10 @ 125mph
2) runs 10.9@116

I'll take #1 any day of the week.

 

Was it being tuned for area under the curve or for peak numbers?