[smoothz]

First, let me tell you how cold the temps were outside. It was a balmy 17F and even colder with the wind chill. I picked up my polished intake tube (thanks UT and 350Z-Tech!), filled up the tank with 92% octane fuel, and enjoyed a nice afternoon drive in decent rush hour traffic to the dyno/tuner shop.

The guys at Elite Autosport are a good group. Mind you that this is the first time I've been there, and first impressions are everything. I pulled up, parked, and an 'intern' came out to greet me by introducing himself and to admire the Z. Next stop, the shop's interior. The reception area wasn't much, but that's because it's a serious tuner shop, and the garage area is where all the action is at (no, not the bumping uglies kind).

I saw many nice cars in various stages of modification. There was even a 10 second Supra in there! A couple of NSX's graced the floor, along with some less glorious monsters. Soon after, 2 more Z's and a BMW M3 (sorry, but I'm not sure what the hatchback version is called) showed up.

Nobody was willing to be first, so I stepped up to the plate. I was as excited as a boy on his first fishing trip with his legendary grandpa who ....oh, never mind. Anyway, I got excited about pulling her into the shop.

Now you may be asking, "What kind of dynamometer was it?" :dunno: But the large banner above it screamed Dynojet, so...on with the show.

My mods on the Z for the first run/pull were the JWT pop charger, the Helix straight test pipes, and the 5-wire ground kit. Why do I mention this? Read on...

My first pull gave me 240.7 HP and 240.1 lb-ft of torque. I was, well, surprised and in a good way. I was estimating 240 before I ever got there, so I was spot on, as they say in the UK or Australia.

My second pull included the polished intake tube I ordered from this very site! I didn't think it was going to do anything, and the tuner spent a few minutes installing it for me (very nice of him). So they ran it a second time, now with the new tube.

I got 248.8 HP and 244 lb-ft!! :OMG: They didn't tell me this...yet. Mind you, I was only expecting 2 pulls for the deal. They decided to do a third because they didn't think the second was 'right.'

My third pull came out to a whopping 250.5 hp and 252.5 lb-ft!!! :thumbsup: Imagine my surprise! Now imagine my grin when the other Z's did their pulls. The stock Track got 240hp, and Blake350's Z got 250 (and he has more mods than me). So my tube gave me extra HP in the range of 8-10. Not bad for $100!

My conclusion is that the robots on the assembly line during my build date were feeling good and built a pretty strong engine that day. Needless to say, I'm happy with the results and now I know what to tell people who are fixated on numbers.

Here's a chart.

 

[JTS2005]

good lord thats awesome!!

congrats!!

 

[Conceyted]

what type of dyno is that?
mustang?

 

[dave079]

If its a Dyno Jet those are some great #'s

 

[350zluvr]

Wow! Nice going Smooth.

Don't our computers allow more performance out of the engine after a few times of working it hard? Kind of like when the computer system understands that the driver is in a playing mood and therefore sacrifices gas mileage for power?

 

[smoothz]

It was a dyno jet. I had questioned the dyno on another local site who knows this place. They claimed there was no problems in accuracy, but I heard that these types of dynos are somewhat forgiving in our favor. I don't know...

 

[smoothz]

My AFR was 17.5, but they said to ignore the number printed out. The graphical actually read around 15.5 and dropped down to 13.5 at the end.

 

[350zluvr]

Originally posted by SmoothZ@Dec 13 2004, 06:56 PM
My AFR was 17.5, but they said to ignore the number printed out.  The graphical actually read around 15.5 and dropped down to 13.5 at the end.

Sorry for my stupidity, but what is AFR?

 

[smoothz]

I believe it means Air/Fuel Ratio. I was running rich, which I understand is better than lean, at least for this engine anyway.

 

[LBSOHK]

:clap: congrats.. I would never expect your whp to be so high with your mods ! awesome ! whats next in line ? Im thinking an exhaust and a plenum :thumbsup:

 

[smoothz]

Thanks, Art. There was a SB that had a Kinetix plenum, Injen SES, Injen intake, a pulley and he still only pulled 250HP. So I don't think I'm going for the plenum just yet. I want to see more competition and specs in that dept.

As for exhaust, there's a lot out there. It's a matter of just making up my mind and getting it. I saw a special on the Injen SES for $775, and I love the sound of it.

 

[Jung918]

Seems interesting that the sotck track model made as much hp as your car on the first pull. Just curious if your broke your car in as recommened by Nissan?

 

[smoothz]

Originally posted by Jung918@Dec 13 2004, 10:49 PM
Seems interesting that the sotck track model made as much hp as your car on the first pull. Just curious if your broke your car in as recommened by Nissan?

My guess is that because he has lighter wheels than me, the difference in rotational mass and the HP output will be different. :dunno: I don't know if that has anything to do with being on a dyno, but I believe that those numbers he got is the high end average for a stock Z.

As for proper break in of the two cars, I would have no idea since he and I are both second owners of the Z's. I would surely hope so.

 

[mickyboy]

Out of interest, how much time elapsed between each pull on the dyno?
If there is sufficient time for the oil to cool between pulls then these are great numbers, but in reality most cars will pull higher & higher numbers as the oil thins and frees up the motor.
Seems unusually high increase from the intake tube.
Great numbers anyway.

 

[Got Rpm]

My AFR was 17.5, but they said to ignore the number printed out. The graphical actually read around 15.5 and dropped down to 13.5 at the end.

Actually, you were not very rich at all. Stoichiometric A:F is 14.7:1, but that is not the safest way to make power at WOT. My blown Dodge runs safely and strongly at 12.5:1 measured on a DynoJet. OTOH, my blown Poncho ran 11.1:1 from the factory at WOT....that's rich. If your A:F ratio was actually 17:1 then you were close to meltdown....WAY too lean.

However, the A:F meters on many dynos are not that accurate. The most accurate readings will be taken close to the engine, not at the tailpipe. The last shop I went to screwed the A:F probe into one of the oxygen sensor holes in the exhaust piping, a much better place.

 

[TrackZ03]

Dave, those numbers are great! I can bet you were pretty happy with that 3rd run breaking 250! Although, it is normal to get higher numbers on your 2nd run, I have never seen an increase like yours before. I also used a Dynojet back in the summer before my mods were put on (see here) and only pulled 237 on my second run. Nice going!

Can't wait to get my intake tube now.

 

[smoothz]

Thanks, guys. Yes, they placed the rod inside the exhaust pipes at the rear. And I think you're right about the oil leaning out. My 3 pulls were all done within 30 minutes. The temp inside the garage was about 60-65 degrees. Definitely not a hot and humid day!

 

[jinxxycat]

Wow Dave VERY impressive, and quite astounding that the tube made that much of a difference. I would love to get Lucy in for a dyno, gotta find a good tuner shop round here for the spring.......

And great post and write up BTW, very observant young man you are! :wink: Excellent news! :thumbsup:

 

[MezzChris]

Smooth is my hero. Dang I wish I would have gone now.

 

[KShep]

Congrats Dave....well done!