okay guys and gals...

Most have probably seen my thread about the recent mods and the lower than expected dyno numbers I pulled. I definitely want to get to the bottom of it and I'm sure it is knowledge that will benefit all here. So... I'm going to make my car a test bed in the near future.

I joked in another thread about donations to help pay for the dyno time, but I seriously ask for those donations now. I'll do it regardless, but it will be much easier on me if I have a little help because we will likely need to reserve a dyno for a full day (not to mention replacing gaskets once or twice, etc and other minor expenses)

What I plan to do is this... my Z will go as is to a local dyno (a different one than was used before, though) at a shop reputed to have a good dyno history. I've already got the place picked out.

We'll make 2 or 3 runs on the dyno in each configuration below. When all is said and done, I'll post dyno numbers (and graphs if possible) here on the forum for all to see the results.

1. Full set up runs - AEM CAI, Crawford Plenum, Nismo Cams, Borla Headers, Crawford Cats, Borla True Dual Exhaust, UR Pulleys, TS ECU

2. Same as 1 minus Crawford Cats

3. Same as 2 minus AEM CAI

4. Same as 3 minus Crawford Plenums

(I think that is all that is easily changed, though if we can reason out a way to swap out the pulleys or Headers quickly we'll try those too. For obvious reasons, the cams and TechnoSquare ECU will stay constants)

5. Same as 4 with Crawford Cats added back on

6. Same as 5 with Crawford Plenum added back on.

7. Same as 6 with AEM added back on.

As you can see, this will give us horsepower numbers for the base set up and the following combinations...

1. Crawford Cats, Crawford Plenum, and AEM CAI
2. Crawford Plenum and AEM CAI
3. Crawford Plenum alone
4. Baseline setup only (cams, headers, TS, Pulleys)
5. Crawford Cats alone
6. Crawford Cats and Plenum
7. Crawford Cats, Crawford Plenum and AEM CAI again

As you can see, we're talking 7 sets of runs... so 14-21 trips on the dyno over the course of a weekend and much time swapping parts.

I think this will be worthwhile and may even entertain working other parts into the mix if any vendors out there care to donate some loaners for research. This is a one shot deal. I will be doing this one time and not dynoing again until bigger changes are made next year.

If you care to help out with the expenses in the interest of some real controlled test knowledge, email me at mcduck@earthlink.net. I'll be happy to provide with an address to send any donations (parts or money).

I'll post more here about the dates as soon as I talk things over with Mark (my mechanic) and the dyno shop.

 

I think you should get some sponsorship from Crawford and perhaps AEM.

The Crawford products don't have the benefit of [m]any independent dyno numbers. AEM has something to prove after Greg posted a loss of power in that Mossy thread.

 

mcduck, did you ever talk to TS to see if timing is an issue? It'd be kinda sinceless to go through with all of these dynos and get similar results because the timing wasn't correct for your setup. Don't want to see ya get your feelings hurt again by "low" dyno numbers .

 

See PM!

 

will you be posting your results or only to those who donate?

 

I just talked to TS, they have a whole "Crawford" car coming in for testing today, not sur who's it is but they confirmed they can flash for my Crawford Plenum and RT Cats.

Can't wait and good luck. Someone send this guy some funds!

 

I'm curious about this enough to put my money where my mouth is. I'll donate $30.00 via PayPal. PM me your PayPal account number and I'll send it to you.

--Steve

 

350Z_redline...

The very first thing we are still planning to do is take my Z by a local mod-friendly dealer and check the timing/idle settings. If necessary, we'll see what corrections can be made by them. The dyno testing will occur after this.
Also, Mark was supposed to touch base with TS this week while I was out of town. I'll find out if he learned anything when I get home tomorrow.

Road Warrior...
Results will be posted for everyone to see. It just would help this happen sooner if I get some donations. Otherwise, I have to budget time and money of my own, both of which are in short supply (have your read the list of mods I did recently?! )

Steve
thanks for the offer, I'll PM you the info when I'm back home. I want to be in a position to track who donated to the cause so I can properly thank them later... that I need to do from my PC at home.


Everyone...
another thought I'm considering. Follow the dyno process I listed. After all is said and done, keep the most productive setup. Then, lowlevel the ECU back to stock setting, reset timing and idle... dyno one final time to see if TS improves upon base ECU or not for the most optimal mods.
This would possibly involve another extra cost since, if the TS really does improve the numbers, I'll have to send the ECU to them for a re-flash. Hopefully if we prove some of the gains, they'd be willing to cut me slack on the re-flash price.

More when I get back home tomorrow.

 

That'd be Yuichi.

 

Mcduck, check your email @ earthlink

 

Mcduck, which dyno are you getting this tested? I also live in Charlotte and maybe come by to see it.

 

cool, please PM me with info regarding sending the funds to you and good luck with everything

 

Quick message...

Just wanted to say thanks to those offering to support this venture. I am not ignoring you... I just want to get things squared away with the shop that has the dyno before I take any contributions.

reallyredZ, the dyno shop I want to use is in Charlotte, but I just got back today so I have not talked to them yet. I will post the name of the shop if and when we finalize that we are going to be able to do this.

 

Folks... another issue has occurred to me with this test. I no longer have a stock plenum. So I will not be able to test the Crawford Plenum gains (unless I can find someone with a stock plenum willing to pull it out for a day).

I think we are going to go to Nissan for some adjustments to the ECU and restore the stock air box before going to the dyno.

Depending on how this goes, we may still follow through on the dyno testing for different components. If we do, I'm still open to trying parts outside of my personal car's set up. I will not buy additional parts for testing, but if someone wants to submit parts for independent dyno testing we can try to make arrangements.

I'll post an update on our plans after this weekend's tuning.

 

mcduck, talk to me if you need any stock parts.

-Bill

 

I have an extra stock plenum you could borrow. It might be a pain to mail to Charlotte (from Raleigh), though, since I don't have the box.

--Steve

 

I've got some money to kick to the project as long as the Crawford plenum dyno gets done.

And be certain you go to a reputable shop that won't screw up the comparisons.

Dan

 

post final details/plans when you get it all ironed out with a confirmed date, and I'll contribute too.

 

mcduck,

Will help anyway I can. I still have my stock plenum on the car. If you time your dyno pulls with my Crawford install, you can use my plenum before I send the stock one to Crawford.

Ravaz, the stock intake tube I have been talking to you about is for mcduck. Please check PMs.

 

Morris,

I was kind of hoping we could work it out that way. How soon do you think you will be swapping your plenum?

I'll try to talk turkey with the dyno shop early next week.

If things align, I'd like to try to shoot for the 2nd weekend of January for this project. Again, this is very contigent on the outcome of this Saturday's efforts, getting the dyno shop to agree, and having all the parts on hand to do the pulls.