Outlandish Tuner Claims?

[RWD cossie wil]

One of my mates is looking at tuning his R8 V10, the package consists of a remap & exhaust. The company in question are claiming it takes the car from a standard 518 BHP & 391 lbs/ft to 580BHP & 431 lbs/ft, but in an email have stated that 580BHP is a conservative estimate, and that dyno print outs often show 600BHP+ after having their magic tuning carried out!

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but gaining 60-100BHP from a simple exhaust & remap from an N/A engine is almost unheard of, but my mate is adamant that it's a genuine gain etc... Personally I think you would be lucky to se that with a forced induction engine,let alone N/A, and have pointed out that it's very very easy to fudge dyno figures, but my mate is adamant that it's totally genuine

[Dammit]

Tell him to put up or shut up - go to somewhere like http://www.powerstation.org.uk/ and run it on the rollers.

[LukeR94]

Outlandish tuner claims have been going on as long as there has been tuners.

Someone will be along soon to calculate how much power it will make after

[Monty Python]

Getting ~600bhp is not out of the question:

http://www.e-maps.co.uk/products/Audi/R8/

[sixspeed]

Tbh it depends how the car hsa been tuned from the factory. Maybe the R8s are held back a little so as not to tread on the Gallardo's toes?

[Dammit]

I could claim anything I wanted from my tune - until it's dyno'd it's simply hot air.

[Poopipe]

Its a 5.2l engine iirc ? Id have thought 120bhp per litre would be achievable and remain fairly usable given that there's likely to be plenty of fancy bits on the engine already.

a clio 200 puts out 100(ish) per litre and theres bugger all fancy about an f4r , same with the type-rs. Spend a few grand on either and youll be looking that sort of number.

Sounds entirely possible - whether the tuner is full of st or not is another matter

[TheAngryDog]

I'd take a ~75bhp increase in power from an N/A engine with a pinch of salt.

One thing that interests me about tuners is that they tend to have a group of cars that they specialise in. Most seem to put the Rover 75/MG ZT CTDi 115 and 130 power output as being a 35bhp increase for both, yet the 115 is a 130 with a lower tune. Everything about them is identical, so the quoted figures are pinch of salt figures on most cars.

Its how the car drives on the road that counts.

[Crafty_]

Dammit said:

I could claim anything I wanted from my tune - until it's dyno'd it's simply hot air.

Even then dynos are notoriously inaccurate and vary.

[vtecyo]

You can gain 50-60hp out of the K20a2 in a Civic Type R with bolt ons (inlet manifold, full exhaust, filter) and a remap on a Hondata ECU, which as a percentage is a much greater increase.

Entirely plausible.

[jas xjr]

i am sure there are dyno's that are more flattering than others . i know many years ago in the field of golf mk1 / mk2 tuning there was one firm that always seemed to achieve the highest figures.

not sure headline figures are something i would want to chase as there will always be another car / tuner claiming higher figures

[GALLARDOGUY]

RWD cossie wil said:

One of my mates is looking at tuning his R8 V10, the package consists of a remap & exhaust. The company in question are claiming it takes the car from a standard 518 BHP & 391 lbs/ft to 580BHP & 431 lbs/ft, but in an email have stated that 580BHP is a conservative estimate, and that dyno print outs often show 600BHP+ after having their magic tuning carried out!

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but gaining 60-100BHP from a simple exhaust & remap from an N/A engine is almost unheard of, but my mate is adamant that it's a genuine gain etc... Personally I think you would be lucky to se that with a forced induction engine,let alone N/A, and have pointed out that it's very very easy to fudge dyno figures, but my mate is adamant that it's totally genuine

Same engine as my spyder, which is 560BHP off the bat, so 600BHP doesn't seem beyond the realms of possibility.

[lamboman100]

Monty Python said:

Getting ~600bhp is not out of the question:

http://www.e-maps.co.uk/products/Audi/R8/

Superchips, a more famous company, is indicating gains of about 18 - 25bhp extra with a remap.

Add in 5 - 10bhp with a sports exhaust and perhaps decat (some exhausts may even shed power).

In real life, a remap and exhaust are prolly going to take the R8 to around 530 - 550bhp.

http://www.superchips.co.uk/search?make=2&fuel...

[RWD cossie wil]

My point is that A) circa 80bhp from an exhaust & remap on an NA car is not realistic IMHO, and B) A tuner supplied example dyno graph is pretty worthless, as you can make a dyno read pretty much what you like with a few minor corrections to air temps/ pressures etc...

I just think the claims are far fetched, I iust don't see where they will find that extra power from? Turbos/ superchargers are a different game as a bit of boost soon releases power.

[DaveCWK]

vtecyo said:

You can gain 50-60hp out of the K20a2 in a Civic Type R with bolt ons (inlet manifold, full exhaust, filter) and a remap on a Hondata ECU, which as a percentage is a much greater increase.

Entirely plausible.

Source? Sounds like BS.

[Monty Python]

lamboman100 said:

Superchips, a more famous company, is indicating gains of about 18 - 25bhp extra with a remap.

Add in 5 - 10bhp with a sports exhaust and perhaps decat (some exhausts may even shed power).

In real life, a remap and exhaust are prolly going to take the R8 to around 530 - 550bhp.

http://www.superchips.co.uk/search?make=2&fuel...

Clearly not trying hard enough:

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/258331/600_horse...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/audi-r8...

I suspect Superchips aren't going to spend a lot of time and effort on a car that's pretty rare - they'll concentrate on the mainstream where they can sell more.

[s p a c e m a n]

My mates got an sl600, he's done a few bits too it (straight through exhaust is bloody insane) and is now looking at modifying the quarter panels for wider wheels as he's going to start going for silly power, the tuner he uses reckons that he can get 1012bhp out of it.

[iva cosworth]

I spoke to a certain Swedish fella in July who had some fairly big claims about the BHP available

with some of his tuning tweaks.

He also has a dozen or more Cosworths in his front garden [that bit is true as I was standing next to them]