Dyno run, the good old lady's healthy!

[frenchie TVR]

So yesterday my friend David and I popped into "quest motorsport": http://questmotorsport.co.uk/ where we dropped of his Chimaera for some work (I am sure David will tell you all about this soon ;-0).

To thank me for running him back form Essex to Watford Dave paid for a Dyno test and it looks like the good old lady's doing well and is running healthily: 252 hp and 365 feet of torque at the rear well…. We go t wheel spin several time, so both David and I climbed in the booth to put extra weight at the pack and it stopped the wheels from spinning and produced a good reading…

I guess all rolling roads give different readings, yesterday it was nice and cold, so I guess ideal to produce a few extra horses…? But if we consider anything between 15% and 20% loss for the transmission loss, we are talking about 289 and 302 hp at the engine… We are talking about a very original 1996 500 with 36,000 miles and full service history (the only "engine" mod, as far as I am aware off is a alluminium radiator and slightly sleeved exhaust… Unless one of the previous owner did something to it… The son of the guy who I bought it from is into motor racing (17 year old boy competing in some kind of single seater series) and he bough it from a posh old architect type gentleman (who delivered him the car wearing a velour blazer the same colour of the car and a bow tie…) the guy before this bought it new… In all the receipts I have (lots, full service history) there are no notes of any tweaks….

What do you guys think from the numbers / graphs?

PS: I am not claiming to have a "powerful monster", I do not really give a monkey as I love my car the way it is… Saying so, going to Le Mans Classic, on the motorway on a rolling start from 15 to 120 mph the good old lady kept side by side with my friends Aston Martin Vantage (with the 420 hp conversion) and we were 2 guys in the TVR and my friends was on its own in the Aston.

PPS: I am sorry we (the French) lost the rugby yesterday!

Have a good Sunday, Frenchie

[phazed]

Hi Eric.

Sounds like a very healthy nine, and at that mileage it should be!

I guess that's an error In the figures, it should read 265 torque at the rear wheels?

[ChimpofDarkness]

My idea of the two of us sitting in the boot totally solved our initial wheel spin frustrations.

What fun

I'd say rolling road results are always up for debate, but the bum dyno seldom lies.

I've only really drag raced Frechie from the comfort of my baby 4.0 litre, & I've never felt embarrassed.

Being a passenger is a different thing though, so on the way back we visited that well known private road that goes around London.

A 5th gear rolling acceleration test from 60 - 120 leptons confirmed to me Frenchie has a very strong 5.0 litre.

The additional torque developed by an extra litre of engine capacity is a devastating leveller, I need 4th & 5th to replicate the same thrust.

Got to get me that turbo ;-)

But for now, life's a gas

PS: I stayed with the Aston too, that three car 24 cylinder rolling drag race through a French tunnel will stay with me forever

Edited by ChimpofDarkness on Sunday 24th February 11:41

[chris1972]

Looks pretty good actually.

Each rolling road gives different results. My totally standard 500 was 274 and 280lbs ft (60k miles). It has apparently had a new ECU and map by Austec since then. I'm hoping by the time I finish getting it up to scratch, decatting, new induction and trumpets etc it should easily push past the 300bhp mark without much bother.

[Alun450]

I thought them there 5.0l were st! Crap out the box, badly built, seems they weren't all that bad then! Sounds like a lovely car.

[EGB]

At 5190 rpm = 252 bhp. Even better at 4250 rpm = 256 bhp. Flywheel bhp = 294 - 307 bhp. A healthy Chim 500. Hope my read of graph and calculation is not crap!

Edited by EGB on Sunday 24th February 13:46