Actual hp vs stated hp?

[jsf74]

I've seen it a ton in the drag racing world, said driver has x amount of horse power in his car because the added hp per part has to = 400 or 500 but when its actually put on the dyno they spin the rollers to a wopping 250. How much of this goes on in the circle track world and are most of the small short tracks following the same path. How many actually dyno their motors in race condition and optimize their combos. I'll bet a lot if drivers are leaving a TON of power on the table with just some tuning. Any opinions or am I wrong.

[Egoracing]

I've seen it a ton in the drag racing world, said driver has x amount of horse power in his car because the added hp per part has to = 400 or 500 but when its actually put on the dyno they spin the rollers to a wopping 250. How much of this goes on in the circle track world and are most of the small short tracks following the same path. How many actually dyno their motors in race condition and optimize their combos. I'll bet a lot if drivers are leaving a TON of power on the table with just some tuning. Any opinions or am I wrong.

It is the same. I have seen WAY to many 700+ hp 358 small blocks that were using factory gm production blocks and 23 degree heads.

[jsf74]

My point exactly. Ill bet more than half the 500hp motors are a lot closer to 300 than people realize. So much is being left on the table it's crazy. I haven't seen anyone monitor afr or anything. You can remove plugs and such but to know for sure your getting what u pay for this stuff needs checked and monitored. Another thing that erks me is the use of race gas on everything called a race motor. People are actually killing hp by running gas with a octane rating higher than needed. Not sure why I'm ranting it's just I see a lot of waste potential at the track from a lot of race teams.

[joeltjen]

i would say about 90% of the cars at our track have had their motors on a dyno, even the streeters. when you can pick up 50 horse just in timing and carb adjustments it the cheapest money you'll spend per horse. my buddy who builds his own b-mod motors (all except machining) even takes his motor to a shop for dyno time . a lot to be found between carbs and header choices, even a lot between brand name hei modules. $300 on the dyno took his 307 from 340 hp to 385 hp!!!! as far as 700hp out of a 358 not sure about that, but chad mullins gets some pretty awesum numbers from 23 degree stuff. stock block has nothin to do with hp numbers if your talking wetsump oiling but they just dont live very long although my 394 small block was stock blocked and put out 590 hp and it took over 150 shows before it started to pull the head bolts out of the block. since i only race 1 night a week that was 6 years and one rebuild at 75 nights. not that bad of an investment.

[Egoracing]

You get much over 600 and you will end up running over the crank with a stock block. When we first started running crates all the locals that had NEVER seen a crate were telling us that we HAD to run 110 octane and when we beat them running a 93/89 octane mix it was because we were cheating, not because we not giving up 30hp using the wrong fuel and 40+HP because we did not have our air cleaner under the hood breathing hot air or were not running giving up 10 +hp running a K&N filter and cheap housing.

[newguy]

one of my buddies has a 377 with camel backs. he swears hes got 700 hp. another guy runs a 420 with dart iron eagles and swears its 900hp lol. I have no trouble keeping up with my lil 360

[let-r-eat]

Dyno sheets never lie do they?

[TBRE]

HP #'s and flow #'s are the 2 most exagerated things in racing sales. Like most other things in life, believe nothing you hear, and about half what you see.TB

[jsf74]

Well actually sometimes they do. Their is many correction factors involved to getting accurate numbers. A good dyno operator is worth every penny. The most popular thing in the dragracing world right now is huge dyno numbers for bragging rights. Shops make money by producing BIG FAKE numbers.

[ThrowInDirt]

I've never have had a Engine on a dyno before. I never felt the need too put it on a dyno. I build all my own engine's and dont have any have any problems with horsepower. This last season I ran down a guy and just flat out passed him and after the race he had come over and asked how much hp my engine had and I told him I have no idea. So then he goes on and says well mine has 700 horse. So i guess the bigger qeustion is how much horsepower are you actully getting down to the ground. Am I losing hp by not getting it on a dyno..mybe..I concentrate more on set-up and getting it to stick to the ground then worry about how much hp the dyno guy says..just my 2 cents

[Egoracing]

I've never have had a Engine on a dyno before. I never felt the need too put it on a dyno. I build all my own engine's and dont have any have any problems with horsepower. This last season I ran down a guy and just flat out passed him and after the race he had come over and asked how much hp my engine had and I told him I have no idea. So then he goes on and says well mine has 700 horse. So i guess the bigger qeustion is how much horsepower are you actully getting down to the ground. Am I losing hp by not getting it on a dyno..mybe..I concentrate more on set-up and getting it to stick to the ground then worry about how much hp the dyno guy says..just my 2 cents

That is the other BIG factor on dirt. HP is not King. We won several open motor races with an older 604. If the track will not handle the motor the guy with 350hp that can drive it is going to lap the gut with 650-700 that can not put the pedal down 1/2 way anywhere on the track!

[perfconn]

There are huge difference in every shops dyno and even more difference between engine dynos and chassie dynos.

[ThrowInDirt]

I dont know what you all run, But I run a modified so a limiting factor for them is the 8" wide tire. If I were running a late model or sprint car then yeah I would be trying to get the very most out of an engine. Thats why those motors cost 40 grand cause they need all they can get because they can get most of it to the ground with tires they run..again just my 2 cents

[jsf74]

no such thing as too much power. i would rather have my combo maxed and work from there rather than wonder. easier to control power with the skinny pedal.

[parrot69777]

Whether you are running an 8", 12", or 14" tire. There is no replacement for HP. This is how it was explained to me.

If you have a 600hp engine on an 8" tire and are getting 75% of that power to the ground is 450hp.

If you have a 800hp engine on an 8" tire and are only getting 60% of that power to the ground...that is 480hp.

In this scenario.....the bigger engine is actually gaining 30hp of usable power.

[50j]

I wouldn't want to race a motor that was NOT on the dyno. You can find a lot of power on one and find out where it wants to be with timing, air/fuel, plugs. You can see what the cam is doing and do back to back comparisons if you have time to make changes. It's some of the best time and money you can spend.

[Egoracing]

We won several races in open motor late models with a LEGAL straight from GM crate motor. The track was smaller, flat, slick and hard. Every lap you could hear the larger motors busting the tires loose several times each straight and our car just drove away from them every lap. In the heat race we went from almost last to first in one lap. We lapped up to the top 3 cars in one event and finished right behind them. All of this is on video and there were some of the top drivers in the area in the event. If the track can only handle 350HP a car with 400hp is going to be much easier to drive and more forgiving on setup than a car making 750hp that you are trying to drive around at 1/2 throttle or less busting the tires loose when you try to accelerate. Think of it this way... Which would be easier to drive on ice? A F350 diesel that makes 500Ft lbs of torque and 600hp just above idle or a Ford ranger 2300 that makes about 70ft lbs of torque off idle and 120hp max?
.
There is a reason that the top late model drives are NOT using the biggets motors anymore, many are winning a LOT of $$$$ with smaller motors! Jimmy Owens won several last year with a 365ci engine!

[grt74]

Ego some people just dont understand or want to believe this,i wont say who but years ago a very well known dirt super star killed everyone with a bush v6 motor,true story beleive it or not

[Egoracing]

Ego some people just dont understand or want to believe this,i wont say who but years ago a very well known dirt super star killed everyone with a bush v6 motor,true story beleive it or not

About 2004 /05 Glen Yawn (SP?) passed Jack Pennington on the outside at Screven to win a Super Late Model race with a 604 that was still straight from GM. If the track is only going to hold 350hp then it really don't matter if you have 400 or 800 except that the 400 is going to be easier to drive.