Shane you dog, you stole the response I just got talking to Paul at Pauls High Performance in Jackson, MI (517-764-7661). He did over 700 dyno runs last year and does work for NASCAR and Ford as well. He runs (I think he called it) a big roller dyno meaning the drum is 4000 or so lbs. His response was as you said; your spinning 4000 lbs on the dyno and you go to the strip and yank, in some cases, well over that off the line and then add in wind (the major additional loading factor) and viola, a different tune up is needed. This doesn't account for the variables due to weather, elevation, track grade and so forth. He told me that all the dyno tunes he does leave with fueling fat. For al ot of reasons. He knows they will need to be due to what was I wrote above and you just never know what someone is going to do to the car after it leaves the shop so being a bit fat is safer than on the edge or lean. Since his roller is a different weight than standard rollers, which he thought may be around 3000 lbs, what he would use for offsets (I'll call them) in the A/F ratio would be different. So there was no need to go into what he sees as best power on the dyno and the how he comensates for it. He did say that they are in the 11 range though, but I did not elaborate on the combo. What he did say straight up is the dyno is a starting point, the track is the final answer.
What impressed me was a couple of things. He called me on the phone to help me/us out. How cool is that?? He also was very matter of fact and was happy to answer any questions I had. Basically saying of course the load is different and here is why. (I felt so stupid) But the other thing that impressed me is he seems to be so on top of this stuff that anything you ask him about tune ups, electronics and so forth (dyno to track) is just common knowledge off the top of his head. Basically to the point I really plan on taking my car there even though it is about 5 or 6 hours away.
As a side note he is getting set up with the GEN VII system and his comments on it were nothing short of wonderful. He really could not say enough good things about its ease of use and how flexible it is. He also said Mallory has some tricks up their sleeve from an ignition standpoint the are way cool coming this fall/winter.
Basically he seems to be big in the 4.6 Ford mod motor thing and is pulling about 600 HP out of those things NA. Just an FYI for any Ford guys out there.
A very nice guy I thought and someone that I would have no problem giving my money to. That talk made my day.
