Quote:
Originally Posted by LesBaer
Thanks man. No offense to any vendors here, but nearly every mod's dyno results can be easily manipulated and they have been if you follow the Corvette forum at all. You really have to be careful who you trust. If you've been working with a certain vendor for years on various cars, I'd say listen to what they have to say above and beyond what you see someone or some other vendor post. It's just hard for us to validate anything and tell fact from fiction based on what we read.
|
Yep, quoted for emphasis. It takes quite a while for the truth to sift to the surface on a forum. People really want to believe that despite CAFE and a hp war that is now decades in the making they really can get 11 hp out of an efficiency mod like new mufflers. And that this hellishly loud new muffler somehow has no resonance. The first guys post about it and talk about their seat of the pants gains and no drone and others buy in. Pretty soon though someone throws one on a dyno and it doesn't gain anything. Then someone else does and it doesn't gain anything either. Bit by bit the forum lore admits that there wont be any 11 hp gain out of a new set of cans but it takes a while. That resonance? Starts out it's all good but soon enough someone admits as to how they have just a midge of drone but only at a limited rpm band that is easily driven through and around. Not long after than others chime in about how that drone actually happens at some cruising speeds but they can get around it by driving in a higher or lower gear to avoid it. Fast forward a while and it turns out the thing drones like crazy and you can find a half dozen of them for sale on the private seller section at any one time and they're cheap, after all, everyone knows they have a bad drone.
It's an example of my point which is that you have to be careful on these forums when considering mods. It takes a while for the truth to percolate up to the surface, it's usually a bandwagon mentality, there are some vendors which will sell you anything you ask for whether its a good thing for you or not.
The fellow I quoted nailed it, IMO take advice only from well established shops that have been in business a long time. Those are the ones that will tell you a truth you don't want to hear. Or wait until the data points grow to where the early BS has been kicked to the curb and the information available is more realistic.
I've been guilty of jumping on that bandwagon, I've made the one mod too many which made the car worse, etc. Forums like this are an excellent resource but it's easy to get caught up in the hype...