Horsepower Expectations, Dyno tested just 80 HP at the wheels?! Options

[MikeInMunich]

Hi guys,

I just got sad news. My rebuilt (to) 2-liter engine with headers, free flow muffler, mega squirt fuel injection and MSD / Petronix ignition was just on the dyno today. 80 HP at the wheels. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I reckon this means something like 100 coming from the engine (?)...

Can you knowledgeable experts out there offer some thoughts on this please? The headers were from OBX, bought, by the way, before I knew they were a knock-off of Kerry Hunter's product. The valves were adjusted and plugs are new.

I do not have leak down or compression numbers at the moment but assuming they are what they should be, what do you think his thing should be putting out?

If we are under what you think it should be, do you have any suggestions? Is there a way to easily improve air intake?

Thanks for your time!

M.i.M.

[ChrisFoley]

Drivetrain loss should be around 15%.
That means about 94hp at the flywheel in your case.
I would not expect any more than 100hp based on your description.

OTOH, you could have gotten 125 from the proper combination of parts in a 2056 build with stock FI.

[DBCooper]

Drivetrain loss should be around 15%.
That means about 94hp at the flywheel in your case.
I would not expect any more than 100hp based on your description.

A couple of years ago I spoke with a Ford transmission engineer who also mentioned that 15 percent number (and a little better, actually) as a rule of thumb, but the interesting thing was him saying that was about half the energy that older drivetrains lost. He was pretty proud of that improvement, part of a company priority to improve fuel economy. I don't know about the 901 specifically but suspect it would be one of those older less-efficient transmissions, and if it is then his crank number might be a bit better than that. Car won't be any faster, of course, but maybe he'll feel better about it.