I took a trip yesterday to SW Tuning in Oklahoma City. The shop is owned and run by Jim Paschall who used to have a shop in Phlugerville Texas. Jim was the guy who finnally got my 426 Hemi fuel injection and charging issues sorted out a while back and I was impressed with his skill and determination. After a 3 1/2 hour cruise up there,( top down of course), Jim loaded the SSR on his dyno and strapped it down. His dyno is a Mustang model and he figures in such things as vehicle weight and aerodynamics when setting the load for the vehicle to pull against. If you are looking for bragging numbers, this is not the dyno to use, but if you are looking for real world tuning and results then this is the way to go. Jim asked me what I was looking for and I explained that I wanted to rid myself of most of the torque management, change the lockup application on my converter to reduce heat and change some other transmission functions. I also wanted the engine tuned to take advantage of my true dual exhaust and K&N cold air kit. His tuning efforts were a great success and we got an extra 20hp at the wheels over the stock tune. I really love the part throttle difference he made as the engine feels much more responsive. He raised some WOT shift points and brought the fan on at a lower temperature. Overall I am very pleased with the results and would highly recomend his services to anyone looking to maximize the potential of the SSR or any other vehicle. His number is 405-728-5044 in case anyone is interested. He is sometimes hard to reach since he is a one man operation but his results are worth it.
Like I said earlier, this isn't the dyno for getting impressive numbers, it is more of a tuning aid. Horsepower measured when I arrived was 297 at 5700 rpm and when we were done tuning it measured 317 at around 6000 rpm. All the dyno runs were at 195 degree plus on the engine temp and the air temp in the shop was 99 degrees on the initial run and 102 degrees on the last run. Jim says a Dyno Jet will post numbers as much as 40HP higher so if you are looking for a "trophy run" then the Dyno Jet is the dyno to use. I came away impressed with the Mustang dyno and Jims ability and found some new power in my SSR so I am a happy camper!!
Greg:If the shop intake temperature was 99 to 102 degrees, then those power results were very good.
Although dyno correction factors "try" to correct for adverse ambient conditions, no actual engine that I know of runs as well at 100 degrees as it does at 60 degrees. If you re-visit his shop in October, your results will likely be more "impressive".
I am intrigued by your comment about changing the cpnverter lockup parameters to reduce heat generation. Since you are a transmission expert (guys, Greg owns Phoenix Transmission, and he and his team were the ones who strengthened my own autoamtic transmission to handle the supercharger), I am VERY interested in how you do that, and what the tradeoffs are. Can you post a reply for everyone's benefit?
Jim, I had the tuner shorten the lockup apply and release times so there wasn't as much slippage in the lockup. The 4L60E will apply lockup at varying percentages according to throttle and speed to reduce engine rpm and make the lockup apply as seamless as possible. By eliminating most of this you get more of a straight on or off of the converter clutch thereby eliminating some slippage under many conditions and thus a reduction in trans temperature. I have not noticed any difference in drivability other than the part throttle tip in being much more responsive. This is just somthing I wanted to experiment with and so far it is working for me.
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