The Colonel Hits The Dyno!

I had been waiting for a while to get the Challenger onto the dyno ever since I put the first mods on, and when a couple local folks from the Challenger Z set up a group rate/dyno day for this past Saturday, I couldn't let it pass on by.

For those who don't know, a dyno machine is basically a machine with rollers in the ground that you strap your car to, and it measures the horsepower and torque numbers that actually make it to the wheels. When you see a car advertised on TV, it will ALWAYS ALWAYS display the horsepower rating of the motor itself, and not the true numbers at the wheels [which is where it actually counts.] For instance, my car from the factory was rated at 376hp [at the motor] and would probably make around 330-335 at the wheels.

To date, all I've added in terms of performance is the Mopar Cold Air Intake and a tune from the diablsosport predator tuner [which basically remaps the car's computer and advances the timing to draw more power out of the motor.] With those added, I'm very pleased to report that The Colonel put down 345.7 horsepower and 372.4 foot pounds of torque at the wheels, pretty respectable numbers. I was also very happy to see that the air/fuel ratio was spot on, meaning the car [and tune] is running/working exactly as it should! [You can see the results in the picture up at the top] If I decide to add a catback exhaust system in the future, I'll more than likely pay to get some more dyno time and a custom tune made specifically for me by a tune shop, to ensure that everything is still running properly and safely while squeezing out as much power as possible from the engine. Enough jibber jabber though, on with the video and pics! Enjoy!

My friend Pat's R/T on the dyno

The Colonel & 1BADRT (owned by my friend Troy)

Al, Troy, and some of the other cars

My friend Tim's R/T

The Colonel all strapped down and ready to go!

It was an exhausting morning of hanging out in the sun, eating donuts and listening to muscle cars roar! Thank goodness for that 4 point harness!