Do you believe in factory freaks

BrianMSmith

maybe two percent variation in power at the most. Test/dyno/operator can make a bigger difference than that. Cars are engineered and manufactured to very high controls and repeatability these days, even "hand built" Italian cars. It's a matter of economics.

mick

some turn out freaks, some turn out normal, and some turn out lemons

Jordo!

In reality, small differences due to better or worse ring sealing (burn any oil?) might mean slightly more compression and a few more whp, but nothing earth shattering.

Given the tighter tolerances in modern engine builds, my theory is that so-called "factory freaks" (at least in modern engines) are all due to apples to oranges dyno comparions (e.g., dynapack vs dynojet) or someone using a wildly optimisitic correction factor or looking at uncorrected values in the middle of winter.

In other words it's horsesh!t.

On older motors you probably did have more variablity betwen carbeurators working properly and engines having good compression. Modern engines are far less variable in build or tune.

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ProfessorDave

Proof to support OP's theory:

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ImportConvert

I don't.

Used to, some of the domestic car companies would slip a hotter cam into the car or something (Say they ran out of cams for one trim-level, they would reach into the performance bin and slap that in there), but that kind of stuff doesn't happen anymore.

What is there to "make a car a freak"?

All of the parts are made to a certain +- spec, and they go in the car the same way. If your car is making more or less power than others, it has something that is not right in it, and that's no bueno.

kenchan

samb03

being a former Nissan mechanic I do believe in the Wednesday car. Shitty cars come from the factory because the workers are hung over on Monday, still don't want to be there Tuesday, Wednesday is good. Then Thursday and Friday they are looking forward to the weekend. It seemed like Maximas were the worst. Most ran like you would expect, a few were complete dogs, and every once in while you would get one that would haul. I stomped one and slipped the tires (not a burn out but more than a chirp) from 40mph. I think alot of it has to do with the self learning ECU's. It learns your usual driving patterns and adjusts fuel and timing to that. The people the baby their cars all the time tended to have cars taht were a little slower. The people that drive more aggressively (not thrashed) had a little more performance. I haven't worked at a dealer since the end of 05. Things may have changed a lot but i doubt it.

Mercennarius

Yes factory freaks are common in all cars. VQs tend to vary on power based on mileage and other factors. I've seen two stock 350Zs of the same year dyno 20whp apart on the same dyno back to back.

Jordo!

Then one of them had something seriously wrong with it.

The "freak" was the weaker one.

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Red__Zed

How do you explain a F20C dynoing 232whp from the factory, while 4 other s2000's on the same dyno, same day dyno'd in the 195whp range.


Anyone doubting the existence of factory freaks can simply take a look at the Nismo section. They're all factory freaks!

Nitrouz

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Jordo!

1. Don't know, it's all hearsay. You tell me how that would happen? My guess is there were other things going on with that motor or the tune that were not explained. Maybe that one revved to 10,000 RPM's.

You're saying these were all unmodifed, bone stock engines with a stock ECU tune? I call BS on that. There is no way a four banger made nearly 40 more horses due to a lucky engine build or ECU transient modifiers such as fuel trims and ignition advance.

2. The Nismos have a different tune, my guess being especially in the VVEL.

Seriously, what would be the logical possible cause of the alleged factory freakishness?

The only major variable is going to be how well the engines break in, which could result in small differences due to compression. For the rest, the ECU is going to keep the tune fairly stable so long as nothing else is changed.

The biggest variable will be the weather.

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Red__Zed

I was there for the dyno runs, saw it myself. All four cars were stock AP1's, with between 15-30k on the clock. I had never believed that FF's had existed (aside from examples of hot cam in grandma's buick), but having seen it in person makes me wonder a little.

The early hand-built prototypes of engine usually make more power than the production version. I think the early build F20C's laid around 285 bhp, but it was toned down for the production model, since there was some allocated variance in the spec. Maybe his engine happened to have gotten tolerances just right, maybe the ECU adjusted a little different...I don't know. His car laid down notably more power, and was faster on the drag strip than I'd ever seen from a stock S2K.

samb03

I have heard the same thing about the VQ motors taking longer than most to properly break in.

Jordo!

I think that's why although most (non nismo) Z's come in around 273ish +/-5 SAE corrected on a dynojet, but every now and then, one comes in on a dynojet well below the low end of that -- I think it's gotta be an early dyno run before break in is complete.

After 5K, a low baseline (say, below 268 on a dynojet) would make me think the compression should be checked or an overly conservative correction factor is being used.

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