Z4MC Baseline Dyno

[mfanatic325]

I finally had a chance to do my baseline dyno today. Just got the car a little less than 2 months ago. It's completely stock performance-wise. Though I did run the dynos without any muffler cannisters (I heard that may lose some power? )
The dynos were done on a DynaPack @ 6PM or so, when ambient temperatures were decently low, in the mid-60's or so. Pulls were done pretty much back to back, with less than a minute of break in between.
I did two pulls in 3rd gear, two pulls in 4th gear, and two pulls in 5th. The first pulls in each gear were done without Sport mode on, and second pulls in each gear were with Sport mode on (just for giggles). DSC off for all pulls of course. Will scan the dyno sheets and upload them later tonight.

[mfanatic325]

Here are the dyno graphs as promised...

3rd Gear Pulls:



4th Gear Pulls:



5th Gear Pulls:

[mfanatic325]

Does anyone know why the higher gear pulls differ in peak power delivery? Shouldn't it be the same power delivery regardless of gear? This is where my noobness comes in

[oj]

Gearing affects how much power is applied to the ground. Its been some yrs since I've dynoed cars but we were always told that we'd get the most accurate pulls by using a gear that's 1:1. For Z4Ms that's 5th gear. I'm sure someone can chime in if I'm wrong.

[XMetal]

Thanks for the interesting info. In regards to the graphs, which is which? Is the red plot for sport mode on or off?

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by oj

Gearing affects how much power is applied to the ground. Its been some yrs since I've dynoed cars but we were always told that we'd get the most accurate pulls by using a gear that's 1:1. For Z4Ms that's 5th gear. I'm sure someone can chime in if I'm wrong.

Yeah, that's what my dyno guy told me too. So I actually tried 5th gear pulls first, but the #'s were WAY low. I was like wtf? This isn't right...cuz people are averaging 260-270rwhp stock...
So he had me try 4th, and the 3rd, and the #'s were better.

Originally Posted by XMetal

In regards to the graphs, which is which? Is the red plot for sport mode on or off?

As for the pulls differentiating sport mode on/off, I really don't remember and am not sure lol...
In any case, I honestly don't think the sport mode makes a difference in terms of peak power. It only affects throttle input, so in a real-life situation for example, you might end up going from 0-60 slightly sooner than without sport mode on, etc.

I'm assuming that since all of the graphs have a common green plot, that green = 1st run.
But the third graph has blue-colored plot instead of red, so I'm not sure if this assumption is valid.

[vachss]

Just for fun, here's a comparison with my weaker 3.0si motor - 52 whp less than the OP's Z4M at baseline and still 42 hp less after an OE Engineering tune.

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by shift@red

For dyno's, it is recommended to use a 1:1 gear or as close as possible. The numbers dont look TOO bad. I think the avg for the Z4M seems to be in the 270s.
On a side note, my 2006 cayman S that was supposed to only have 295 crank hp actually put down close to 280 rwhp done stock and then just over 300 with secondary cat delete and race exhaust.
Did you get the SS xpipe? If so, throw that and the exhaust on and redyno. The x pipe and headers are where you are going to see exhaust system gains for this car. I would imagine youll see some good gains with both on.

The dyno was $100 for 6 pulls. A bit more expensive than I had originally planned. The same guy on the same dyno used to charge me $80 for the same amount of pulls. But this was for my MR2 turbo, which is he way more familiar with. It's @ an MR2 shop after all.
Anyhow, with $100 in mind, I might wait for another dyno lol..

Also, I haven't gotten the SS x-pipe yet. Can't install the SS mufflers until I figure out a solution for the section2/x-pipe since I need it to somehow mate up correctly.

Originally Posted by vachss

Just for fun, here's a comparison with my weaker 3.0si motor - 52 whp less than the OP's Z4M at baseline and still 42 hp less after an OE Engineering tune.

Really? Only 52whp less from stock? Dang, that sure does kill my ego

[Trev]

Out of interest did you have to put your car into a dyno mode?

[nesrevival]

my stock dyno was 24x whp zzz

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by Trev

Out of interest did you have to put your car into a dyno mode?

No, no such mode was used. All I had to do was turn off DSC, otherwise the system tries to hit the brakes and goes nuts trying to correct the wheel spin.

[Trev]

Just dyno'd my bone stock 07 Z4 M, 7 pulls highest of 284whp lowest 278whp. Temp was pretty high for Portland @ 86F. To their credit they only charged me for 3 pulls $80.

Interesting fact the 1st three pulls we're with a ram air scoop fitted. Last three pulls we're with completely stock air scoop in place. Stock scoop was more consistent in achieving max hp & decreased an a/f lean condition right at the top end.

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by Trev

Just dyno'd my bone stock 07 Z4 M, 7 pulls highest of 284whp lowest 278whp. Temp was pretty high for Portland @ 86F. To their credit they only charged me for 3 pulls $80.

Interesting fact the 1st three pulls we're with a ram air scoop fitted. Last three pulls we're with completely stock air scoop in place. Stock scoop was more consistent in achieving max hp & decreased an a/f lean condition right at the top end.

Hmm interesting. What kind of dyno was it? I heard that the DynaPack that I use typically reads lower. Power was consistent with my other car as well.

[Trev]

www.tunedbypsi.com have a slick setup using a all wheel drive 424xLC2 Dynojet.

[mfanatic325]

Hmm I wonder if my recent valve adjustment during Inspection 1 would help my peak hp and tq any. The dynos I ran was before Inspection 1, which is why I ask.

[Caddyshk]

Originally Posted by Trev

Just dyno'd my bone stock 07 Z4 M, 7 pulls highest of 284whp lowest 278whp. Temp was pretty high for Portland @ 86F. To their credit they only charged me for 3 pulls $80.

Interesting fact the 1st three pulls we're with a ram air scoop fitted. Last three pulls we're with completely stock air scoop in place. Stock scoop was more consistent in achieving max hp & decreased an a/f lean condition right at the top end.

More what I would expect - I believe the max I've seen posted stock was around 289-291.

[mfanatic325]

hmm iono, that seems kind of high. The only other live (in-person) dyno of an S54 that I've seen was years ago when the E46 M3 first came out. And that was a mustang dyno I think. The #'s were about the same as mine, ~260/270 peak hp. Considering our S54's are supposedly ever so slightly weaker than the ones put in the E46 M3 in stock form, I think my #'s are about right. Heh, definitely not #'s I can really boast about, but humble ones I suppose.

My MR2 turbo, after all bolt-ons, a slightly larger turbo, and a tune was running peak 222rwhp and 213rwtq all at 16psi on the same dyno (with about 60 degree ambient temperature). Though I say that Dynapack reads slightly lower because there were may others with the same modifications I had on my MR2, but were getting closer to 250rwhp in their cars.

[Caddyshk]

10-15% loss to crank - something is/was wrong with your car or the dyno...

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by Caddyshk

10-15% loss to crank - something is/was wrong with your car or the dyno...

You're referring to Trev's dynos right? Yeah I thought the same. Pretty high #'s for stock.

[Caddyshk]

Originally Posted by shift@red

On a BMW, its typically ~18-20%.

E46 M3, 333 crank, ~270 rwhp (18.9%)
Z4M, 330 crank, ~270 rwhp (18%)
E9X M3, 414 crank, ~330 rwhp (20%)
E60 M5, 500 crank, ~400 rwhp (20%)

Those are generally consistent numbers on said cars.

12% is typical... The Dyno's of plenty of these cars have been posted on other sites...

[pokeybritches]

The standard Z4 has less power loss to the wheels because of the electric steering, but it's impossible to say exactly how much. All dynos are different and are really only useful in comparing different vehicles on the same dyno and under the same conditions, or a horsepower delta before and after mods.

[Shipkiller]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

The standard Z4 has less power loss to the wheels because of the electric steering, but it's impossible to say exactly how much. All dynos are different and are really only useful in comparing different vehicles on the same dyno and under the same conditions, or a horsepower delta before and after mods.

Please explain how having electric steering effects drive train loss?
I would really like to know, just for my own education.