5250 High Performance Dyno Shop Blog

Mike Wiener


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Horsepower gains in Colorado | Dyno Performance Shop

[fa icon="calendar'] Jun 1, 2018 9:00:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Building Horsepower, Dyno Tuning Colorado, Prochargers

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Horsepower Colorado | When it comes time to add power, many horsepower enthusiasts immediately go for a turbo or supercharger.

These two power adders are the best way to get serious horsepower out of your motor. There are no bottles to fill or special fuel to use. When you mash the gas, the power is always there.

But which one do you choose? They both perform the same task of cramming more air into your engine, but they do this task very differently.

A turbo is powered by exhaust gases and is fairly dynamic. Boost pressure can vary significantly at different engine rpm's. Even at low rpm's, a turbo can build significant boost if allowed enough time. Through the use of a wastegate, boost pressure can be turned up or down at will. Want more power? Turn up the boost!

A supercharger output is directly proportional to the speed of the motor. This means that at a given engine speed, the supercharger will make a certain amount of boost. The only way to increase boost is to change the size of the supercharger pulley, but there is a limit to how small of a pulley you can use. A smaller pulley is harder to spin and has less surface area than a larger pulley for the belt to grab. This means it is more likely for the belt to slip on a smaller pulley, making it even harder to increase the output.

Living at altitude presents its own challenges when selecting a turbo or supercharger system. A turbo system that is designed to make 15psi of boost at sea level will still make 15psi of boost at high altitude. The turbo is capable of spinning faster to increase its output but it will not make the same power that is does at sea level due to the lower efficiency of having to spin faster.

A supercharger that is designed to make 8psi of boost at sea level will only produce 3-5psi at 5000 feet. It's a very significant loss and utilizing a smaller pulley is the only way to get some of that back. Just like a turbocharger though, a supercharger loses efficiency when it spins faster and will never make the same power as it does at sea level. Because of the dynamic properties of a turbocharger, it's efficiency losses at higher speeds is not as bad as the superchargers.

The Procharger line of superchargers is a very popular system we frequently install. Many enthusiasts choose this system for their vehicle for a few reasons. A Procharger system is less expensive and easier to install than a turbo system. There is also no fear of an overboost situation that could instantly destroy a motor if a vacuum line becomes loose.

The ProCharger is a centrifugal supercharger. It's compressor is a very similar design to the compressor you would find on a turbo. There are a set of gears inside the ProCharger unit that take the several thousand rpm's of engine speed and step them up to several ten thousand speeds. This is different than the screw type designs of Roots style and most other superchargers.

On a recent ProCharger build, we were only able to get 2-3psi of boost using the pulley supplied in the kit.

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Let's talk about Supercharging | Power at 5000+ altitude

[fa icon="calendar'] Mar 9, 2018 7:30:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Superchargers, procharger

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If you want big power gains out of your vehicle, you are going to have to look at forced induction.

This would mean a turbo or supercharger system. Let’s look at Supercharging.

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Hiring @5250performance | Best Performance Shop in Northern Colorado

[fa icon="calendar'] Mar 6, 2018 10:02:14 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Dyno Tuning

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Colorado Dyno Shop | With the recent changes here at 5250, we're going to need extra help.

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Do I street tune or Dyno Tune?

[fa icon="calendar'] Nov 6, 2017 7:00:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Dyno Tuning Colorado, Street tuning

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Dyno Tuning vs. Street Tuning

The debate between car enthusiasts as to whether you should you should have your tuning done on the street or on the dyno brings out many opinions.

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Firewall Repairs | Subaru 2008-2014 squeaky clutch pedal

[fa icon="calendar'] Oct 25, 2017 9:39:36 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Subaru Firewall Clutch Pedal Repair

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Squeaky Clutch Firewall Repair | There’s a lot of Subaru's out there on the road and I continue to see the same issues day after day.

One of the more expensive common issues is that 2008 through 2014 Impreza based vehicles have some spot welds from the factory that fail.

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Dyno Shop | Why you shouldn't rush your tech for the job to be done

[fa icon="calendar'] Oct 12, 2017 8:30:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Dyno Shop

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High Performance Dyno Shop | Failures happen. It’s the nature of the automotive industry.

Dyno Shop rule #1: Keeping your tech straight minded..... is a good way to prevent miniscule to extreme failures.

Far too often do I see customers try to rush their techs to get the job done.

Whether they want to make it to a meet, show or race. It can wait.

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To use Methanol or E85 | Denver Performance Shops

[fa icon="calendar'] Sep 20, 2017 9:48:29 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Water Methanol, E85

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When modifying your car, you might decide that fueling alternatives may improve your driving expectations.

The most popular on the street are Methanol Injection and E85. Now picking between these can be tricky due to their pros and cons.

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Dyno Tuning Colorado | OTS or Pro Tune?

[fa icon="calendar'] Sep 7, 2017 7:30:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Dyno Tuning Colorado

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Dyno Tuning in Colorado | You installed modifications like a downpipe and an intercooler, and you are ready for the next step!

You start looking for tuning options on the internet and you see all of these handheld and mail in ECU options.

Yes, they might give you more power. And they can vary in price. But they could not be the safest and they are not going to be sequencing close to the potential out of your car.

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Dyno Tuning | Getting the right AFR & Reliability

[fa icon="calendar'] Aug 31, 2017 8:20:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Dyno Tuning Colorado

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Dyno Tuning in Colorado | High Performance Builds

To start off, in order to tune the car to not only be reliable but easily driven highly relies on the parts that are on the vehicle and the build itself.

Without quality work and proper modifications the end goal will likely not be reached to a satisfactory level for the owner.

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Used or New Performance Parts | Our Dyno Tuner explains

[fa icon="calendar'] Aug 29, 2017 8:30:00 AM / by Mike Wiener posted in Dyno Tuning Colorado

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Used/new fuel system components | Best Practices from our Dyno Tuner 

In most situations when you are upgrading your car you will need to upgrade your fuel system.

For example, fuel pump, injectors, rail(s), fuel pressure regulator and so on. This is one system that you do not want to cheap out on.

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