Bart Spivey and Brian Duffee...
Bart Spivey and Brian Duffee mounted the EPEC control box to the rear of the dyno. Because the EPEC box and harness are plug-ins with Ford harnesses, typically there is a minimum of wiring to perform. However, EPEC's multiple digital and analog data and control functions can call for a soldering gun when dealing with complex turbo engines such as Chris'. For the dyno test, there was no need to max out all these circuits, and Bart had the EPEC up and running in short order.
More exotic is the air metering and engine management. Concerned about supplying enough air on the critical, naturally aspirated side of the turbos, Chris selected a huge Pro-M Univer 3-inch-diameter mass air meter. This is the same meter used by Jimmy LaRocca, and it was trimmed to Jimmy's specs as a starting point for Chris' engine.
Also like Jimmy, Chris opted for EPEC engine management. Not incidentally, Bart Spivey of Barts Works in nearby Tucson is an EPEC distributor and all-around booster. Chris bought his EPEC system through Bart, who was on hand during the dyno day to debug and tune the electronically intensive turbo engine. EPEC software also from Jimmy was loaded into the computer to provide baseline management settings. Bart had the EPEC configured as he always does, in stand-alone trim (no EEC IV box). The EPEC's easy laptop tuning and data-logger functions were to prove their worth on the dyno, as was a little watchdog in a black box from FJO Enterprises. A wide-band, high-speed air/fuel monitor, the FJO black box monitored the A/F ratio in real time as the vital check of what EPEC and friends were actually doling out.
Another member of the Phoenix/Tucson performance mafia-Brian Duffee-was also on hand. The pro-prietor at Duffee Motorsports in Phoenix, Brian specialized in keeping the mech-anical package together for Chris. On dyno day, that really meant fitting the engine to the brake and running the valves once, as the package proved mechanically sound and leak-free.
Chris selected Performance Engine and Machine in Tucson to dyno the engine. Main man Steve Scheick performed the decidedly tricky task of driving the beast on his Stuska brake, where the throttle and dyno water are constantly adjusted manually. The one-day testing went along with the totally normal fits and starts, guesses, and "let's see" adjustments expected with such a complex engine-management environment, but without major problems. After a few pulls to dial in a toe-curling lean A/F ratio and allow Steve to learn the twin-turbo's ways, the verdict was 1,253.9 hp at 6,600 rpm and 997.9 lb-ft of torque at 6,600 rpm.
Chris opted to go large and...
Chris opted to go large and to go with a relatively proven part for his mass air metering-still something of a black art on big-power engines. This handbuilt Pro-M Univer piece is the result. Jimmy LaRocca has used these meters probably more than anyone, and he's also an EPEC dealer, so he was able to help Chris and Bart get started using his airflow data numbers. Bart believes that at this power level it's necessary to dyno test each mass air meter using a huge air pump, and to custom calibrate each meter rather than trim all to a blueprint standard.
Chris had been hoping to see 1,000 hp, so he got that and then some. The turbo types had said his turbines were easily capable of 1,200 hp and could go an extra couple hundred horsepower yet, but we think Chris hadn't really dared hope that high. But now he has to, and that's before cranking down on the wastegates any. See you in St. Louis, Chris.
Electro-Mechanical Fusion
Our first dyno experience was with a water-brake Stuska. Its full instrumentation was a bubble manometer for fuel flow, an analog pressure readout from the brake, and a cable-driven tachometer. It was definitely the mechanical age.
Interestingly, even today, testing high-power engines-the 1,000hp-and-up variety-is often done on similarly mechanical dynos. This is partially because the big-power dynos tend to be older units originally developed for high-torque, lower-rpm big-blocks, and partially because the trick, electronically controlled dynos don't have the response speed to hang on to the rapidly building power of a turbo small-block.
That's how Chris came to test his engine-an all-digital wonder with computer-controlled fuel injection and coil-pack ignition-on a dyno where it takes real skill to feed in the throttle; manually turn the brake's water valve; and eyeball the air/fuel ratio, tach, oil pressure and about 10 other things. So, while the power data was acquired via Depak computer software, the engine was still "driven" on the dyno in a huge juggling match between dyno load and ramping turbo power. It was a good show!
 The meter is built by FJO...  The meter is built by FJO Enterprises, a Canadian company. Actually part of FJO's own stand-alone engine-management system, the meter itself is a Honda five-wire, production wide-band oxygen sensor suitable for use with propane, diesel, ethanol, methanol, and gasoline. The word is the sensor kit is as accurate as anything from Bosch or Horiba, and it can be read on its own readout screen, or downloaded to a PDA, laptop, or data logger. On Chris' engine, the FJO real-time digital readout was simply propped up in the control room and eyeballed during the power runs. |  Getting Nosey for $1,000When...  Getting Nosey for $1,000When Bart Spivey wanted real-time measurement of Chris' air/fuel ratio, he turned to the FJO meter. A relatively affordable alternative to the five-digit price tag of the commonly seen Horiba meter, the $990 FJO kit (which includes the meter, communication software, wiring, and sensor) would seem within the dedicated enthusiast's budget. |  Peering down the 3-inch maw...  Peering down the 3-inch maw of the Univer Pro-M shows there is little to slow or disturb the airflow. The metering is done via the ring of holes in the sides, thus avoiding any obstructing protuberances in the airstream. |