Back to Back 2013 Boss & Boss LS Dyno Runs - Interesting results

[ace72ace]

I was able to check out the biannual Dyno Day at Performance Dyno in Loudon, NH, sponsored by the Mustang Club of NH. Had a great time and met a lot of cool Mustang owners. I was interested in getting a baseline dyno of my Boss with the silver & Track Key. The only mods I have that might impact the results are GT500 axle backs & an aluminum DSS 'shaft. Shortly after I arrived, another non-member arrived with his black '13 LS. Was very interested to see how my Boss would stack up against another on the same day, on the same dyno. His was bone stock, complete with the sound tube...

The only difference between our cars, besides my mufflers and 'shaft was that I had 3/4" restrictor plates in my side exhausts, his were removed. Here are his runs;

2013 Boss 302 LS170 Dyno Run 1 - Silver Key - YouTube

2013 Boss LS170 Run 2 - Track Key - YouTube

Great numbers! Makes you think the 444hp factory rating is a bit low...

And now my Boss;

2013 Boss 302 #1224 - 1st Run Silver Key - YouTube

2013 Boss 302 #1224 - 2nd Run Track Key - YouTube

What was very interesting that there was the big difference between the 2 Track Key runs... The LS was +8hp which the shop owner insisted is what he's seen over and over again on 2012 & 2013 Boss Mustangs that are stock, with factory mufflers and wheels. I expected to run slightly higher with the DSS 'shaft, but leaving the restrictor plates in probably cost me 3-5 HP. Notice the dip in the graph on my Boss that is absent on the LS that has the restrictor plates removed. I can't explain the almost 20hp difference between the silver key and the Track Key, but the dyno doesn't lie. I ran right behind him so we aren't dealing with a big temp/humidity variance...

I'm hoping that with some Forgestars and the plates removed, I can hit close to 400hp at the wheels next spring. Both cars have the factory COI & filter.

 

[Mountain306]

Do you know what fuel he was running? What were you running? How old was the fuel(s)? What's thine milage on each car's? Maybe you have a PCV/make-up air/oil in the intake issue?

 

[draxxus131]

Wheels and restrictor plates will not net you any power. The wheels will however get rid of some rotational mass which will not show up on the dyno. Same goes for the 1pc drive shaft, won't show on the dyno despite what ppl tend to say as a gimmick to sell stuff.

Sometimes I swear Ford just somehow slipped something by us with this Track Key thing. It's almost as if Pro Cal software was put onto a chip within the damn key FOB, just as a convenience factor to show off or have as bragging rights. Not trying to knock your thread at all, I like the comparison actually between the two.

 

[ace72ace]

The LS had about a 1/3rd of my mileage, not sure of his exact #, I just hit 18k. AFAIK we were both running 'fresh' 93 octane, I use Shell.

The dyno operator told me that some forged wheels, like another guy had on his GT (difference of about 10lbs per wheel) *are* good for a few HP, I'll take his word for it. You can argue that the alum shaft doesn't buy me anything, it's been debated for a long time. But if the dyno guy tells me that reduced mass from the wheels have an impact, then I'd believe the shaft would as well. If you have any evidence one way or the other, please post it.

I've also read that removing the plates are good a few also, which to me makes sense. What's gonna make more power, wide open or restricted? I'll be getting another run next spring, so we'll see. I'm hoping to swing new wheels when I replace the stock Pirellis. Of course the weather will be different then, but if it's a cool 70 degree New England day with low humidity, it will be very similar. So 2-3 hp here, 2-3 hp there and I'm knocking on the door to 400hp at the wheels. Either way, bone stock I'm very happy with the number! The guy with the GT w/forged wheels had either Corsa or Borla exhaust with a tune and CAI and it was LOUD AS ****. I'll post that one over in the regular Mustang section.

What I'm really interested to see is if removing the plates eliminates the dip 5700rpm. I've seen that dip on other Boss results, just can't recall if it was related to the restrictor plates.

 

[isrboss]

You should have done another run with the trackey to see if the dip stayed or smoothed out.
I'm pretty sure draxxus131 was saying you would not pick up any more with removed restrictors, because you have better flowing mufflers and the gain will be minimal. So it will be swallowed in the allowed variance of the different day dyno run. If you see a dyno gain from lighter wheels, that would be something special as well, I don't care what the dyno guy said, everybody get stuck in there own numbness. If you want to take the wheels out of the equation get on a dynopack.
Have fun, but you won't hit 400whp with wheels and no restrictors. If you want 400whp bad enough, just move to shorty Kooks headers, and drop a K&N filter in the oem box. Those mods will not require an aftermarket tune.

 

[ace72ace]

I guess it's possible the dyno guy just wants people coming back to give him repeat business to see if the latest round of upgrades gained any HP... However I don't know why someone running a business would risk their reputation misrepresenting what one performance bit will do to help performance? I only got 2 pulls, but only paid $40 so I can't complain. It would be very interesting to have a dedicated day where you could do 2 runs with the same key, then swap out to lighter wheels, and do 2 more runs and compare. Same thing with the alum. DS, but that would take a while and by the time you were done turning the wrenches, weather conditions could change which would skew the result as the difference being measured would fall into a rounding error if we are talking only 1,2,3 or 4hp...

So far we have 2 people that say reducing rotational mass (DS or wheels) will not net any gains, but no proof one way or the other. It's all good, 400hp is just a number, 390 and change is fine. I'm well aware of what other bolt ons will produce higher numbers. However at this point I'd much rather spend my money on rear suspension upgrades. It's fast enough as is, but needs help putting all that power to the ground.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it comin'

 

[isrboss]

Lighter wheels and anything lighter is better, the benefits just are really noticed on a dyno.

 

[ace72ace]

I think you meant 'aren't'... Yeah I get it, less weight reduces the HP per LB ratio, you can add HP or reduce weight to produce the same result - lower lap times or ETs. It's amazing how much more of a beast my Boss is compared to my wife's 11 GT... Sure she doesn't have quad exhaust, GT500s, an MGW or 3:73's out back, hell she's only got the base 18" wheel suspension. But that's perfect for her and what she wants, with the heated seats, nav and glass roof. The more I drive this thing, the more I'd love to be able to afford a track only version and mod the piss out of it and drive it like it was meant to be driven.

The guy with the hyped up GT on this dyno day had all the luxury bits as my wife's car, but his was a brembo pkg, and even had the 401A interior. My ears still hurt from that run. The shop owner had to close the garage door as he has a whiney neighbor which only amplified the din. He put in a lot of money into his ride and 'only' put out 409hp. So at the end of day, if pulling my plates out and adding lighter wheels doesn't even get me up to 395hp, it really doesn't matter. The percentage gain is negligible. Now if I wanted to strip it down, add headers, full exhaust, CAI and tune, etc. you can get over 450hp, depending how far you are willing to go.

For me, it's not worth putting on a blower or turbo, at least for now...

 

[IamRacerX]

My car made 5 HP more with the track key as compared to the silver key. My car was w/ track key 389 rwh. However the car had only 1k at the time.. it feels stronger now.

 

[nosympathy]

I think you meant 'aren't'... Yeah I get it, less weight reduces the HP per LB ratio, you can add HP or reduce weight to produce the same result - lower lap times or ETs. It's amazing how much more of a beast my Boss is compared to my wife's 11 GT... Sure she doesn't have quad exhaust, GT500s, an MGW or 3:73's out back, hell she's only got the base 18" wheel suspension. But that's perfect for her and what she wants, with the heated seats, nav and glass roof. The more I drive this thing, the more I'd love to be able to afford a track only version and mod the piss out of it and drive it like it was meant to be driven.

The GT I just traded in, which put down 430rwhp, felt slower than my stock Boss 302 which would net somewhere near the standard range of HP levels I'd guess.

the 2011 GT had, Koni yellows, H&R SS springs, BMR LCA +relos, BMR UCA + bracket, BMR Panhard bar, MM CC plates, Whiteline front sway bar, Boss 302 IM, JLT CAI, Lethal O/R H pipe with res delete and Borla S-Types, RTR 19X9.5 with 285-35-19 MTSC on all four corners and was tuned by AED.

My Boss is far faster without the track key. I can feel it. The midrange is more powerful, the torque is better in the lower RPMs and the part that makes me mad is it handles almost as well as the GT. Literally swap in the Koni Yellows and the LCA and UCA and it will make the GT handle like a joke in comparison.

I actually freaked out the first time I down shifted the car into 2nd at about 40MPH. Was a much harder pull than the GT ever managed which I wasn't expecting.

I could tell immediately from the test drive that the Boss with "less" power was a lot stronger than the GT.


*oh* and response to the other part I didn't quote, with just the lethal O/R H and Borla S-types the dB levels were so loud it was ridiculous. Felt like I got hit in the chest the moment the pedal was punched. Not as loud as the actual drag cars that run at the dragstrip near me, but still pretty loud.

 

[65sohc]

However at this point I'd much rather spend my money on rear suspension upgrades. It's fast enough as is, but needs help putting all that power to the ground.

I hear you on that point. Part of the reason I got rid of my '09 Shelby was unusable power, despite $15K worth of Griggs suspension. With far less torque I didn't think I'd have that problem with the Boss but I do. I suffered an embarrassing loss to a Dodge pickup this morning on the way to work as I spun my my through second gear. When you figure it out let me know.

 

[nosympathy]

I hear you on that point. Part of the reason I got rid of my '09 Shelby was unusable power, despite $15K worth of Griggs suspension. With far less torque I didn't think I'd have that problem with the Boss but I do. I suffered an embarrassing loss to a Dodge pickup this morning on the way to work as I spun my my through second gear. When you figure it out let me know.

Stiffer UCA and LCA will help a lot. I found on my Boss setting the stock rear shocks to 5 helped a lot too and for me didn't kill ride quility.

Personally can't wait to get the Koni Yellows I have in the garage on the car and run them full stiff. The stock shocks and struts don't go anywhere near stiff enough for me.

 

[kcobra]

Your tuner guy is a very good one in the Northeast Area. He has been tuning Fast Fords forever and knows his stuff. I'd trust what he tells you. I've had him tune many cars of mine and friends. Real good guy!