Rolling road dyno, worth doing?

Hi guys, so time is drawing near for me to pick up the car (1986 GTS) after it's servicing, cam belt, valve clearences and anything else they could find has been done, plugs, leads, filters and oil etc. My question now is, since she has a clean bill of health i would like to put her on a dyno to see what numbers she makes, particularly since i have just had fitted a valved Capristo exhaust (euro non cat). It was a pretty big outlay for an exhaust but the stock ones i have heard are too quiet and the Larini system on the car when i bought it too loud for my taste as it is non adjustable. So it would be interesting if get numbers to compare to what a healthy stock engine and exhaust make.

Questions are:

1. Is there special cooling requirements while on the dyno due to the mid engine design?

2. Can anything be adjusted on these cars to improve performance since it has CIS, such as ignition curve, cam timing?

3. I live in the UK, our highest octane fuel from Shell V-Power, BP Ultimate, Esso Supreme are 99RON with up to 5% ethanol. Should i add any kind of additive or booster or is this amount of ethanol and octane ok for the old girl?

4. Lastly, startup, warm up and driving. I have never had a CIS car before, do i pump the accelerator before or during starting or not at all? Do i need to turn on ignition and wait for fuel pumps before cranking? Should the engine be left to idle before moving? During warmup what revs should i keep to and when can i push harder? Do these engines like to redline (where is the rev limit)? Is it healthy to do an "Italian tune up" and is that something that should be done often?

 

1-cooling is still at the front so the dyno people will put the fan there
2-anything can be changed but it’s old school. Different profile cams etc but it’s not as tho you can hook up a laptop and change the curve
3-My 308 runs happily on all the 97+ octane from the usual suspects here in the uk
4- No need to pump Just turn the key. Move off straight away. I keep below 3k as it warms up which takes about 15 miles-like any car. The coolant temp reaches its usual temperature before that but the oil temp takes longer. Redline is mentioned in the handbook but it pulls as well in the next gear after you’ve covered the torque band , so I’ve never bothered. Never found the need for an Italian tune up -just keep it set up the way the original engineers did. I’m not stuck with city traffic but it’s quite happy if stuck in a jam no need to anything different.
I’d just drive it get used to how it sounds feels smells etc. it’s a 40 yo car in all its old fashioned glory.

 

Without baseline numbers produced before your recent service and addition of the new exhaust, the dyno numbers you generate now will have no point of reference. That said, the numbers you pull now will become your baseline...so still useful. As for your other questions, agree with everything Michael said above, but would emphasize using oil temp - not water temp - to indicate the proper warm-up period.
A last comment about warm-up: if it's driving season and the car's been sitting for a while ("a while" for me = 2+ weeks), I pull the coil wires from the coils and turn the engine over until I get oil pressure on the gauge. It's easier on the bearing surfaces to pre-oil without the stress/pressure of combustion. If we're coming into driving season and the car's not been able to be driven at all during the Winter, I'll also pull the spark plugs before cranking over the engine, which not only eliminates the stress/pressure of combustion, but also eliminates the stress/pressure of compression.
Would also add that if the 328's oil cooler is plumbed to the left-hand side air intake as on the 308, I'd aim an external fan at that intake while on the dyno. It also isn't going to hurt anything to open the engine cover and point a big fan at the engine too.
Enjoy and be sure to let us know how the old girl does on the dyno.
- Dave

 

This is what I do when I dyno my F355. Mounted a big fan on a wall support aimed directly at the side intake and engine. (and another fan on the passenger side)

 

I wouldn't do it at all.

It's a 40 yr old car, if the plugs are all the right colour & its running cleanly on all 8 then why wring it's neck & risk breaking something for what will inevitably be disappointing information!?

Aside from making sure it's set up as it should be (CO levels etc), there is nothing you can adjust or tweak to make it run better.

If you really want to check how healthy / worn it is then I'd go the compression / leak down test first.

 

Great answer and advice, such a simple solution to lining the engine parts with oil before firing after a period of rest, notes taken. Good to know where the oil cooler is and where to position the fans. I have had a compression leak down test done as part of the service and all is good. As far as putting her on the dyno she is going to need to take some stick at my hands, nothing ruthless but i do like to work my cars quite hard when im in the mood ( my mini innocenti 1300 spent a fair bit of time on 3 wheels during back road blasts often at 8k but she was balanced and blueprinted by the previos owner). If anything is going to give under pressure i'd rather it happen in a shop then on the open road or a track miles from home. The place i am thinking about contacting who is not far from me is Tipton Garage, i have heard he does great work and prepares hillclimb cars amongs other things, so obviously has knowledge of the classics.

I was wondering if any one else here has dyno'd a 328 and if so what were your results?

 

A healthy 328 will make between 210-220hp at the wheels on a dynojet. I cannot speak to other types of dynos but the gold standard from which all comparisons can be drawn from is indeed a dynojet. The Maha dyno is also good but they are rare