MotorTrend sensationalizes C8 Corvette LT2 dyno numbers (558 whp) from the World Motorsports Mustang dyno

[Sticky]

MotorTrend, this is what you guys do for a living? Seriously? BoostAddict.com stated for some time now that World Motorsports sets their Mustang Dynamometer to read like a Dynojet or higher. It is not consistent at all. It is somewhat infuriating as it leads to nonsense like this from MotorTrend.

Is the LT2 V8 making 558 rear wheel horsepower on a Mustang dyno despite its 490 horse SAE rating? Of course not:

The first thing MotorTrend should have done is called Mustang Dynamometer instead of GM. The second thing they should have done is run the car on another Mustang and a Dynojet for context. It would not take them long to figure out software and data entry is to blame beyond what gear the car is in.

The Mustang dyno by default is set to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) correction. This is the exact same standard GM uses for certifying output. The problem is whatever World Motorsports is doing to the software or data input to get it to read higher than it should. Remember, you can get a Mustang dynamometer to say whatever you want it to say.

MotorTrend is perplexed and can not figure out what is going on:

Why the huge discrepancy with the numbers? We still don't know. The dyno we used complies with the SAE J1349 procedures, and we've used it multiple times in the past. To prove there wasn't a problem with the dyno, we ran a 2020 Ram 2500 Limited powered by the 6.7-liter turbodiesel Cummins engine, which produces 850 lb-ft of torque but is not SAE-certified. The dyno read 760 lb-ft at the wheels, which means there's about 890 lb-ft at the crank, much closer to the numbers Ram claims.

They kept playing with gearing but it seems they were not interested in getting the real answers as it generates more clicks when you get rumors going the C8 is making a ton more horsepower than advertised.

Now the Corvette forums can pass around the link and everyone can pretend GM somehow got the LT2 V8 to make 176 more horsepower than the naturally aspirated C7 LT1 V8 it is based on:

This is clickbait:

How Much Power Does the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Really Make? A lot more, it turns out.

When people who aren't trying to sensationalize for clicks get this car on the dyno, we will get the actual numbers.

Where is the integrity from MotorTrend and World Motorsports? Those in the industry discuss among themselves how there is no consistency to what you get on the World Motorsports dyno because everyone plays with the settings. Go ahead, call up guys who use the dyno and see what they say just as I just did.

While the facility and dyno cell is world class, the software calibration and consistency is not.

What MotorTrend published and what World Motorsports allowed is quite simply dishonest and poor journalism. Enjoy those clicks guys but they do come at a cost.

[ND75R]

Now the Corvette forums can pass around the link and everyone can pretend GM somehow got the LT2 V8 to make 176 more horsepower than the naturally aspirated C7 LT1 V8 it is based on

That was the icing on the cake. MT thought "hmmm +175 HP from the same displacement/engine seems reasonable, lets just include this data in our article."

[stosh1]

Send it! The first trip down the 1/4 mi will flush out the real HP figure.

[Sticky]

Send it! The first trip down the 1/4 mi will flush out the real HP figure.

The even sadder thing is THEY DID: https://www.chevyboost.com/content.p...-in-11-1-123-2

[stosh1]

Ahhh, well then, the math works out to roughly 480-490RWHP...which supports Chevy's official rating

[Sticky]

Ahhh, well then, the math works out to roughly 480-490RWHP...which supports Chevy's official rating

These things will be ~410-420 whp on a Mustang in the highest trim IMO.

[stosh1]

These things will be ~410-420 whp on a Mustang in the highest trim IMO.

Ya, I should of clarified...480-490 Dynojet horsepowers (assuming that test car wasn't a ringer).

[Sticky]

Ya, I should of clarified...480-490 Dynojet horsepowers (assuming that test car wasn't a ringer).

My guess is ~445 Dynojet

[stosh1]

My guess is ~445 Dynojet

We'll see I guess...

[Sticky]

We'll see I guess...

[stosh1]

Yerp, I fat fingered my quick horsepowers calcs.