Dyno Day at Eurocharged Cincinnati

In 2016 I had to have some pretty significant work done to my 2011 Mazdaspeed3. I purchased the car in December of 2010, and for the first month I had the car, the temps were around 0º F. Needless to say, my break-in period was not ideal. By 2016 I was burning nearly a quart of oil per week.

The fix was new rings, pistons, and to have the cylinder walls bored out (thanks, Tommy and Carl for helping do the build right at RDMS). This was not cheap but needed. Since I was going to have to replace all that stuff, instead of paying a fortune for factor OEM parts I added some go-fast parts instead. The cost was actually less in some cases.

Prior to the oil issues, my factory K04 turbo had died. So, like the internal engine work, I opted for a better aftermarket BNR stage 3 turbo. While more powerful, it actually improved my fuel mileage when I stayed out of the gas.

Turbo cars require tuning mods when you change out parts to help calibrate air/fuel mixtures and such – especially if you add power. So I had one tune done by the guy who first did my turbo, but things went downhill with him and his shop. Then I worked with Nicholas Scott to get tuned even better last year, but we ran into some hardware issues. This year I got the hardware issues (mostly) worked out and worked with Justin at Freektune to get the car fully dialed-in. That was done last fall, but I had not been able to get real numbers on horsepower or torque. Today that changed.

My buddy Scott Bereda and I drove to Eurocharged Cincinnati for some dyno runs on their dyno ($100 if they do, $150 to rent time on). The guys there were fantastic to work with and did a great job. The car did pretty well too, but since I still have a catted downpipe and factory exhaust, the car’s chart dips around 4500 RPM due to back pressure.

Below are photos and videos of the runs. Pretty cool! Eurocharged is a good place to check out. Scott and I each made a video for each of the 6 runs, but I tried to pick a few that sounded best. Dyno runs 2 and 3 below are the same run, but one from the front (Roger) and one from the rear (Scott). Note the carbon shooting out the exhaust some 30′ in the rear shot. That is why I am getting a dip. As much as that air is moving out, it is coming in from the turbo faster. Interesting for a little 4 cylinder!

Dyno Run 1

The occasional buzz is not the engine, but the aluminum surround on the intercooler, it vibrates. :^(

Dyno Run 2 (same run as Dyno Run 3, but front)

Former Mazdaspeed3 owner, now GTI owner, Scott Bereda avoiding the camera…

Dyno Run 3 (same run as Dyno Run 2, but rear)

Dyno Run 4

Chart of all 6 runs

So I have a 4-cylinder, 4-door, ‘hot hatch’ that averages over 29 MPG during summer but has on the edge of 300 WHP (wheel horsepower) and 313 pounds of torque, just in case they are needed.

Other pics from today…