Never having been particularly bothered about quoted new/stock horse power, I was intrigued today to find myself at a 'dyno' test; apparently it's necessary to calculate the power to weight ratio and thus determine the accurate handicap in club competition. (Last year my car was weighed, 960 kg in race trim, but the hp estimated as I hadn't had time to get to an approved test station- it wouldn't matter because I wasn't likely to be competitive in my first season, let alone win anything!)
I duly handed over the keys, and was asked what I was expecting/hoping for. Well, a 21 Yr old car, with close to 120k on the clock, home maintained with the only mod being a K&N style air filter, in daily use fed on standard unleaded and any old 10w40, I wouldn't have been surprised to have lost quite a few horses; The 4.0 fuel injected RV8 installed is quoted at 187 hp, so quite a surprise to have found a few adopted at 201 bhp. Judging by the small blip/cough midway through, I think it was a good clearing out exercise too. I have no desire to add any more, but nice to know I don't appear to have done any damage over the past 4 years.
