Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

I finally got the new motor to the dyno today. It ran without a problem at all. First we ran it for about 1 hour to get things seated and loosened up. Then we re-torqued the heads, check all the valves, plugs, etc etc. All seemed fine. The head torque didn't change at all, you gotta love Cometic gaskets. They are the best.. Below are the numbers I got. They are real close to what I was expecting. Of course I was hoping for more but here is the reality of it..

RPM Horsepower Torque
3300 381 607
3400 394 609
3500 407 610
3600 416 608
3700 427 606
3800 438 606
3900 450 606
4000 464 610
4100 479 613
4200 503 629
4300 518 633
4400 539 643
4500 558 651
4600 575 657
4700 590 660
4800 603 659
4900 616 661
5000 627 658
5100 638 657
5200 648 654
5300 657 651
5400 665 646
5500 670 639
5600 672 630
5700 674 621
5800 678 613
5900 679 608


This is a naturally aspirated 9.25 compression, hydraulic roller cam 540.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Nice, what heads, cam, intake, carb?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Marty,

Here is the combination.

Dart Big "M" Block
Callies dragon slayer crank
Lunati Pro Mod rods 6.385"
JE Pistons 9.23 final compression
A.F.R. 315 cnc heads, Ferrea 2.25 intakes, 1.88 inconel exhaust
Dart single plane oval port intake, gasket matched to heads
Isky hydraulic roller
intake .578 lift--- 238* @ .050
exhaust .608 lift---248* @ .050
114* lobe seperation
Nickerson prepped 1050 dominator
Wilson tapered 1" spacer plate

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

That is a really nice engine. I know you debated using the oval port intake. What do you think now and are you going to try a Dominator intake for comparison?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

It seems as if that oval port intake is taming that big cam? But your peak HP is at 5900 rpm-maybe as your curve hasn't peaked yet.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Tomcat,
By Dominator intake, I assume you mean a rectangular port manifold.
I would love to try it, but there are 2 reasons why I didn't. 1- I don't have one to try. 2- I had to get the motor off the dyno today. The place here is very busy. He did me a favor and sqeezed me in. I didn't have time to play around by changing manifolds.

Marty,
I didn't think the cam is very big. As we have discussed here on my other threads about this engine, as I am sure you know, the idea of running the oval port manifold was to bring down the torque and h.p. curve a bit. As it turned out, I am glad I did it. I didn't plan on running over 5500 rpm. I would imagine that with the rectangular manifold, the curve would be higher.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

I was thinking that the cam was a little small.
I am running the Dart REC. intake and the 741 cam ( bigger )
Mine is a 509 and my HP is only a few less than yours.
MY heads are the JIM V> PRO 1's

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Hey Check,
Do you have the other data from your dyno run? In particular I'm looking for your BSFC, lbs. of fuel burned, and A/F ratio.

Thanks,
Bob

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Bob, if you were to dyno mine, it would look about like that right? :eek: :D

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

BobL,

Here you go. I hope it can be read clearly. The top line is at 3100 rpm, the last line is at 5900 rpm.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Checkmate,

Were your dyno numbers with or without accessories spinning? I'm just putting the finishing touches on installing a new 540 Big M in my boat that turned 611 bhp on 89 octane, with the accessories going. You've got some serious power for normally aspriated!

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

tcelano,
There were no accessories on the motor during the pull. What are the specifics of your engine combination?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Checkmate,sounds like a excellent package,impressive numbers for N.A.!! I'm glad i ordered the same heads,my old 540 combo made less hp WITH A BLOWER and only 50 ft lbs torque more in lower range,can't wait to try my new afr's over the merlin's,Smitty

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

arctic,

What cam are you running with that package?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

I thought the BSFC should be around .45-.50 ? Motor was not running lean?

How do you take these numbers & come up with a A/R ratio?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Turbojack,
The guy running the dyno told me that the BSFC #'s were real good. He said they should be .41-.42 In fact he commended Nickerson on doing a great job on the carb, we didn't touch it. We just bolted it on and ran it like it was shipped.
Maybe some others can add to this??

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

What size fuel pump are you running and what is your jetts size in your dominator. >I just put new 540 s in my formula with a little bigger cam same comp. and im not getting but 575hp with big brodix intakes and rect port heads with 2.3 intakes and 1.9 exhaust valves . Your numbers are impressive.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

boatman747,
Nickerson made me an "HP" 1050 Dominator that he opened up to an 1180. There are 90 jets in the primary, 94 jets secondary, 4.5 power valves, .035 squirters. Also, he did all sorts of thick things to the main body behind the metering block. He drilled out several holes and pushed in some brass tubes. I would guess this is to better meter the fuel to my engine. Also, he plugged the primary or idle air bleeds and drilled 3 litttle holes on the top of the carb, right by where you would attach the stud for the flame arrester. Those holes must be a controlled vacuum leak to allow air in for idling rather than using the standard idle air bleeds.
As far as fuel system, I haven't installed it yet. But, I have Aeromotives' 11108 pump with their bypass regulator. All #10 lines from the tank to the regulator, along with an Edelbrock mechanical pump. Including a 5/8" pick-up tube that I made myself.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Graph

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

I don't have a graph, only a digital print out.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

You have one now!

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

:drink: :drink:

I don't know how you did that but thanks alot!!!

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Let's see if this work's.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Checkmate,my cam is a cam motion hyd roller .593/.612 lift,228/236 at ..050,114 L/S. My motor on dyno only made 630 hp at 5200/695 ft lbs torque at peak but it did make 650 plus from 2800 past 5000. The merlin heads i think are killing the topend with there near stock flow #'s and 65% i/e ratio. I ordered the afr 315's also 1 month ago and hope to see big #'s after i freshen it and put them on this winter. I was going to reuse the cam but plan on getting one with tighter dual pattern to optimize the heads.The program crockett used for my ecm pulled timing down to about 22 degrees under boost,the boat was slower with 540 in it then 502 so i gave it more timing last year and more boost so i'm not sure what my in boat hp was but gauging from the 8 mph i picked up it was probablt in the 725 range. Looking back at big picture of my 540 the heads were too small and injectors were maxed out,i hope to see 800 plus hp this winter on dyno,Smitty
P.S.-your in the "broken bravo zone now" with your power,what do you have for a outdrive,Iv'e had fairly good luck with max machine worx.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Artic,
I think you will be happy with the AFR's. They have great flow numbers for the size runner. I didn't realize you are running EFI. That is the way to go for reliabilty and performance, but for me it just gets too complicated and expensive. Thats why I went with a Dominator.
As far as drives go, I just got a Teague "XR" upper and an Imco lower, 1.50 ratio, stock length. It should hold up if I work the stick properly.
Anyone looking for a stock Bravo 1 H.P. drive in great shape, give me a call...

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Very nice numbers!! It appears the oval port manifold is working quite well. It would be fun to see what the rect port would do for comparison. How do your actual dyno numbers match up to what desktop dyno predicts?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Checkmate454mag...how about the A/F ratio? That is a really great BSFC. Thanks for the data.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Checkmate Those are impressive #s. Run it next year then the following year add the Blower and hang on!!!! :drink:

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

WetteVette,
My desk top dyno was pretty close. Unfortunetly, it only gives you numbers in 500 rpm intervals, where as the real dyno does 100 rpm intervals. It said I would peak at 666 h.p. @ 5500, torque peaks at 681 @ 4500.
The bigger difference is the graph. Now that RLW made me a graph of the actual numbers, I can see that the actual torque curve is alot flatter than was predicted by the dyno program. Yes, it would have been nice to have been able to try a rectangular manifold, but it just didn't happen.

BobL,
I don't see any air/fuel ratio on the dyno sheet.

Caveman,
Not likely going to happen. I think I will be happy with this for the forseeable future.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Vinny,
I emailed you your 540 spreadsheet and mine so you can look at them side by side. I also sent you the differences in our builds as you are almost identical to mine.
Here are my 540 specs.

Dart Big M
Callies Dragonslayer
Lunati ProMod Rods 6.385"
J&E Pistons
Nickerson 1050
9.2:1 Comp Ratio (approx)

Here are the differences.

AFR 305 CNC'd Chambers
Manley Valves
Merlin Single Plane Rect. Port Intake (no spacer)
CompCam
236/240 @.050
.630/.635 lift
112 LSA

Very interesting numbers between the two motors.
You should be happy with the results.
Have Fun!
Russ

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Congrats man on the success. Very impressive numbers for single carb N/A deal.

That will be a nice engine for you.

Your 540 compares very well with one of my 522's that I ran on the dyno last week. 7.7:1 compression 2 PSI boost. Edelbrock marine heads gasket matched only.

My customer only needed 700 HP so I did not put any more boost in it. I probably should have just for the data but it exceeded his power requirements and was jetted right on the money.

One quick pull to check jetting with BSFC. Made another pull for the numbers and went home. Get a better deal on dyno time when it does not take up the entire day. I was very happy with the torque curve. Not a lot of torque mainly due to no compression and hardly any boost.

I had to put it on an Excel Chart also. The dyno still using the DOS version of the SuperFlow software. Did not convert to JPG very well. Need to click on it to view.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Thanks for the confidence and support. Especially to Russ ( RLW) for his conversion of my numeric data to a graph. You guys are the best.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

the boat should run good with that power. my 253 ran 80 with 570hp. what prop are you running?

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

I don't know yet. I will be giving Throttle-Up a call now that I have the dyno numbers. I am thinking to go with a 5 blade, but I will certainly take Matts' advise on this.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

checkmate,did you consider the 335 heads? I am doing about the same setup as you. I just orderd a set of AFR heads and they recommended the 335 heads.Thanks for the info.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Fred,
My thinking was that the 335 heads would be too big. Jason at AFR agreed as well. We were tossing around the idea of either their 325 " As Cast" or the heads I went with, their 315 CNC'ed.

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Check,
Those are nice numbers, very flat.
For comparision these are from one of the mule engines we did back in '98. This is a 8.5 to 1 Canfield unported engine with a out of the box 950 HP. Cam was low 230's and around .600 lift. Single pattern.

RPM Torque HP BSFC
3600 639 438 .43
3700 642 452 .42
3800 645 467 .42
3900 647 480 .41
4000 653 497 .40
4100 669 522 .41
4200 672 537 .40
4300 672 551 .40
4400 678 568 .41
4500 680 583 .41
4600 681 596 .42
4700 679 608 .43
4800 681 622 .43
4900 674 628 .42
5000 672 640 .42
5100 663 644 .42
5200 652 645 .42

This project was meant for low rpm use to extend the life of the engines.

Chris

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Chris,
Can you share more details on the "mule" motor mentioned in the previous post?
Cubic Inches?
Intake?
What size Canfields?
Thanks, Russ

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Sorry, I thought I listed them
CID 540
Intake we used several, this is with the Team G Intake Single Plane.
310CC canfields although they CC out about 295 to 300CC Unported with just a good valve job.

Chris

Re: Got the new 540 on the dyno today
 

Can any of you guys tell me just how limiting a set of (gasket matched only) 310 merlins would be on the previous setups(540 with rouphly same cam range etc.). Everyone seems to be making great power with the newer heads available, I'm just curious what type of gains can be made by stepping up......