Any time you start playing with boost, terrible things can happen. That's why this tuning class from Rob Dahm featuring his 600-horsepower rotary-powered Corvette is so special.
For the uninitiated, tuning a car is a vital step in getting the most out of your modifications. In the case of Rob Dahm and tuners like him, it's even more vital. No matter what kind of conversion kits might be out there, when you drop a rotary motor into a Corvette, it needs to be tuned properly.
Throw more than 30 pounds of boost at that rotary engine with a big fat turbo, and it becomes all the more important. That's why we love this video where Dahm walks us through some of his issues on the way to more than 630-horsepower.
We actually start out with a drive to the dyno in the Corvette, which makes a nice point. Project cars can be moved around safely even without a tune so long as you can manage to keep your foot out of the boost.
Once on the dyno, things get powerful quickly. Rob's goal is to refine multiple issues. They want to limit issues, make at least 600-horsepower, and figure out if other issues exist. That's a good lesson right off the top. Knowing what your goals are is vital.
The first few pulls on the dyno are all about cleaning up the map, figuring out boost pressure, and correcting the air to fuel ratio. Then Dahm is able to start pushing more boost and pulling a little bit of fuel out to make more power. As he crests, over 600 issues start to arrive.
First, vacuum caps start to pop off. Then, a boost leak starts. It's so sneaky that Rob can't even find it during the session. It's only in a short clip shot after the fact that reveals the culprit.
A PEX style connector was leaking boost over 29psi. That's all it takes to wreck a dyno session. It's cool to have the chance to learn from Dahm as he gets close to the end of this project.
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