4B11 underrated? My theory...

[Blacksheepdj]

I think that lied about the HP in the 4B11 motor. Everyone keeps complaining about the relatively low HP, but lets look a little deeper to see.

02 4G94 - rated at 120chp, put down 103whp (way back in 2001 when Import Tuner did their Power Pages with Buschur Racing's parts)
08 4B11 - rated at 152chp, put down 142whp (way back in February when EvoM tested a manual ES)

Now, since we know that drivetrain loss is a natural occurrence, we can do some basic math.
The WHP on the 4G94 represented a 15% loss of HP through the drivetrain. This is completely normal and is generally seen across FWD platforms.
The WHP on the 4B11 represents a 7% loss of HP through the drivetrain. This is incredibly hard to believe. When it is a standard for FWD to lose 15%, do we really believe that developed a tranny that cuts down on half the parasitic loss and didn't tell us? I doubt that. One theory from an EvoM user:

Originally Posted by superflyjmysnk

They aren't lying about the numbers, the way they rate hp (All manufacturers) SAE standards have changed.

For comparison the 06 wrx made I think 230 hp, now its rated at 208hp, the only thing that changed is the federal guidelines/correction factor. Hope that clears things up.

If we continue this thinking, we can work backwards from the 4B11 dyno number to try and guesstimate a real CHP number. If we assume the standard 15% loss, then we determine that the 4B11 motor gets roughly 167chp.

Not too bad for an entry-level econobox, eh? Discuss.

[Hawkeye]

I am of the same mind here, sheep. Especially considering no real changes have been made to the factory 5MT; it's pretty much the same tranny that came connected to the 4G94.

[Blacksheepdj]

I edited with more info from another user.

Even if the correction factor has changed, we still need a way to wrap our heads around it. Maybe with the new correction factor, the 4G94 would only put down 100chp. We don't know.

Interesting to think about. We get so used to certain forms of measure and certain standard values (like the 103whp for the 4G94), that it becomes very hard to change.

All I know is that 142whp is very nice to see. And when I get my CVT GTS dynoed, I'll be quite interested to see the number that pops up. Especially when I can compare it to my 4G94 dyno run (which was on the same dyno that I plan to use).

[Shingen]

It is also important to understand that they rate peak HP and when you drive the 08 you will notice there is great low, mid and high end to this car. Besides the obvious higher WHP over the 03, and as Sheep has expalined over the RA, this car is a blast to drive.

Alot of the speculation is being done by people that haven't even test driven the car. Go drive the car and come back with an informed opinion.

Fox

[JohnnyMuyo]

+1 for everyone going out and test driving the car if they don't own one, even just for the hell of it

[DSMorBUST]

veddy interesting!!

[jRox]

great to hear. makes me feel 999,999,999 times better about my GTS

[08gts]

it would not suprise me if it was underated. I have the cvt and the car feels really slow off the line, but it feels really good on the freeway. One thing to remember is there are a lot of different chasis dynos out there and they all seem to give different numbers.

[Mystic_Korean]

I read on the Road and Track magazine that the new EVO will come with many aluminum parts other than the block. Could it be that many moving parts of the base lancer are made out of aluminum and therefore losing less HP on rotation?