Hmmm, interesting. They seem to put forward that they are illiminating many of the external factors the Rolling Roads suffer from by taking away the Wheel/Roller interface - however, they must still be doing some 'drive train losses' calculations. BHP quoted by the manufacturer is the true power of the engine, before it enters the many various devices used to put that power down on the road - the gear box, drivshafts, hubs, wheels, tyres etc. These outputs are commonly reffered to as the 'bench' output, the engine quite literally strapped to a bench and tested rather than being installed in a car.
I wonder how many examples they test before they publish a 'base' figure? Ideally, these guys should test 10 'identical' Mini's, then publish the average perfiormane figure, and compare that to the manufacturers claim.....
All of us that have driven more than one of the same car know that they have different powers. Myself and my wife bought near identical Cooper S's at about the same time. Yet her car always felt 10% more powerful than mine - and was faster even though had heavier options. |