Classic Tuning provides the foundations of a healthy engine

Question - What is the difference between the type of tuning that I do compared to that of a 'Rolling Road' session?

Answer - Opinions are very much split on this topic, so let me start by saying quick clearly.......the 'old school' type of tuning that I carry out is not in any way meant to compete with a 'good'....'thorough' and 'comprehensive' set up made during multiple rolling road sessions.

There a a lot of words 'highlighted' in this answer because some are blindly lead into thinking that simple driving onto a rolling road is the solution to everything and cures every factor known to man which is the cause of poor running performance.   Some feel that ther car/engine has then been blessed by the Pope and will run happily ever after.  This is entirely wrong of course!

The truth is that the tuning that I do should really be done before each and every car even considers going to a rolling road dyno.  The rolling road dyno should then be used for the for the final optimisation and tweaks of an already well set up engine.  I'd actually go as far as to say that without doing the type of general health checks, function tests, balancing and other tests then your car is not ready for a rolling road session and possible wasting your time and money.  (At the time of writing this in March 2022 and hour on a UK rolling road costs in the region of £100 ~ £300/hr)

So why do I say that a car should be set up and ready for a rolling road?

Well the obvious answer is that it's far cheaper for me to do it, than it is to wait 6 weeks to get on a Rolling road and for a 'good' operator to then charge you at £100 ~ £300/hr, especially when there are people who can/will do it much cheaper.  The not so good operators (and there are quite a few) will just do a power run, a tweak your fuelling slightly, followed by a second power run and print a graph to make you feel happy.  If you then change your dizzy cap, or rotor arm for good housekeeping and your timing moves my 2 or 3 deg due to a new position of contact.....well your engine is no longer set as what the dyno/RR operator determined.

A tuning session with myself starts with basic and essential health checks which ultimately effect the performance, reliability, general running and start up of the car too.  Factors such as:-

1) Battery voltage on static and on a charge cycle. 

2) Ignition coil resistance values, ballast voltage check.

3) Visual earth wire checks.

4) Spark plug visual health checks & correct gapping.

5) Carb dynamic synch test and balancing

6) Choke jet height normalisation, and balance both sides.

7) Fast idle air flow balance, both sides.

8) Idle jet height check and normalisation ahead of final adjustment mixture adjustment, both sides.

9) Idle airflow balance, both sides.

10) SU damper check, visual and piston movement check (If SU, or Zenith Stromberg)

11) SU hydraulic damper feel and lift check (adjusted by damper oil viscosity if needed - again SU and Zenith Stromberg) example.

12) Spark plug/ignition induction test.

13) Ignition timing scatter test, explore the cause of any scatter.

14) Carb bush leak tests for air leakage.

15)  Visual left versus right ignition flame check.

..........and much much more!

Factors such as the above and a whole lot more are essential towards the smooth and reliable start up and running of your classic car.  These and many more factors aren't magically checked, adjusted and corrected just because you've driven your car onto some dyno rollers. 

However some rolling road operators will still take your car up to maximum rpm against a calibrated resistance load and tell you a bhp and torque figure.  They may then put you a different needle, jet or venturi in.....do the same again and if the torque and BHP figure is just a tad higher, then...your car is now 'rolling road tuned'.  But what does that actually mean?  Not a lot sadly, when any one of the factors 1-15 and more above means that your car doesn't start tomorrow or has lost it's placebo of having 'just been rolling road tuned'.

However, now just imagine if all the above 1 to 15 factors and others have been tuned and optimised ahead of a RR session.  A good rolling road operator then can optimise your fuelling values through out the entire rpm range and adjust your ignition to be at it's optimum as possible when under load?  I call it the final layer, the icing on the cake, the detailing.  Common sense will tells you that all of these have to be built on the right foundations to be effective and lasting.  The tuning that I do, are those foundations.......it really is that simple.

For each tuning session carried out I produce a 3 page report detailing all the checks, baseline values, observations and settings used.  The owner then has a report detailing all the settings at which his car runs well. If he later changes his dizzy, or swaps out his 'points and condenser' and needs to reset to the last known good strobe setting.....it's there on the report.  Likewise if he changes a carb needle and tweaks his mixture value up or down, the report will tell him exactly the jet height at which it was set before making any adjustments.

ASK for the Ignition settings and Fuelling values, jet heights etc.

So.....to re-emphasise my tuning work is aimed to provide the foundations to a well set up engine.  Once these good solid foundations are in place, that is when you may wish to final optimise against the dynamic resistance of a rolling road dyno.

My absolute advice to you from either a Dyno or Rolling road session, ask the operator for all key fuel and ignition figures.  So if you swap a component out or service/set your ignition annually (for example change dizzy cap, rotor arm, points and re-gap etc etc), you can then set it to exactly what they determined as being the optimum. 

Do not just walk out from any tuning session with only a BHP/Torque graph......you've paid for those 'optimum' fuel and ignition figures to be determined, now make sure that you ask for them from the tuner.  You've commissioned the tuner to determine them for you!