It is surprising how many cases we see where the need for more power is actually a request to recover the power the engine has had! It is surprising how much power can be recovered simply by ensuring the car is correctly set up and run. In some cases, the lack or reduction of power is caused by incorrect or defective components. To give you some examples of how much powerand performance can be regained, here are a couple of case histories:

When we first drove Steve Heath's 390SE, the engine felt good but it had a couple of flat spots when accelerating and the pickup and throttle response seemed a little woolly and not crisp.

Looking under the bonnet revealed the culprit. Instead of a variable and adjustable fuel pressure regulator that should have been there, a standard fixed pressure Rover unit had been fitted. This meant that the engine was not getting the correct fuel enrichment that it should and would explain why the engine had flat spots and did not feel as crisp.

An adjustable fuel unit increases the pressure of the fuel reaching the injectors and thus allows more fuel to be injected into the cylinders. This slightly enriches the mixture, especially when the throttle is opened and thus removes the flat spots and improves the throttle response and pickup. An adjustable unit will have a screw or nut at the back of the unit by which the pressure can be adjusted.

The trick to getting the real benefit is in working out by how much the pressure should be increased. Too little and there is no real benefit. Too much and the engine will lose its low end torque and will not idle smoothly. Far too much will result in the pipes pulsing with the pressure and there is the risk of something bursting. Just right and the engine will feel better. This is best done when tuning the engine and with a pressure meter fitted to the fuel system. Depending on the engine and its state of tune, it can improve the horsepower and dramatically help acceleration times. The real improvement is in the driving and feel. To quote Steve after sprinting the car with the replacement fuel regulator: "What have you done to this car? You must have done something apart from the regulator! It is even more responsive than before! It is so different!".

If you are suffering from poor pick up and/or flat spots, then it could be as simple as the fuel regulator. The next step is to use a rolling road to tune the engine for optimum performance....