The most amount of effort in this simulation is targeted around the camshaft, but the program also allows you to input airflow data for your particular cylinder head. We simulated a GM Performance Parts HT 383ci small-block Chevy (the engine that's in our white '66 Chevelle) with a similar (but not exactly the same profile) camshaft, and the power numbers came out very close in a couple of rpm points. The point here is that simulations do not need to be 100 percent accurate across the entire power curve compared to actual engine dyno testing. The important thing to remember is that any simulation allows you to do trend testing. In other words, if you change a cam, you can see the overall trend toward a different power curve based on the changes you made. In our case, the simulation indicated horsepower levels that were within 15 hp (which is 3 percent) of our actual dyno test, while the torque peak was virtually right on the money. These are certainly representative of what you can expect from this simulation.
The camshaft inputs are by far the most detailed. You could key in all the important data, but the hot ticket is to invest in ProRacing Sim's Camdisk 3 that offers over 3,500 actual camshafts, each one complete with accurate lifter acceleration rates that many other engine simulations gloss over. The Dyno Sim does offer around 800 real curves. This means you can simulate an actual existing hydraulic-roller cam profile from a particular cam company like Comp Cams, not just an estimate of the lifter acceleration rates. As with any computer operation, the more accurate the input information, the better the output information.
There's a tremendous amount of learning potential here just within the Cam manager portion of the Dyno Sim. For example, the Cam Manager allows you to pick the four basic intake and exhaust opening and closing points, along with the max lobe lift. Then you can experiment with more radical lifter acceleration rates merely by changing the scale on the "Ramp Rate." For a visual reference, the Cam Manager also produces the classic lift curve drawing that automatically changes as you modify the ramp rate. This is heady stuff for an affordable engine-simulation program and offers some outstanding potential for learning why choosing camshafts is so critical to engine performance.
There are obviously limitations to what you can do when it comes to real engines and radical lifter acceleration rates, but what you can learn is certainly real enough. The electronic manual that accompanies the program is also worth digesting very carefully.
Fast Lap SimNow here is where you Pro Touring buffs can get into some serious corner-turning chassis science. Again, this simulation combines the fun of trying to improve handling in virtually any kind of car with powerful software that integrates hundreds of chassis interactions as the simulated car runs around a race track. We spent some time with the demo NASCAR car at Louden Raceway and immediately got sucked into trying to improve the car's serious oversteer problems. The Fast Lap simulator allows you to run the car on several different tracks throughout the world. For example, just in this country you can run at Indy, Road America, Watkins Glen, and Mid-Ohio. You can also modify an existing track or build your own personal speedway.