Every manufacturer in the high performance industry performs extensive testing in the field, using real vehicles out on the road and on the dyno, during the development phase of new products before launching to their customers. Doing so provides real-world data and information that computer modeling software and in-house dynamometers simply cannot deliver, and often serves as the final check-off that a product is ready for the big stage.
Some of the larger manufacturers, like world-renowned Edelbrock Performance, produces components for more makes and models of vehicles than one can imagine, and because it would be far from feasible to have each of those vehicles in-house at their disposal, the company will often turn to their customers to assist them in their testing efforts. This, of course, has excellent benefits for those willing and able to volunteer their prized car or truck for a few weeks, as the parts that are used on the vehicle for everything from fitment to horsepower testing are generally given to the vehicles’ owner upon their return.
Edelbrock engineers some 200 new products each and every year, and that takes a lot of research and development on a range of vehicles, meaning opportunities are abound to take part.
The team at Edelbrock, located in Torrance, California, is currently in search of several specific vehicle and drivetrain packages, including a 5.7L HEMI-equipped 2009 Dodge Ram, a 2011-13 Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Sierra pickup with a 6.0L engine, a 2003-07 Chevrolet Silverado SS Classic with an LQ9 6.0L, 2007-10 Ford Expedition with a stock 5.4L, and a 2012-13 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L.
Edelbrock is planning to test new E-Force series superchargers on each of these vehicles, and at the end of the approximately 4-5 week testing phase, the installed supercharger, documentation, calibration, and dyno graphs are yours. The caveat, of course, is that Edelbrock will require the vehicle in-house for those 4-5 weeks, the vehicle must be in stock condition and low mileage (under 50k miles), and must be from within Southern California.
This is a win-win for everyone, that is, if you can go without your baby for a few weeks.
For more information on Edelbrock and their extensive catalog of high performance parts, log on to edelbrock.com.