New Seltos Makes More Power Than What Kia Claims: Proof [Video]
The second-generation Kia Seltos debuted on December 10th, with a thoroughly revised exterior styling, better interior packaging, and powered by the same set of engines as the first-generation SUV. Many wondered why Kia left the engines untouched on the new Seltos. This SUV comes with three strong engines- two petrols and a diesel. Why change something that’s performing exceptionally well? Recently, a video of the ‘Dyno test’ of these engines surfaced on Instagram, showing just how punchy they are. Going by the same, the turbo-petrol engine produces more power than what Kia actually claims! Let’s delve into the details.
This video was shared on Instagram by ‘B.Choww’, a content creator based in the automotive niche. He took the new-generation Seltos to a dyno at Speedworks, a tuning shop in Bengaluru. Both the (turbo) petrol and diesel versions of the new Seltos were tested using the dyno machine, and their exact wheel horsepower were measured.
Here’s some context. A dyno (short for dynamometer) machine is a device used to measure the exact wheel horsepower and wheel torque of a vehicle. Various other performance metrics can also be measured using this device. Tuners use it to fine-tune the ECU (Engine Control Unit) and optimize the power, efficiency, and driveability. A good dyno provides accurate, real data.
Now, what are wheel horsepower and wheel torque? Why do they matter? Videos, marketing materials, and brochures of every car will mention its power and torque. These are usually the figures measured at the engine, the power and torque that the engine actually makes. Called the crank figures, these do not include the various heat and transmission losses.
In internal combustion engines, not all the power generated by the engine gets transmitted to the wheels. Parts of it are lost in various areas of the drivetrain. Wheel horsepower and wheel torque factor in these losses and give us a more accurate picture of the usable power and torque. A dyno measures power/torque at the wheel, and not the crank figures.
The rule of thumb is that wheel horsepower would be approximately 10-15% less than the crank figures, in the case of a good (read efficient) engine-transmission combo and a front wheel drive (FWD) layout. It will be around 20% in Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) cars and around 25% in All Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicles.
The objective of this test is to find out how big or small the drivetrain losses in the new Seltos are. Both the turbocharged petrol and diesel variants of the Seltos are tested using the dynamometer. The 1.5L turbocharged diesel engine on the Seltos, as per the manufacturer's claims, makes 114 hp and 250Nm.
Data from the dyno run shows that the actual power at the crank was about 125.1 hp and the wheel power was around 108.2 hp- roughly 13.44% less than crank figures. Based on the manufacturer-claimed 114hp, the measured wheel horsepower shows drivetrain losses to be just around 5.1%- impressive for a diesel engine!
The 1.5L turbocharged direct injection petrol engine gave more interesting results. Kia says that this engine produces 157.8hp and 253Nm. Dyno results are quite surprising! Power at the engine was measured to be 183.8hp and the same at the wheel stood at 156.4! This, if you see, is just 1.4hp less than the claimed engine power. The losses in this case are under 1% (0.89% to be precise). The influencer validated these results by doing two consistent runs that returned comparable results. Both powertrains are quite efficient and have minimal drivetrain losses.
When drivetrain losses are minimal, and the gap between wheel horsepower and crank horsepower is small, the overall performance and fuel efficiency will increase. Heat generation and Carbon emissions, on the other hand, will decrease. That said, the 1.5L turbo-petrol engine on the Seltos is already famous for its fuel efficiency and strong performance. It is more fun-to-drive than the older 1.4L turbocharged petrol engine and is notably more fuel efficient too.
We have been to this garage for ‘dyno’ing’ a BMW 325i. The intention was to obtain its real output figures before and after a retune. Our experience there was pleasant and the results were quite accurate.