Fortunately for us, Seth (the engineer who conducted the comp wheel comparison) is a gearhead. He's a drag racer with a 5.0 mustang. He understands...
He speaks the honest truth here.
Seth is 'beyond gearhead' with an impressive twin-EFR-boosted (he can actually switch it from twin-EFR, to single S500SX and back) Fox-body Mustang, and if you haven't seen his fabrication in person, it's truly worthy of the term 'artwork'.
The man has skills.
The entire engineering team at BWTS is absolutely filled with gearheads, and MatchBot is a great example of how they have focused on supporting the performance aftermarket. It isn't 'all things to all people', but having been in the performance turbocharger business full-time for,well, 'a few years', I can say that it's the most advanced single tool for this process I've ever seen or used.
I tell anyone who will listen to just sit, shake hands with it and use it. It's free, and you can goof it up a million ways and just start over. Like anything, it gets easier as you spend time with it, and if you invest in a turbine speed sensor, it gets even easier.
The spark-ignition guys can generate real-time data logs a bit easier, so that's probably one reason why it's caught on more so in that market, but it works just fine with compression-ignition engines too.
As to using it to help match other makes, actually, you can, but only if those other makes prepare and publish compressor and turbine flow maps of their own, which Garrett does. I actually cross-check data from BWTS maps with Garrett maps, and vice versa, every day, because both companies publish real engineering data. Some compressor maps are published in lb/min, some in kg/s, but converting that data is really just simple math, and if you poke around, you'll probably find the same spreadsheet I use to do this. I didn't write it, so I can't take credit for it, but it's very useful.
Don't forget that Garrett has an excellent, albeit 'light' version, available for iPhone and Android, that is actually quite useful.
The one holdout, of course, is Holset, but, if you're a fan of that product, you should get friendly with your local Master Distributor. Those of us who are directly tied to Holset (CTT) can request and provide compressor and turbine maps, although the process is more time consuming. And Holset uses flow factors that are even just a little bit more 'odd' than BWTS and Garrett use. Holset is also a group that is not likely to ever place a focus on the performance aftermarket, which is a shame, given the high quality products that they produce. There are several Distributors who know this product line and it's potential better than I.
The point is, the more trustworthy data you have, the better off you'll be.
In a nutshell, that's really what this thread is all about.
