About Dyno Days

 WHAT IS DYNO TUNING?

Dyno Tuning is a systematic approach to tune engines by  determining the actual condition and capability of the engine to facilitate the increasing of power and torque by fine tuning by making adjustments and/or modifications.A dynamometer, or dyno as it is generally called, is a machine used for testing and measuring the performance of vehicle engines. With a dyno you can have a car drive on a rotating drum at almost any speed and measure the computed horsepower and torque by how fast and hard the drum spins.Initially the car is put onto the dyno in order to determine how the engine performs. The numbers gained from the dyno runs can then be used to identify potential causes for missing performance. The tuner can then help you and make suggestions for necessary modifications and/or adjustments that will lead to the maximisation of your vehicle’s performance to the level that you are looking for.

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Have a look at the below video clip of a dyno session. This is not your typical car, it is the most powerful turbocharged Street Commodore in Australia being tuned after hours with the workshop closed. Because of the extreme level of power (936 horsepower at the motor) it was loosing traction on the dyno rollers when the boost came on and this after hours session was necessary to try and overcome that problem. This car has a 6.7 litre GM Performance iron block motor with forged internals and runs 15 psi of boost giving 546kW / 732 horsepower at the rear wheels. The left hand pics shows this car with the twin turbo system on a standard LS3 motor running 7.5 psi of boost which resulted in 421kW / 565 horsepower at the rear wheels.

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BENEFITS OF A DYNO DAY

A Dyno Day is an inexpensive way to accurately   determine the power your motor is making at the rear wheels—where it counts. On the day you will be given a Dyno Chart and this will help you see how well your motor is performing and help you decide if you want to improve its performance further with a tune or by adding performance parts and re-tuning. At a minimum you will be able to establish a baseline for future enhancements, and have a dyno chart to show the grunt that your motor makes. You may also identify potential increased performance opportunities that you did not know existed! Even simple modifications such as a free flowing exhaust can change the fuel/air mixture with a resultant loss in potential power and/or economy. A dyno run is the most accurate way to measure this under simulated driving conditions. When a car is being tuned on the dyno, the exhaust gas is analyzed to determine if the mixture is correct. Fuel ratio changes can then made to the car’s fuel injection or carburetors to bring out the highest potential of the engine.

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WILL THE DYNO HURT MY CAR?

A dyno run is actually much less stressful on your car than a run down the drag strip. The operator takes it gently through the gears and then accelerates through to the motors red-line in top gear. This simply simulates acceleration that you may do on the highway. It also does not have the driveline shock of a standing start.

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CLUB DYNO DAY RECORD HOLDERS

2009	Forced Induction	Ian Williams / VE ClubSport R8 / Twin Turbo	6,686cc	545.7 rwkW	Autotech Engineering Dyno Day
2012	Naturally Aspirated	Ian Williams / VXII ClubSport	6,990cc	362.5 rwkW	Charlestone Performance Dyno Day