Shops with dynos

CumminNotRunnin

CumminNotRunnin

Internet Mechanic
Did some digging and didn't find much here through the search function. Does any one have any input or links to dyno info?

Mobile dyno vs stationary pros and cons to both?
Honestly we are limited on floor space so limited floor space leaves me to be more inclined to have mobile unit and bring it in if needed.

Brands to stay away from? Brands to stick to?

The return on investment is it worth it to get a dyno. Do they have high maintenance bills the come with them?

Rough insurance coverage additional on a mobile dyno unit that does events?

Anything from people with experience owning and operating.
 
Would you be willing to post some replies as I'm interested in this as well since there is a lack of dynos in my area
 
huck25 said:
Would you be willing to post some replies as I'm interested in this as well since there is a lack of dynos in my area
Click to expand...


If they want to share on the forum I will let them do that. Out of respect for the people sharing information privately I do not want to post it on their behalf.
 
In my experience from seeing MANY trucks dyno on just about every dyno out there invest in one with a load cell as they seem to be more accurate and repeatable. If you get an inertia dyno make sure it is one with HUGE rollers that will offer a lot of resistance to help spool the truck, small rollers and inertia dyno measurements do not work very well for turbo diesel trucks.

The Dyno Dynamics, Dyno Jet and Mustang load cell dynos all seem to work well, some of the less expensive ones I have seen not so much... Size matters on the eddy brake as does adequate ventilation for it, especially if you ever have a dyno day with a lot of back to back runs it will generate a lot of heat and it needs to dissipate the heat to be consistent.

Dual rollers like on the Dyno Dynamics seem to be less prone to tire spin with big HP trucks, but they can also chew up a set of tires through the heat generated especially MT and AT type big lug treaded tires. Speaking of rollers, in most cases I have seen with Dyno Dynamics you will need to pull one outer wheel on dually's and with a Dyno Jet one outer will hang off the edge. The Mustang Dyno that Thoroughbred has in KY has an extra wide roller on one side so that you do not have to pull a wheel on dually trucks and all 4 tires are making contact on the rollers.

If you get a portable dyno make sure you get one that can handle the weight, size and power of our diesel trucks. I have seen some portable dynos (purchased from the manufacturer) that are sketchy to say the least as well as some that were shop built to incorporate a stationary dyno that are amazing!

I hope this helps...
 
Chris Tobin said:
In my experience from seeing MANY trucks dyno on just about every dyno out there invest in one with a load cell as they seem to be more accurate and repeatable. If you get an inertia dyno make sure it is one with HUGE rollers that will offer a lot of resistance to help spool the truck, small rollers and inertia dyno measurements do not work very well for turbo diesel trucks.

The Dyno Dynamics, Dyno Jet and Mustang load cell dynos all seem to work well, some of the less expensive ones I have seen not so much... Size matters on the eddy brake as does adequate ventilation for it, especially if you ever have a dyno day with a lot of back to back runs it will generate a lot of heat and it needs to dissipate the heat to be consistent.

Dual rollers like on the Dyno Dynamics seem to be less prone to tire spin with big HP trucks, but they can also chew up a set of tires through the heat generated especially MT and AT type big lug treaded tires. Speaking of rollers, in most cases I have seen with Dyno Dynamics you will need to pull one outer wheel on dually's and with a Dyno Jet one outer will hang off the edge. The Mustang Dyno that Thoroughbred has in KY has an extra wide roller on one side so that you do not have to pull a wheel on dually trucks and all 4 tires are making contact on the rollers.

If you get a portable dyno make sure you get one that can handle the weight, size and power of our diesel trucks. I have seen some portable dynos (purchased from the manufacturer) that are sketchy to say the least as well as some that were shop built to incorporate a stationary dyno that are amazing!

I hope this helps...
Click to expand...

Yes Chris, thank you very much! Some insight from a person who has experience in this, but does not have any bias opinion.

My only question is how much difference do you see on inertia vs load cell dyno.

Load cell will help with big horsepower trucks, but I feel my target market will be more towards Daily drivers - 700hp.

What are considered to be huge rollers?
 
CumminNotRunnin said:
Yes Chris, thank you very much! Some insight from a person who has experience in this, but does not have any bias opinion.

My only question is how much difference do you see on inertia vs load cell dyno.

Load cell will help with big horsepower trucks, but I feel my target market will be more towards Daily drivers - 700hp.

What are considered to be huge rollers?
Click to expand...

The load cells will still help with the lower HP trucks. I prefer to dyno on them
 
CumminNotRunnin said:
Yes Chris, thank you very much! Some insight from a person who has experience in this, but does not have any bias opinion.

My only question is how much difference do you see on inertia vs load cell dyno.

Load cell will help with big horsepower trucks, but I feel my target market will be more towards Daily drivers - 700hp.

What are considered to be huge rollers?
Click to expand...

mathews8pt said:
The load cells will still help with the lower HP trucks. I prefer to dyno on them
Click to expand...

I agree too. Load cell is typically better all the way around.

With big power hard to spool trucks I've seen much lower boost and thus much lower HP on inertia dynos than the same truck on a load cell dyno. How much difference often depends on the operator, guys like David Dunbar knew how to get good consistent performance out of an inertia dyno by dragging the brake and such while dynoing and his dyno also had 3-ft or larger diameter rollers. An inertia dyno with a 10-inch roller won't offer much resistance and will not spool the truck well, that's why sometimes it sounds like truck are free revving on the dyno because it can't load the engine enough to build any boost.

With a load cell dyno and an experienced operator you can simulate road/track conditions repeatedly so it makes for a much better tuning tool for the shop in my opinion.
 
CumminNotRunnin said:
Yes Chris, thank you very much! Some insight from a person who has experience in this, but does not have any bias opinion.

My only question is how much difference do you see on inertia vs load cell dyno.

Load cell will help with big horsepower trucks, but I feel my target market will be more towards Daily drivers - 700hp.

What are considered to be huge rollers?
Click to expand...

We have a dyno jet w/eddy current load cell. I installed it in ground and the space it takes up is very minimum. I have a drive through bay that I installed it in but the back lot is not paved so we back trucks onto it at this time. I poured a concrete pad out side behind the dyno for strapping purposes on high HP trucks as well as being able to place the dyno back in the bay. I can strap and dyno with the doors closed if weather is not good. Smoke evac is also easy with this set-up.

I like the in ground unit for sure. Only reason to have a mobile is if you want to travel and do events. The ease of use of an in ground is awesome.

The dyno jet has approx 4,000lb drum which works fine on a the diesels without load but we load most all the time. Testing a basic stock truck that is having issues towing loads or pulling hills can be duplicated. It's a great tool and I would not buy a dyno without a load cell. Our one eddy brake will load enough to kill a 1500hp diesel and do 45 trucks in a day without getting overheated.

As far as paying for itself, depends on the business plan. Being a tuner and a racer it is a no brainer for me. Being a repair shop, it does add legitimacy to your business and this will spread in the local market creating more business opportunities. If just trying to pay for itself buy selling runs, then it'd look to another form of income.

I went to PRI and spoke with all the dyno companies. I discussed price, support, and diesels. I came away with a dyno jet. Much better value and the sales/engineering staff was great before, during, and after the install. Seems all dynos now run the same basic set-up so I went with the company I liked the best.

Only thing that I'd like to see on this dyno is a longer roller. I've only had one truck I couldn't dyno though and it was a lifted dodge with massive tires and huge back spacing.

I have pictures but with me now.

They are a blast, we have dyno'd mountain bikes with beer filled riders, golf carts, 4 wheelers, just about anything with wheels.
 
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IdahoRob said:
We have a dyno jet w/eddy current load cell. I installed it in ground and the space it takes up is very minimum. I have a drive through bay that I installed it in but the back lot is not paved so we back trucks onto it at this time. I poured a concrete pad out side behind the dyno for strapping purposes on high HP trucks as well as being able to place the dyno back in the bay. I can strap and dyno with the doors closed if weather is not good. Smoke evac is also easy with this set-up.

I like the in ground unit for sure. Only reason to have a mobile is if you want to travel and do events. The ease of use of an in ground is awesome.

The dyno jet has approx 4,000lb drum which works fine on a the diesels without load but we load most all the time. Testing a basic stock truck that is having issues towing loads or pulling hills can be duplicated. It's a great tool and I would not buy a dyno without a load cell. Our one eddy brake will load enough to kill a 1500hp diesel and do 45 trucks in a day without getting overheated.

As far as paying for itself, depends on the business plan. Being a tuner and a racer it is a no brainer for me. Being a repair shop, it does add legitimacy to your business and this will spread in the local market creating more business opportunities. If just trying to pay for itself buy selling runs, then it'd look to another form of income.

I went to PRI and spoke with all the dyno companies. I discussed price, support, and diesels. I came away with a dyno jet. Much better value and the sales/engineering staff was great before, during, and after the install. Seems all dynos now run the same basic set-up so I went with the company I liked the best.

Only thing that I'd like to see on this dyno is a longer roller. I've only had one truck I couldn't dyno though and it was a lifted dodge with massive tires and huge back spacing.

I have pictures but with me now.

They are a blast, we have dyno'd mountain bikes with beer filled riders, golf carts, 4 wheelers, just about anything with wheels.
Click to expand...



Rob thanks for the info, I just saw this. I never thought of the fun aspect of the dyno that way.
 
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