Power & Fuel Supply
Different manufacturers implement different setups, but a dyno's electrical equipment usually draws power from the building, while the motor's ignition system and starter run off a battery positioned in the dyno cradle. When it comes to fuel supply, every cell is different, but a dyno's fuel system closely resembles that of a car. Typically, a fuel cell is mounted remotely outside the dyno room with feed and return lines running to the motor. "We can supply a fuel system, but most facilities choose to put it together themselves to suit their own needs," says Roberts. "They can vary quite a bit from shop to shop, but should be designed to duplicate how it will be run in the car as closely as possible. If a dyno flows more fuel than the car that motor will go in, the motor will make more power on the dyno than on the street."
Ultimate Tuning Tool
Inevitably, some people will use dynos strictly as bench-racing tools. For serious racers, however, dynos are the ultimate tuning tool. "Let's say you have a sprint-car engine that comes off of the corners at 6,500 rpm," says Roberts. "Using the dyno, you can then narrow in on the rpm range to maximize torque from 6,500 to 7,000." In other words, by replicating track conditions without actually going to the track, racers can make much better use of what little track time they have. "In NASCAR and F1, teams live and die by engine development on the dyno," Bettes opines. "Since track time is so precious, they don't have time to mess around with tuning a motor at the track. They have to be ready to race out of the box." CHP
From the control console,...
From the control console, a dyno operator can control oil and water temperature in addition to setting thresholds for the ventilation fans. As a safeguard, virtually all channels can be set with warning indicators should fluid temperatures fall outside the specified range
Whereas manual dynos have...
Whereas manual dynos have two levers, one to control throttle and one to control load, an operator controls only the throttle on an automated dyno. This greatly simplifies the dyno procedures and potentially improves repeatability.
For those who prefer analog...
For those who prefer analog gauges over digital readouts, most dyno control consoles have blank spaces for easy installation of custom gauges.
A dyno's cooling tower provides...
A dyno's cooling tower provides the engine's water supply. It regulates temperature using a thermostat, and some have their own heat exchanger and fan.
On the Superflow 902, the...
On the Superflow 902, the operator sets the start and stop rpm of an acceleration test by twisting these knobs. The L button on the bottom sets the engine's rate of acceleration.
The DTS Powermark dyno can...
The DTS Powermark dyno can control the flow of water going into and out of the water brake. This allows heavily loading a motor and extremely low rpm. The unit is rated at 3,000 hp for regular acceleration tests and 2,000 hp for continuous endurance tests.