Engine dyno vs chassis dyno

ENGINE DYNO OR CHASSIS DYNO, Which 1 would you pick and why???

  • ENGINE DYNO

    Votes: 56 29.5%

  • CHASSIS DYNO

    Votes: 134 70.5%
  • Total voters
    190
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mikesduster,

I used an engine dyno because I had a host of changes I wanted to try and it was easy to do without the rest of the car in the way!

I don't know where you are in CT but I used a guy in New Milford, CT.

Kory

Dyno - before final run (Small).JPG
 
chassis, i'd rather know the rear wheel HP than the crank. that could just be me though.
 
Chassis Dyno. Drive it home when done! Make changes that simulate closer to real world driving + loads (like shifting through the gears...etc).

Was at the shop once and they found about 150hp (RWHP) on a Chevelle....had to be a totally different ride home!
 
Gives real world HP numbers at the wheel, can dial in your hole ride. Well almost.
 
Dynos are a tool nothing more...i had my duster on a chassie dyno 3 years ago some changes were made and the numbers deffinately showed improvement..took it to the track the car ran SLOWER put all the adjustments back to where i had them before the dyno..and the car was running the proper numbers again..what a waste of $200.00..nothing beats real world test and tuning...Mike save your money..
 
So which dyno is better? The answer, of course, is it depends.

If you want to break in and tune a new engine, compare the effects of different parts on power, or extract maximum power from a current engine combo, the engine dyno is the way to go. Because it measures "true" engine torque, monitors a wide array of engine functions, and tests under controlled conditions, an engine dyno provides very accurate and repeatable results. Those results are why engine builders, manufacturers such as Trick Flow, and the OEMs rely on engine dynos for testing, tuning, and development work.

Determining the overall performance of a vehicle's drivetrain is where the chassis dyno really shines--after all, the power at the drive wheels is what ultimately moves your vehicle down the road or around the track. You can tune and compare parts combinations with a chassis dyno; the power figures generated will be just as accurate an indicator of performance as the ones from an engine dyno. Perhaps the biggest draw of a chassis dyno is that you don't have the time and hassle of yanking the motor out--just drive up on the platform, make some runs, then drive home with some printouts in your hand.

The thing to keep in mind about a chassis dyno is that it really isn't designed to measure true, or flywheel, engine output. You have to determine the amount of engine power consumed by the drivetrain and add that to the drive wheel power figure. While there are generally accepted loss percentages for manual and automatic transmission-equipped drivetrains, they are really only estimates. Add in the fact that drivetrain losses can vary from one run to the next, and things like tire temperature and pressure also affect final results, and you can see a chassis dyno is much better suited as a vehicle tuning tool than an engine horsepower measurement tool.

good link http://www.trickflow.com/articles/dynotest_primer/

I used an engine dyno to get a decent tune and break in, but I also was trying different parts and I really really hate putting a new engine to then find out its leaking or something screw's up lol

Like cough cough too tight valve guides

bentpushrod.jpg


And in another thread I will tell a little story about a my "new" rebuilt tranny






,
 
I'm in the engine dyno camp.

If you know what it's making for real, then with car weight, you should know where it should MPH and get a decent ET range. If it doesn't run the MPH, then you need to start looking through/at the systems to find out why.

The track is the best proof of dyno results IMO.
 
I voted engine dyno. On a chassis dyno, the torque converter in an automatic car will have a large effect on the readings.
 
Chassis dyno,built a 440 using D.C. guidelines right down to the cam,car ran best 11.59 at 118,lost et because chassis wasn't right,the old saying you can have all the H.P.in the world but if you can't plant the tires......
 
koryliss said:
mikesduster,

I used an engine dyno because I had a host of changes I wanted to try and it was easy to do without the rest of the car in the way!

I don't know where you are in CT but I used a guy in New Milford, CT.

Kory
Click to expand...

I live in Ellington......Thanks guys!!!!
 
I used a chassis dyno and all gear dyno pulls to figure out where to shift the car.
Like everyone is saying there is differant reasons to use the 2 dyno's.
 
Shaker223 said:
Chassis Dyno. Drive it home when done! Make changes that simulate closer to real world driving + loads (like shifting through the gears...etc).

Was at the shop once and they found about 150hp (RWHP) on a Chevelle....had to be a totally different ride home!
Click to expand...
x2:cheers:
 
if i had the opportunity , i would like using a chassis dyno. i bet my rear wheel horsepower wouldnt break 60 hp right now.
 
I voted chassis because I'd rather know what I was putting to the wheels (I can confirm where my chassis deficiencies are from my actual 1/4 mile times).

That said, as many others have indicated a dyno is good for evaluating improvements/changes, but not much else.
 
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