Power Runs

WE'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT THEM. BUT WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

We've already talked about our Dyno and Dyno's in general here - so assuming you've already had a scan through there...

In it's most basic form a 'Power Run' is just that, a full throttle run on a Dynamometer to determine how much power your car/ engine is producing.

  • Using an Engine Dyno to carry out the run will give you an accurate Brake Horsepower (BHP) reading.
  • Using a Chassis Dyno or Axle-hub Dyno will give you an accurate Wheel Horsepower (WHP) reading.

But, that shouldn't be it. Modern day Dyno systems will measure and monitor dozens of parameters during the run. The DYNO-MAX Pro+ software that runs the Motorsport and Performance Dyno will take and record 112 different inputs at once, each 1000 times per second. These range from 'nice to have' to 'vital if you want to do any meaningful testing' and include:

  • air/fuel ratio (AFR)
  • exhaust-gas temperature (EGT's)
  • Boost pressure
  • Barometric pressure and Humidity
  • Multiple 0-5 volt auxiliary inputs for Knock sensors, O2 sensors etc

Collecting all of this data allows a calibration specialist to accurately make changes to a vehicles 'tune' in a safe manner. The long and short of it is, without all of this data your power run figures do nothing except tell you how much power you have on the day that you measured it - acceptable if you are just interested but useless for the tuner.

The DYNO-MAX Pro+ software also uses a 'weather station' located inside our Dyno Cell to gather weather and altitude data in order to be able to give us a standardised reading based on the industry standard SAE J1349 formula. This ensures that we get repeatable data even if one run is carried out in the height of summer and the next set of runs in the dead of winter. An incredibly important feature for any performance shop serious about been able to accurately measure changes in power output caused by alterations to the car, by collecting data that is unaffected by the weather.

We know that this is a point of contention on many forum topics. The repeatability and accuracy of any Dyno results rely entirely on this standardisation. If anyone reading this is a sucker for science and is anchoring after more detailed information, please take a minute/ several hours to have a read through this article from 'Land and Sea, Inc' the Manufacturers of our Axle-Hub Dyno, where they talk in detail about how it all works. Enjoy.