Rolling Road Dyno Tuning
Dyno Tuning with us...
When it comes to improving performance of a vehicle, we like to think that we are at the forefront of this industry and can provide honest transparent results, which can be supported by solid evidence from our rolling road dyno testing. We have all bases covered here at Bluespark HQ, giving you reliable results that you can trust.
One of the many advantages of using a Bluespark chip tuning box, comes from our in-house design and development. Using our in-house rolling road dyno, has allowed us to create the very best in chip tuning software. We can accurately monitor the exact parameters we need to measure, to ensure that each and every engine is tuned to operate with the very best performance gains, whilst holding inside the tolerances of the engine.
Not only has our 4wd rolling road dyno provided us with industry leading development, but can also be used as a service for you, to test the gains of your chip tuning box or during our remapping services. Our 4wd rolling road is an effective way to calculate your vehicle's power output and can usually be conducted in around 1 hour. You can drive away with the knowledge of the exact power gains we’ve made and ensure your vehicle has the most custom feel that you require.
What is a dyno?
You’re probably familiar with the term ‘rolling road dyno’. For those who aren’t, a dynamometer or dyno, is a device that measures force, torque and power. A four-wheel drive chassis dyno like ours, has two sets of rollers that a vehicle can be driven on to. It is designed to create a load, which in turn will duplicate various rotational speeds and torque requirements. We can then use this data to calculate power characteristics of the vehicle, and subsequently show the improvements from any vehicle modifications.
In simple terms, the rolling road dyno can be used to take measurements of a vehicle’s power and torque. We can then use this data to modify and improve performance with the likes of a diesel or petrol tuning box, or during our remapping services, to ensure your car is making the best power possible.
Types of Rolling Road Dyno
There are numerous types and varieties of rolling roads, each with its own benefits depending on how or what you are testing. The two most common and basic types of dyno testing are the chassis dyno and the engine dyno. Taking a look further into how the dynos operate, you will come across the methods in which they create the load. The most common methods for this are Water Brake
Dynamometers, Eddy Current Brake Dynamometers or Alternating Current Dynamometers. Each have their own advantages, but it can depend on the application and how you are testing, which gives certain ones the overall advantage.
Water Brake Dynamometers:
Water Brake Dynos are effective and are usually great for those who are testing engines at the crank. The braking is controlled by adjusting the water flow, which can be done manually or electronically. They have a unique property in that they can tolerate very high RPMs, so they can be connected directly to the engine crankshaft. However, water brakes can be tricky to control, and the setup can be challenging. Sounds like a good option for those who test directly on the crankshaft, but not suitable for us here at Bluespark.
Alternating Current Dynamometers:
The Alternating Current system mimics the load placed on the engine while it is powering a vehicle. This allows testing of the engine over its entire range of operation. This type of dynamometer uses special AC motors that can provide both braking (load) and motoring (forced engine rotation). This method of dyno again works great with engine dynos, and tends to be a much larger system. Again, this is a very complex method and works great in certain applications, but isn’t suitable for us and what we need.
Eddy Current Brake Dynamometers:
The Eddy Current brake system is easy to use, and does not get worn out. This type of dyno is an electrically controlled, air-cooled brake, and creates load by inducing a magnetic field in a rotating disc. The rotating disc produces heat that is dissipated in air or with water. Simply put, the more current you run through it, the more it brakes. The Eddy Current brake is simple to control and can accurately be adjusted directly from the software attached to the dyno itself. It is why it is one of the most common applications within a chassis dyno. This is why the Eddy Current dyno is our choice of method and can be applied exactly to suit our needs.
So now we have the types of systems used within the dyno themselves, lets see the two most common methods of running the tests:
Engine Dyno:
An engine dyno is an effective way for engineers to test the engine on its own. The method for this is usually to have the engine out of the vehicle itself. This allows engine developers or car manufacturers to confirm performance without the engine inside or working against any other equipment. This method is useful for troubleshooting or identifying issues the engine may be facing. They can also verify the quality of builds, modifications or repairs in a controlled environment before the vehicle is put into use. This type of dyno testing measures directly at the flywheel and gives an accurate flywheel figure. Although this method of dyno testing is an accurate way to get performance figures, it can be highly impractical for many car tuning specialists like ourselves, due to the time consuming and practicality of removing the full engine from a customer’s vehicle.
Chassis Dyno:
The other option is to use a chassis rolling road dyno, like we do. This is a far more practical option and allows accurate performance testing whilst retaining the engine inside the vehicle. It will measure power outputs at the wheels. Using the chassis dyno method, allows us to drive the vehicle directly on to the dyno for the test. We can usually have the full test complete within an hours’ time, depending on what service we are conducting for you.
Using a chassis dyno requires:
- Strapping the car effectively to the dyno, maintaining tyre contact with the rollers and preventing it from “climbing up” the rollers.
- Selecting a suitable gear for the test.
- Running the car up to operating speed in the desired gear to calibrate the roller/rpm ratio.
Once these steps are complete a power run can be undertaken.
The process which is then followed:
- The dyno operator will lower the engine speed to the desired level (usually around idle rpm) before opening the throttle. The car supplies maximum power to the wheels and attempts to accelerate the large mass of the rollers (while measuring the rotational speed of the rollers)
- The power test will end when the engine RPM reaches the pre-desired level and the dyno operator removes his foot from the throttle.
- On some dynos (including ours), at this point losses are measured. After the operator removes their foot from the pedal, the car is put into neutral. The dyno then measures the deceleration on the rollers by the transmission and drivetrain.
Once the test has ended, the logging software will look at how long it took the car to accelerate the known mass of the rollers, measuring the torque figure for the vehicle. Similarly, the rotational speed numbers will be logged to create an accurate power number. By adding the losses measured from the car's drivetrain to the wheel power output we get a very accurate flywheel figure. Our dyno software does this automatically, producing very repeatable accurate runs.
Benefits of dyno tesing
The benefits of measuring performance are huge. Measuring your vehicle's performance from stock allows us to compare with what the manufacturer claims, and gives us an accurate indication where we are working from. Seeing the results from your car as standard, we can often immediately identify any potential problems before tuning. Once a good baseline has been established, we can measure power output when tuned and ensure that the results are what we would expect. We can assess the benefits of both our products and anything from aftermarket exhausts to performance air filters.
Remapping Services
So as you can see, dyno testing is a fundamental part of our process to ensure we provide market leading products from our tuning boxes.
Another great benefit coming from the rolling road dyno, is how we can use it during our ECU remapping services. You can find out more about our full remapping services in the products page. But to keep it simple, during our remapping process, we access the vehicle's ECU to either change or upgrade the software. The remapping process is a complex procedure and requires constant monitoring and adjusting. Here is where the rolling road remap slots in. The vehicle is thoroughly tested before any amount of tune is applied, to assess the exact stock levels we are working from. Once the remapping files are uploaded, we again send the vehicle for more dyno runs, whereby we can adjust or tweak certain parameters if necessary. A good example of this can be seen in our YouTube video below. The vehicle in question had several modifications and we used the rolling road to successfully custom tune to the customers requirements. First we tested at full stock level. Then we connected to the ECU and removed the vehicle's speed limiter. We then upgraded the software of the ECU to a more advanced and high-powered version. We then tested this again on the dyno to see what new power outputs we had gained. We were then able to install our tuning box, as the vehicle had a new base level to work from. We processed another dyno run to see the final results. None of this would have been possible without the use of our rolling road.
Check out the video here:
How to prepare?
There are several things you can do to check your car over before it goes on the rolling road dyno. For instance, check the tyres and pressure, suspension and general operation of the vehicle. Ideally, you want everything ready to go before getting your vehicle tested as it could lead to lower power readings, due to any faults. Likewise, try to take the car for a short drive and get it to operating temperature to ensure more accurate results.
For petrol vehicles we always advise to use premium fuel regardless of dyno testing or not. However, when it comes to your dyno testing day, ensure you have the best fuel available. Using 99RON is what we always advise is the best option. We have conducted many dyno tests, comparing 95RON vs 99RON, and you would be surprised at how different the results can fluctuate. So bear this in mind beforehand, as you want the vehicle to give the optimal performance.
When you’re all set to go, your car will be strapped onto the rolling road dyno. The strapping ensures there will be no side-to-side movement or the vehicle coming off the rollers. We then get the dyno calibrated to your car so that RPM is linked to roller speed.
The Bluespark Way
Servicing:
Our engineers service our Dyno annually. This helps to preserve the life of the equipment and also ensures that runs are accurate and do not give false results. This allows us to stay true to what we quote for performance gains, giving you the reassurance that our figures are as accurate as we can make them.
Investing:
Here at Bluespark we are always growing and developing, and discovering new ways to ensure we provide the very best tuning services. As many of you who have seen our social media accounts and watched our rolling road dyno tests on our YouTube channel, our 2wd rolling road that has served us amazing over the years. It allowed us to create some really innovative ideas and projects, and allowed us to develop some really incredible products.
The only real issue we were facing, were the limitations of it only having the 2wd compatibility. We have stumbled on this issue previously, but many vehicles do in fact have a ‘dyno mode’, which allows the vehicle to be tested on a single set of rollers by isolating the 4wd system. However, this unfortunately isn’t the case for a high percentage of vehicles that we can tune. This is why we have recently upgraded and invested in an awesome new four-wheel drive dyno, supplied by Dyno Revolt. This does come with some added upgrades and changes in the software to how we perform the dyno tests themselves, but ultimately it opens the door to our ever-growing vehicle database, and exciting future projects coming from the development team.
Rolling Road Dyno Near Me
Bluespark is situated smack bang in the middle of the North East, making it easy to get to us from Newcastle, Sunderland, Washington and Durham. We also have easy road links to Middlesbrough, Stockton and the rest of Teesside.
Rolling road dyno tests cost less than you might think. Our prices start from £80 per hour Inc VAT.