Playing with dyno mights

One of the most disturbing trends I have seen over the last couple of years has been the emerging view that dyno results, whether they’re for engine, tyre or aerodynamics, might be a fax sent from God Almighty himself.

This is particularly apparent with recent graduate engineers, but also surprisingly effects a lot of senior engineers as well. As the principal of ChassisSim one of my main activities is getting correlation on a daily basis, and this puts me in a unique position to discuss this. After all, I have to deal with the fallout from this every day.

To begin, dynos – whether they be engine, tyre or aero – are primarily comparative tools. Don’t get me wrong, they will give you a good idea on where the absolute numbers are, but they are never the final word. I learnt this first hand when I worked for an aftermarket engine management company. We used to derive a lot of amusement at the keyboard warriors who would gloatingly post their dyno results. But if you’re involved in the engine tuning game you recognise very quickly that the absolute results of an engine dyno will vary. It will depend on your ambient conditions and how long