Thinking about expanding my machine shop (not car related) and just owning a chassis dyno shop as well. Have no desire to run it, I have too much on my plate now. There really isnt one too close around but it is an idea I think I could do. How popular is this? Do most customers do it for fun or are most more serious about the data? I realize I would have to get some talent to run the business (and do a bunch of research) but the bottom line is, is it a biz that pays for itself? Also, what is the feedback on the units by DYNOmite?

Edit: I guess this should have gone into "Dynamometer Results & Comparisons".
Feel free to bump me over there.

 

just having a dyno to dyno people will take a while to pay for itself considering most places charge 100 per person for 3 pulls...theres a local place near me that does monthly dyno days @$50 per person for 4 pulls including a wideband...considering most dynos run between $15-40k it will take a while to pay it off on that alone. Dyno tuning can be lucrative but you'll want to find yourself a niche in the market to at least be able to offer a tuning solution for the next 10 years or so.

 

Wouldn't be just a carnival ride..... the tuning would be the focus. Just wondered how much they sit and do nothing at all. I have never actually been to one. One thing I can do is run a small business and 5 years ago we would wait for the phone to ring at my laser cutting shop. Now we run one of my two machines 24 hrs. and I work 7 days. But I think I could at least just silently manage a dyno biz.

 

it will be a very similar situation to when you first started your machine shop unless you somehow steal away a prominent tuner that already has a customer base. Busy shops will usually have a backlog for tunes though so yes there is money to be made especially in an area with nobody who offers it.

 

Hmm, sounds familiar

Having a dyno for an established speed shop is a great idea.. but like foff667 said, if you are going to only have a dyno there you will need to find your niche in the market somehow otherwise you'll have a 40 thousand dollar paper weight.

At any given week, I can do from 8-10 full ls1edit dyno tunes @ $525 each, then not do one for another 2 weeks. Then take into consideration you'll be paying someone to tune the cars, and a good EFI tuner will want good money per hour to sit there (To my benefit I do all the tuning here so I don't have to outlay for this). Add in the software, another $6000 +.

My personal opinion, a dyno only shop probably wouldn't make enough to cover the overhead, but thats just my opinion I do not know your area and how popular it would be. We have a lot of different cars that we dyno here from our normal cars (LSx based) to other gen sports cars, sport compact cars, SCCA cars.. Very wide variety and I know I could not survive on just the dynojet @ the cost of rent, insurance, utilities, phone, equipment, personnel, etc.

 

You need to have a tuning software, understanding of the software, and control system, and then you can start to turn that $20-100K investment of they dyno into cash.

You WON'T pay for a dyno in a reasonable time by doing cheap dynopulls, all this does is hurt the local shops profits for their dyno time. What is your zipcode? I know of a few dyno's in the bay area if memory serves me right.

Not including the dyno I have access to at work, there are 13 other dyno's I can be on in my lunch hour, dyno pulls are in the $50 or so range for a couple of pulls. Other people in other parts of the country get upwards of $200 an hour for dynotime.

Ryan



Ryan

 

Think of the Dyno as a tool not just for tuning but for diagnosing problems and checking the vehicle under load.

Things to use a dyno for:
1. Speedo check
2. Verify fuel economy to test if injectors need cleaning
3. Find drive line vibrations and noises
4. Find exhaust, fuel, ignition and Air cleaner restrictions
5. Tuning (economy or performance)
6. Verify performance modifications

Every car we put on the dyno we find something that the car needs and you can show the customer the before and after results. However, just for tunning and no mechanical work it would not be financially viable.

 

I don't do things by accident at all. I have built up a small biz mentality over the years and Im like a watchdog as far as our costs and production goes at any given minute.
On the other hand, all of my competition is 4 times bigger than we are, but we (2 of us, Mom and Pop) kick their asses on a regular basis. So Im not afraid of working hard enough to be a cut above. That's what you have to do. After the 2000-2001 recession here in the Silicon Valley I have adopted a new philosophy that I practice to this day. "Every day my key fits the door is a good one". It was freakin' tough back then. If you run a good clean and honest biz and help people out when they need it you cant go wrong. I have only begun to research this but it is probably doable. We are planning on moving into a little larger but allot nicer building so the dyno would be on the other side of the wall yet under the same roof that I pay for anyway. Would be interested in suggestions of brands of machines in the 35 thou' range.

 

You should really look around there are several dynos in the bay area I have one, with a second one on the way soon.


not to mention I am now one of 5 dynotuners in the area for LS1s now.

 

Now celebrating our 15th year of owning and operating a successful "chassis dyno only" business, I feel compelled to comment here. There already has been many good points mentioned so I'll try to zero in on some others. I could write a book but I'll really try hard to abbreviate here. One of the first things that you need to do is to establish a niche market such as, do you want to be a quick on and off Horsepower test or a diagnostics and tuning shop. I would suggest the latter and this will help decide what type of dyno and level of knowledge required to run this department. A simple enertia dyno would suffice for the first option but a load bearing dyno for the second option. If you decide to become a diagnostics/tuning shop, you have to decide what vehicles you want to specialize in such as gas, diesel, domestic or imports and then what brand or brands, you cannot be everything to everyone. Just keeping familiar and up to date with the various tuning software on the market alone can get overwhelming as these companies change and come and go. This decision will also help decide on which chassis dyno to acquire, such as HP capabilities, AWD, roller width for dually trucks etc. Another thing on dynos, we're on our 2nd one, because your business is very dependent on this device make sure that it's reliable and that support and parts are just a quick phone call away, you can't be down very long. Now assuming that you are in business and that you have done all the right things to attract business it will still be a long time before you see a return on your investment. I've noticed that most people just look at the cost of a dyno but many other costs are associated to support this tool such as time scheduling, space, an exhaust evacuation system, a dyno pit, noise, heat generation, electricity, dyno maintenance, hardware/software acquisitions and upgrades, customer/customer's friends control, parking, customer lunches and many, many questions from prospects and customers.

Assuming that you get established and busy, scheduling becomes a HUGE ISSUE due to no shows and trying to estimate how long each custom job will take. For the past several years we have had a 2-3 wk backlog during our busy season, March thru Oct. Due to this backlog many customers have to be called and reminded if you're lucky enough to get ahold of them. If you schedule a tune job and estimate 4 Hrs with another appt after him, he may not show, or 1/2 hr into the job you may find problems that prevent further tuning (many come unprepared) or this job may turn into a 7 Hr job with your next customer on his way. So, even though we have a 3 wk backlog, our dyno is often not generating revenue due to this problem. It is hard to have some work on the side to do in case of this because it comes in cycles, you may go for 3 wks without such problems and the next week have three in a row. The key here is to manage this issue the best you can and establish your hourly rates with this in mind. Another problem is having the customer and/or friends present while you are trying to work (good tuning is like brain surgery) and stay on schedule, for some reason this goes with the dyno territory. Having other people present while tuning most often disrupts your estimated schedule and decreases the quality of the work due to added disruptions and less concentration on the job. Once and awhile you get a very knowledgeable customer who is an asset because he built the car but they are in the minority. More often you get one who just bought this highly modified used car and is trying to learn about it from you. Then comes lunch time and if the customer needs to be fed because you have his wheels tied up. To help estimate the required time and price you have to get good at asking the right questions while setting up the appointment and taking such things into consideration.

I am not trying to paint a negative picture but instead, like most professions, show that it is much different running a business then what it appears to others on the outside. For this reason I usually advize someone to go work in a given profession before you try to make a business out of it. But, like many professions, it can be very gradifying and rewarding because you learn something new every day because there are no two cars alike, by helping people get more enjoyment out of their hobby and developing a great loyal customer following from working hard and doing a good job and hopefully making a few bucks at it. Could go on but this is already too long.

EJ

 

Well...... I appreciate the input, but I must say it is primarily negative. Ill say this too, you boyz don't know what stress and rush service is. We get emails and faxes every single day for first article prototype parts that have to be drawn/processed/laser cut/packaged and be somewhere else in the country the next day. Day in day out. Scheduling on the fly. Juggling. Prioritizing hour to hour. Been doing service my whole life. I eat lighting and crap thunder. Do some big *** corporations who don't want to hear excuses. All of our local competition can put us out of biz on paper. But we are a force to be reckoned with on any given day. I don't pretend to know anything about dynoing, but I know I can learn it. Several in the Bay Area already huh? Are they worth a crap? Can they hold their own? Have they become complacent? Point is I don't care about the odds. Don't care who they are or think they are. If there are several then my first question about the popularity has been answered. Lot of cars on the road. Always room for a class act. What do you think about that DynoMite unit?? Seems like bang for the buck! Might be a new Dyno Sheriff in town.
RonO