Engine dyno business
 

Curious if anyone has any thoughts on buying an engine dyno as a business. There are a few local engine builders where I live that do not have dynos. I had my 505 done at one of those builders and was a little surprised that the builder did not have the capability of breaking in the engine on a stand, much less running the engine on a dyno.

Anyone have any experience with this? Might be a fun business. Not sure what the costs would be but seems like a way to make a few bucks doing something that interests me.

I know from a conversation I had with my contact who broke my engine in on his dyno (he also builds engines), he said he was using upgraded software on his old computer used specifically for the dyno. I remember him saying to buy a new system and the software it would be about $15 grand. Also, be prepared to troubleshoot and fix problems as they arise. It's a lot of work and cost to have an issue and tell the person to come get their engine and when fixed, bring it back for another shot. They charge for each set up.

There are times I think I could have as much fun playing on the dyno as going to the track. Just would miss the G forces!

Years ago a client wanted to invest in my business. I suggested putting any "investment" towards an engine dyno. He chose to invest $145k into an "environmental" business. He lost all $145k and we are still dyno'ing engines with a four month lead time.

I'd guess having a chassis dyno is where the money is.

Maybe but I'm not looking to get rich, just have a fun side business that compliments my hobby interest. There seems to be a lot more chassis dyno availability in my area than engine dyno availability.

I am sure it costs a good bit up front and takes some work, so it's nothing to just dive into. But it could be fun and profitable at the same time. That hasn't been true for me since my days as a Chippendale, but I got scratched up real bad at a bachelorette party once and said goodbye to that life.

My buddy has a chassis dyno collecting dust. He is currently dealing with the computer upgrades for it. Too bad SoCal is such a tough place real estate wise to set it up. Or it would be.

I think the liability insurance would be steeper than a engine dyno?Tom

I would think someone going into this kind of business would have to be an expert tuner with a good collection of parts to accomplish that to be successful, even in the sense of it being a somewhat profitable hobby endeavor.

A background as a professional engine builder would also be a requirement to deal with any unseen issues that may arise during dyno pulls.

I got the electric choke adjusted right on my Quick Fuel once, and I have a three-decade stack of old car parts of uncertain origin, some of which may actually fit on my car somewhere.

I'll be rich in no time!

With a chassis dyno and an ability to tune on fuel injection you could make a lot of money! Many people have dynos in my area but they don't have the ability to tune and destroy customers engines!

I was thinking more along the lines of forming relationships with local engine builders and resto shops and giving them the opportunity to bring engines into the dyno room for initial break-in and tuning.

I've been looking into chassis dyno's off and on for years. Talked to a few companies in the past etc...

If or when I ever get around to doing it, it'll be a chassis dyno. I've had the tuning software and laptops for decades to tune just about any EFI vehicle and try to keep that stuff up to date.

I'd rather be doing that than restorations. Tuning is gravy work compared to auto restorations, and pretty sure I'd be more than busy.

You got that right..it would speed up the tuning process by years lol

I checked into this a few years back. It's extremely expensive to set up an engine dyno initially. You not only have to buy the dyno itself, and the control panel, but you would need to build a dyno room with fan and exhaust outlets. In addition, you need a huge water tank and in some cases a chiller to cool the water. All said and done you're looking at around 75 - 100K for initial setup. I still want one though! Just can't justify it at my age.

You saved me a lot of typing. The dyno is expensive enough... the real estate to put it in is even worse. And if the engine explodes catastrophically, that dyno room has to be strong enough to contain it so that flying connecting rods don't bash in your skull.

Why does cleaning up oil/fuel/water/debris from mishaps sound like fun?
Also, for whatever it's worth- the included machine shop of my nearest engine dyno business gets used often- drive adaptors, etc.

Ken at PPR bought and installed one in So Cal. He closed his business not too long after. Only dynoed a few engines I knew of.

I can only guess after all of our negative comments, we let the air out of your sail?

A well known dyno guy/efi expert built a 3000 hp dyno years ago.
All the best water brake stuff. Same for the dyno room/ and operators
console. His extremely expensive issue was a customers engine caught fire and burned down his dyno building (house was many feet away from the dyno building). Lots of things that can go wrong on that type of venture.

Tom V.