A Quick View of
Chassis
Dynamometer
Testing
Chassis dynamometers are very popular
to run some quick tests for installed
power and check out the chassis and
drivetrain. They are quick to use but
have some problems that should be
made clear before you start down that
direction. If you plan on testing a few
sets of exhaust components or any
bolt-on parts that might take more time
than if the testing was done on an engine
dyno, so do some planning and think
about what you want to accomplish.
Chassis dynamometers come in all
sorts of designs and configurations but
there are some things that are common
to all. Most designs test a vehicle that
powers a roll or rolls for all wheel drive
types. Most can provide some common
numbers for horsepower but not all
measure torque to do so. Basically there
are two general types of chassis dynos
inertia only and those that measure
torque with either an electric load or
even a mechanical brake. All have to get
rid of the heat from the vehicle and the
dyno as well.
Terms of Engagement
Such terms as torque, horsepower, speed,
roll speed, dyno inertia, heat load, power
capacity, speed capacity, and many others
can easily roll off of the tongue or rattle
from a keyboard. It takes a bit more to
understand what all those things mean.
Lest this short article end up being
something from a text book, lets stay
with the quick and easy method.
Dyno Inertia Can be all over the
map for values and most are poorly
defined and too many are listed in
pounds. Although that is not technically
correct it refers to a weight that should
equate to a vehicle weight. The inertia
only types measure the time that a
supposedly known mass is accelerated
by the test vehicle in order to calculate
horsepower and because there is a speed
signal the torque value is back calculated
from the horsepower number the dyno
34 APR-JUN 2010 engine professional
provides. The difficulty here is the units
cannot be calibrated easily to establish
their inertia values which are typically
in units of ft-lbs/sec/sec. So it is easy
to understand that if you cant verify
the calibration, you might get nicely
repeatable data but perhaps more or less
than another test facility. Normally in
those circumstances the place that gives
bigger numbers is the most popular test
location.
Torque Torque is a twisting motion
and is typically expressed in lbs-ft. Notice
this is not ft-lbs! Although everyone
commonly uses incorrect units for
description of this very important item,
the proper reference is indeed poundsfeet (lbs-ft).
Horsepower 1 horsepower is
equivalent to 2546 BTU/hr or 550 ft-lbs
of work per second. The most interesting
is from the calculation of Hp= (T x
RPM) / 5252 and in that equation the
torque value is in lbs-ft as described
previously.
Speed Most common references
in the US for speed is miles per hour
(MPH). Speed can also be in feet per
second such as 88 ft/sec = 60 MPH.
Roll Speed Refers to the speed of
the roll(s) on the chassis dynamometer
and can be directly related to the vehicle
speed or simply given as roll RPM.
Because of the friendly relationship of
round things to or 3.1416, it is easy to
calculate the circumference of the roll by
measuring the diameter and multiplying
that by . That gives us the opportunity
to verify some dyno basics.
Heat Load Is not the number of
cops per city block. The term has to do
with the heat that the test vehicle and the
dyno must dissipate to the atmosphere
or the room the dyno and vehicle are
in. In short it takes a lot of moving air
to keep the overall packages cooled
down. Normally you never consider
that as you drive along at various speeds
the moving air carries heat away and
)@HAROLD BETTES 7/6;6:)@ROB KELLY
you can enjoy the scenery. Or if your
cooling system is overloaded from traffic
being slow it might cause the engine to
overheat. At high power levels the heat
load increases hence the requirement for
a very large fan or maybe more. That
is why most popular chassis dyno tests
are just quick spurts that make it easier
on the whole operation. By the way a
normal expression for a heat load is in
BTUs (British Thermal Units) per time.
In order to put this in perspective, if
you wanted to test a vehicle that might
produce 500Hp at the drive wheels,
that would easily be a total heat load
of approximately 1500Hp (3.8 million
BTUs per hour!) that must be dissipated
into the atmosphere from the cooling
system of the vehicle and the drivetrain,
exhaust system and the tire patches and
the dyno itself. Of course that varies
somewhat by how much you allow the
temperature across the room to rise.
Perhaps this stuff is a little more complex
than you thought.
Speed Capacity Often a mechanical
limit set by the manufacturer such as
150MPH or some other number that
should not be exceeded for safetys sake.
Power Capacity Also a number set
by the manufacturer that is fundamental
to the capability of the drive tires. This
capacity number is quite often higher
than most vehicles can even contest. The
term is also normally associated with a
speed such as 500 Hp at 120 MPH or
something similar.
The Salesman Said Is often confused
by what the specifications for a given
unit state. When in doubt, look at the
specifications and ask questions if the
information is not clear. Normally the
operator is a good source for quality
information because of his or her
experience running vehicles across their
chassis dyno every day or at least several
times a week.
Typical testing for improving the tune up on grocery getters is a normal application for chassis dynos.
This photo shows an AWD Subaru wagon undergoing a power test.
Planning a Test
You need to be very practical when you
do planning for any kind of dyno test
but particularly when you are going for
a chassis dyno session. Not only does the
vehicle need to be up to safety standards,
but many other things need to be
addressed if you are to get the most from
the time and money spent.
How many tests can you get done before you
need to stop and cool off the vehicle?
Depends on how the test facility is
equipped for airflow across the vehicle
and other things, including how the
exhaust gases are handled which can
drastically influence the test results.
How long does each test take?
Depends on the type of test and the
capability of the dyno and the facility.
Sometimes, its only a few minutes
per run. A simple acceleration test
typically takes the least amount of time.
Acceleration tests going from about
40mph to 120mph are the most common
and each run will only take about 15
seconds (not including the coast down
time to stop the rolls). It is common to
get the rolls up to speed and the vehicle
in high gear before a test begins. Another
common test is at a fixed speed (using
a dyno that has variable load capacity)
such as 60mph in high gear and the
operator stabilizes the speed and at the
signal to go the throttle pedal is pushed
to maximum until the test is terminated.
That type of test yields the power at
whatever engine RPM is equal to the set
speed (60mph in this example). Those
type tests can take up to about 1015seconds per data point (such as 60,
70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120mph) in order
to get a completed power curve vs speed
or RPM. Some dyno manufacturers do
not have reliable engine RPM triggering
and if that is the case, Vehicle speed vs
Power is a test that can be done. With
some simple arithmetic after the test the
customer can calculate the engine RPM
and graph the results.
How much do chassis dyno tests cost?
Depends on the facility and the services
offered. Charges are all over the map and
ranges from 3 runs for a $100 to $1000
per day. Work this all out before you go
to a facility to test.
Who does the work or changes on a vehicle
between tests?
Better figure that one out before you go
to the test site because many facilities
have problems with insurance rules and
might not even allow the vehicle owner
in the car or in the test room much less to
work on the car or truck.
What is best for an engine builder chassis or
engine dyno testing?
Most engine builders that dont already
have a dyno would prefer working out
engine configurations and tuning on
an engine dyno. The engine is more
accessible and it is generally easier to
work with an engine dyno facility to
accomplish the tests that an engine
builder would want to do.
Some engine builders do both tests
(engine dyno and chassis dyno) if a
customer has the money and patience.
Those tests can provide some impressive
data and allow focusing on how much
power the chassis loses so more effort
can be put to resolving some of those
losses.
E85 E15 pump gas race gas
and air fuel ratio data? Most engine
dyno facilities are better equipped for
changing fuel and supplying data for
A/F ratios however many chassis dyno
test sites can simply do the test without
supplying data on fuel tune-ups unless
they are equipped with an up the tail pipe
sampler for Lambda or A/F numbers.
What data is more reliable for testing
components chassis or engine dyno?
Each can be reliable but generally the
conditions in the engine dyno test cell
are easier to control so the results are
engine professional APR-JUN 2010 35
CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER TESTING
)@HAROLD BETTES 7/6;6:)@ROB KELLY
This muscle Mustang is on a large roll dyno about to be tested. The Mustang is on a lift so the dyno can be mounted above floor line.
The dyno uses an eddy current power absorber in between the drive rolls. Large rolls are better for either high power or for endurance testing.
The fan shown is for short tests only. Longer tests require lots of airflow.
likewise. However for that installed
condition the chassis dyno is quicker
and easier for a completed assembly. The
best case would be to test on an engine
dyno and then on a chassis dyno so that
the user could evaluate the losses in the
chassis (nothing is for free) and verify
other details about the engine installation
such as fuel supply and cooling system
and exhaust system influences. Exhaust
gas feedback might be more of a problem
in a chassis dyno test if the airflow
across the dyno is not adequate. That
would change test results without much
indication.
How much power is lost in the chassis?
How to calculate the engine power if a
chassis dyno gives power at the drive tire
patches? Chassis power losses depend
on many things but it is assured that
there are losses through the drivetrain
and the tire patches themselves. Good
manual transmission chassis setups
might use over 60Hp to get to the drive
tires at a given speed and temperature
(of the oil in the trans and drive axle(s).
Automatic transmissions with drag race
type high stall converters might lose over
100 Hp at the same data point. It is not
36 APR-JUN 2010 engine professional
sensible to plan on some set percentage
as a loss in the drivetrain even though
some chassis dyno manufacturers do
that anyway. It does make the arithmetic
easier but it does not make it correct.
There are many ways to get a good
estimate of the power losses but it is best
to have good data from an engine test
and then find out what is left at the drive
tire(s). The power losses in the chassis
are not the same across the board. The
power losses vary with both speed and
temperature of the lubrication fluids.
How about finding problems on a chassis
dyno to keep from driving the vehicle
around?
That is one of the better things about
chassis dyno testing because it provides
an opportunity to evaluate a vehicle
without the attendant problems of
liability to the mechanic or repair
technician because test driving is
done in a more controlled condition and
there is no traffic to cause problems.
No traffic that is unless one considers
getting the vehicle to and from the test
facility. It is also a plus to test on the
chassis dyno even if the weather outside
is nasty. So facilities that have test and
repair technicians on hand can be very
helpful in solving vehicle problems
without driving in the traffic to attempt
to analyze a particular problem. Probably
works well for anything except for road
rattles.
How about safety issues on chassis dynos?
Testing on a chassis dyno is normally
fairly safe if the vehicle is restrained
properly. That problem is best addressed
by the facility and the instructions
provided by the manufacturers. There
needs to be fire extinguishing equipment
available and care should be taken for
the potential of a drive shaft breaking
or a tire shredding and those sorts of
things but that should also be discussed
with the test facility before you show up
for a test. Safety on the chassis dyno
Properly restraining the vehicle should
be addressed by the manufacturers, but
it is also important to mention that the
process of tying the vehicle down with
straps or chains could also affect the
results of the tests accomplished on the
rolls. Tire inflation variations can even
cause differences in test results.
CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER TESTING
)@HAROLD BETTES 7/6;6:)@ROB KELLY
This turbocharged Mustang engine is easier to access because the hood is removed on this race car. Simple changes can be made but if something more serious is
necessary the vehicle will have to be removed from the dyno. Chassis dynos allow quick testing but engine folks normally prefer engine dynos.
This radial drag racing tire is about to be one of the tire patches
that powers the drive rolls. This dyno is about to get a surprise from
this turbocharged Ford Mustang.
38 APR-JUN 2010 engine professional
One of the radial drag tires with distortion showing at over 1000Hp at 120mph
on the dyno. This clearly shows one of many reasons why the tie-down process
is important. This dyno uses cradle style rolls. The tire is one of many loss
points in the chassis dyno test making it difficult to accurately calculate how
much horsepower was at the flywheel of the engine.
LEFT: Hot rod Mazda with twin turbos
is on the chassis dyno to verify tune-up
work without the liability of test driving
on the streets. Technician on the right has
command of the dyno and communicates
with the driver during the test.
BELOW: The handheld controller on this
AWD chassis dyno allows the operator
to command all sorts of things including
changing the wheelbase. The dyno can be
commanded inside or outside the vehicle
being tested.
LEFT: This motorcycle tire is distorted at
the roll contact point (black arrow) and
the tie-downs (white arrows) help to
distort the tire as a result of how much
tension is in the tie-down straps. Even
tire inflation pressure affects the tire and
roll interface. This is an inertia only dyno.
Read the text for definitions.
Conclusions and
Comments
Engine combinations tested on a chassis
dyno can be done rapidly and data can
be evaluated quickly as well. However
reliable test data is dependent on many
things that any engine builder or vehicle
owner should acknowledge and be
willing to accept so that they each can
learn from the experiences.
Regardless of the assumptions that
one might make, testing will help the
learning process if the variables that have
an effect on testing are also evaluated.
Engine people tend to concentrate
on the engine results obtained from
testing on an engine dyno but much can
be gained by evaluating the chassis dyno
test results. After all the engine normally
is installed in a chassis in order to use
the power unless the engine is applied
to a generator or an aircraft or boat or
something of that sort.
The power numbers that are the
most reliable from chassis dyno are
those that are referenced to the drive tire
patches. Trying to generate estimated
numbers that relate to the flywheel power
is more often than not a boondoggle
and result in inflated claims. When folks
start tossing around percentages such as
everybody knows the drivetrain takes
15% in order to say what the engine
produced at the flywheel be careful. That
is much like the politician that states, I
am going to watch out for you and your
money and we all know how that
stuff works out.
Read all you can get your hands on
and study how dynamometers work and
strive to understand where the numbers
come from.
Remember that everyone has a vehicle
that makes at least 500Hp until it is
accurately tested that is!Q
Harold Bettes is co-author of Dyno Testing
and Tuning and author of The Engine Airflow
Handbook. Harold has been a mechanical engineer for over 40 years and has been involved
in motorsports for more than half a century.
Harold Bettes is a recipient of many awards
for his contributions in furthering mechanical
engineering, the motorsports industry and the
aftermarket. Bettes is widely acknowledged for
his expertise concerning dynamometer and flow
bench applications. Harold is a consultant on
test facilities, equipment and high performance
engine designs and configurations and his personal contact information is in the black book of
many engine developers, and team owners.
engine professional APR-JUN 2010 39
