| Import Hot Rod Garage Frequently Asked Questions |
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1) What kind of dyno does Import Hot Rod Garage have?
Import Hot Rod Garage uses a state of the art Dyno Dynamics Chassis Dynamometer.
2) Does it take front wheel drive and rear wheel drive vehicles?
Yes, our dyno is compatible with nearly all front wheel drive vehicles and rear wheel drive vehicles.
3) My vehicle is lowered. Will it be a problem to put it on the dyno?
No, but extremely low vehicles do require additional setup time as they require dual/longer ramps and
additional effort to strap them down. We have successfully mounted the lowest of vehicles onto the dyno.
Road cars (which by nature require a minimum of ground clearance) should not require any additional or
extra effort. Track cars or cars not used on the street fall into our "extremely low" category.
4) Do I have to pay for the additional setup time on my car if it is lowered and I am just doing
pulls?
No, we rarely charge extra. If we require significant amounts of additional time to put the car on the dyno,
we will discuss this with you first and consider options together.
5) What do I need to do to prepare before coming to the dyno?
To ensure that your time is used wisely and your car is able to be measured properly, the following things
must be in order before your car is placed on the dyno: Absolutely no engine oil leaks or transmission oil
leaks, excessive blow-by or other methods of leaking oil onto the dyno. Absolutely no coolant leaks of any
sort. Absolutely no fluid leaks of any sort. All air hoses (Mass Air Flow Meters, intake hoses, turbo piping,
etc) should be tight. All wheels/rims should be straight and no tires should have excessive asymetrical
wear (i.e. no blisters, etc.). All tires should be in reasonable condition (remember, the car will run up to well
over 100 mph on the dyno). Radial tires must be used as slicks and drag radials will cause large amounts
of rubber to come off and cover the dyno. In addition, if you are coming to do "pulls", your car should be in
a reasonable state of tune such that the dyno operator is capable of hitting full throttle without doing
damage to your engine. Vehicles with aggressive air fuel ratios deemed "dangerous" by the dyno operator
may have their pulls aborted.
6) What happens if my car spills oil/coolant/water/etc. on the dyno?
We charge a dyno clean-up fee for any spills onto the dyno. A minimum clean-up fee of $25 will be
charged. We will not accept cars that are leaking fluids. You might think that a small drip wipe-able with a
rag is ok, but it is not. Fluids not only damage the physical appearance and electrical functions on the
dyno, they can severely endanger the dyno operator and the car on the dyno (through lubrication of the
tire to roller interface). If you know that your car leaks fluids, you need to re-schedule your dyno session or
let us resolve it on the spot.
7) What happens if we load my car onto the dyno, then a problem is discovered which forces
the operator to abandon the dyno session?
If we are doing "pulls", the setup time and teardown time is also the major factor in the "pull" based pricing.
If we are just doing pulls, you will be charged the full rate for a pull as the actual pull only takes 10-20
minutes (the other 30-40 minutes is setup and tear-down time). We will make every attempt to be
reasonable and flexible in situations with extra-ordinary circumstances. However, our policy is that pulls will
be charged regardless; as the only possible way that a car, scheduled for just pulls, is not able to do a
pull, would be the result of improper preparation prior to coming to the dyno.
8) What do I get after you complete a set of "pulls"?
You will receive print-outs of your pulls. The print-outs consist of charts, showing horsepower, torque,
air/fuel ratio, and boost graphs (for forced induction vehicles).
9) What kind of readings should I expect?
A typical pull customer wants to see their torque and power readings at a given set of RPM levels - the
power curve. We can print those, as well as boost and air/fuel ratios, charted against RPM.
10) My car makes 300 hp but your dyno says it makes 240 hp. Why?
Our dyno is the most accurate measurement of torque and horsepower at the wheels. It is more accurate
than most. No "interpolation" or "estimation" or "inertia factors" are applied like they are on other
competitors' machines. What this means is that this is the actual torque being applied at the tire. Typically,
a 300hp car (at the crankshaft) will measure in around 235-245 on our dyno (at the wheels). This is
normal.
11) How do I compare my dyno results to other cars with similar setups?
For Honda owners for example, there are enough internet resources to compare and contrast (see the
Favorite Links section on our web site). As an additional resource, in the Hall of Fame section of our web
site, we list the results of other vehicles that have been on our dyno. Besides just being great reading, it
also serves as an excellent basis of comparison.
12) How consistent are the pulls, and the dyno?
Dyno pulls are very consistent if done properly, as long the variables which affect the pulls are controlled.
Our staff has been extensively trained by the factory and we have logged many hours on the dyno.
13) Do you offer tuning?
No, we do not offer tuning.
Import Hot Rod Garage uses a state of the art Dyno Dynamics Chassis Dynamometer.
2) Does it take front wheel drive and rear wheel drive vehicles?
Yes, our dyno is compatible with nearly all front wheel drive vehicles and rear wheel drive vehicles.
3) My vehicle is lowered. Will it be a problem to put it on the dyno?
No, but extremely low vehicles do require additional setup time as they require dual/longer ramps and
additional effort to strap them down. We have successfully mounted the lowest of vehicles onto the dyno.
Road cars (which by nature require a minimum of ground clearance) should not require any additional or
extra effort. Track cars or cars not used on the street fall into our "extremely low" category.
4) Do I have to pay for the additional setup time on my car if it is lowered and I am just doing
pulls?
No, we rarely charge extra. If we require significant amounts of additional time to put the car on the dyno,
we will discuss this with you first and consider options together.
5) What do I need to do to prepare before coming to the dyno?
To ensure that your time is used wisely and your car is able to be measured properly, the following things
must be in order before your car is placed on the dyno: Absolutely no engine oil leaks or transmission oil
leaks, excessive blow-by or other methods of leaking oil onto the dyno. Absolutely no coolant leaks of any
sort. Absolutely no fluid leaks of any sort. All air hoses (Mass Air Flow Meters, intake hoses, turbo piping,
etc) should be tight. All wheels/rims should be straight and no tires should have excessive asymetrical
wear (i.e. no blisters, etc.). All tires should be in reasonable condition (remember, the car will run up to well
over 100 mph on the dyno). Radial tires must be used as slicks and drag radials will cause large amounts
of rubber to come off and cover the dyno. In addition, if you are coming to do "pulls", your car should be in
a reasonable state of tune such that the dyno operator is capable of hitting full throttle without doing
damage to your engine. Vehicles with aggressive air fuel ratios deemed "dangerous" by the dyno operator
may have their pulls aborted.
6) What happens if my car spills oil/coolant/water/etc. on the dyno?
We charge a dyno clean-up fee for any spills onto the dyno. A minimum clean-up fee of $25 will be
charged. We will not accept cars that are leaking fluids. You might think that a small drip wipe-able with a
rag is ok, but it is not. Fluids not only damage the physical appearance and electrical functions on the
dyno, they can severely endanger the dyno operator and the car on the dyno (through lubrication of the
tire to roller interface). If you know that your car leaks fluids, you need to re-schedule your dyno session or
let us resolve it on the spot.
7) What happens if we load my car onto the dyno, then a problem is discovered which forces
the operator to abandon the dyno session?
If we are doing "pulls", the setup time and teardown time is also the major factor in the "pull" based pricing.
If we are just doing pulls, you will be charged the full rate for a pull as the actual pull only takes 10-20
minutes (the other 30-40 minutes is setup and tear-down time). We will make every attempt to be
reasonable and flexible in situations with extra-ordinary circumstances. However, our policy is that pulls will
be charged regardless; as the only possible way that a car, scheduled for just pulls, is not able to do a
pull, would be the result of improper preparation prior to coming to the dyno.
8) What do I get after you complete a set of "pulls"?
You will receive print-outs of your pulls. The print-outs consist of charts, showing horsepower, torque,
air/fuel ratio, and boost graphs (for forced induction vehicles).
9) What kind of readings should I expect?
A typical pull customer wants to see their torque and power readings at a given set of RPM levels - the
power curve. We can print those, as well as boost and air/fuel ratios, charted against RPM.
10) My car makes 300 hp but your dyno says it makes 240 hp. Why?
Our dyno is the most accurate measurement of torque and horsepower at the wheels. It is more accurate
than most. No "interpolation" or "estimation" or "inertia factors" are applied like they are on other
competitors' machines. What this means is that this is the actual torque being applied at the tire. Typically,
a 300hp car (at the crankshaft) will measure in around 235-245 on our dyno (at the wheels). This is
normal.
11) How do I compare my dyno results to other cars with similar setups?
For Honda owners for example, there are enough internet resources to compare and contrast (see the
Favorite Links section on our web site). As an additional resource, in the Hall of Fame section of our web
site, we list the results of other vehicles that have been on our dyno. Besides just being great reading, it
also serves as an excellent basis of comparison.
12) How consistent are the pulls, and the dyno?
Dyno pulls are very consistent if done properly, as long the variables which affect the pulls are controlled.
Our staff has been extensively trained by the factory and we have logged many hours on the dyno.
13) Do you offer tuning?
No, we do not offer tuning.