Engine and Transmission Tech

Ran across this today. Too rich for my blood, but an interesting idea... [www.aemelectronics.com]

Yes those have been around for a little while and are in use on other types of equipment. Basically a load cell placed in the driveshaft which gives torque feedback but you still have to provide the load. (And calibration) The load is arguably the most expensive part of the dyno. Some adventuresome souls have been using the magnetic brakes used on large busses. These are very effective and give good loading under any conditions so they can be used to tune cruise and part throttle but they are not cheap and you still need to couple it to the engine or the wheels. Water pumps have also been used but the load can be non-linear and as the water heats up the calibration changes. Plus a large reservoir is needed. (Think of the surfing ride at an amusement park)

With this device the car itself is the load which seems natural enough, but you can do much the same thing with GPS, throttle position, manifold pressure, and simple accelerometers.

Jim

Quote:

but you can do much the same thing with GPS, throttle position, manifold pressure, and simple accelerometers.

You could maybe - I wouldn't know where to start on that.

If you have good disk brakes on the rear, you have access to a "limited" dyno. Now if you want to "measure", you'll need some sort of load meter. Don't melt your brakes ! Good Luck, roverman.