Dyno¶

A controllable brake that loads the engine so you can measure power and torque. Three modes cover steady-state, fixed-RPM, and automated ramp pulls.

What it is¶

The dyno applies a controllable load to the engine and measures what it produces. It is not a page: it's the DYNO panel in the footer plus the live graph at the top of the right column.

Engone models an eddy-current + magnetic-hysteresis brake on an 80 kg·m² roller drum. It offers three modes:

Manual (MAN) — you set the brake excitation (0–100 %) with the slider, or with Q / A, and hold the engine where you like.
RPM-Hold (RPM) — a PID modulates the load to pin the engine at the target RPM, ideal for steady-state tuning of a single cell. + / − or Q / A change the target; the limits run from 500 RPM up to the maximum the drum supports.
Ramp (RMP) — the PID sweeps RPM up at a set rate (50–5000 RPM/s, default 500) for a full power curve. Press GO.

Other buttons: CUT (emergency release of all brake load), ROAD ON/OFF (rolling and aero road load: a 1200 kg vehicle — without it, the 80 kg·m² drum with no drag coasts down unrealistically) and RST (reset the dyno). The speed of the Q / A change is OPTIONS → LOAD CHANGE RATE.

What it measures. The dyno reports gross engine power and torque, measured before the brake takes its share — so at a steady RPM the numbers are non-zero even though net acceleration is zero. It is not wheel power, and it isn't affected by road load. Drum RPM differs from engine RPM: it is divided by the total gear ratio, including the 4.10 final drive.

Thermal. The brake rotor heats with use. Derating starts at 400 °C, and the rotor's damage limit is 600 °C. Let the rotor cool between pulls; RESET → RESET TEMPERATURES also cools it.

Why it matters¶

The dyno turns tuning into numbers. It's how you find MBT (sweep advance, watch torque peak), verify a VE or lambda change actually helped, and compare builds objectively. RPM-Hold is the workhorse for tuning individual cells; Ramp gives you the headline curve.

How to tune it¶

Use RPM-Hold to park the engine on the exact RPM/load cell you're tuning so readings are stable, then make table changes and watch the effect. Use Ramp for before/after power curves once cells are dialed in.

Rule of thumb

Tune cell-by-cell in RPM-Hold; validate with a Ramp pull. And let the brake rotor cool between pulls — a hot rotor derates and will quietly muddy comparisons.

Watch out

The dyno reads gross engine power, which is higher than what reaches the wheels through the drivetrain. Compare like with like.

In the game¶

Footer DYNO panel (left half of the DYNO + THROTTLE box): the mode buttons MAN / RPM / RMP, a control for the current mode (an excitation slider, target-RPM + −, or ramp-rate + − with GO), and CUT, ROAD ON/OFF and RST. A ▲ button opens the dyno data popover with BRK, ENG and NET torque, RPM, PWR, HEAT and MODE. The Q and A keys act on whichever control the current mode shows (see Controls).

Live graph (right column, top): it records a "pull" automatically. A pull starts when the throttle is at least 50 % and RPM is above 500; it ends at 97 % of your rev limiter; and it re-arms after RPM falls below 2500. New points are added every 50 RPM or more. Power is green, torque amber, the previous pull grey, and peak values are red dots, with stats under the graph and a CLEAR button. The Y axis starts at 200 and expands as needed.