Jump to content

Does weight affect a dyno?


Recommended Posts

Never actually new this one?

No idea how the dyno gets the reading, obviously I know it has a rolling road etc lol.

Just curious as to the question as I've never known and it's always bugged me :lol: I know in reality your car can go quicker lighter but on a dyno does it affect the bhp reading?

Shoot me if I'm stupid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A car's weight will have absolutely no effect whatsoever on the power an engine can produce, either BHP or torque. It merely affects the way in which that power can be used. Rotational inertia and mechanical mass of engine components will also play a part but I think in laymans terms a 400kg car making 140bhp with a 1zz engine makes the exact same power a 1200kg car makes with a 140bhp 1zz engine ie 140bhp!

Now, on the road the 400kg car will simply kick the ass of a 1200kg car with the same power (gearing dependant obviously) because the power to weight ratio is 3 times better ;)

So no, there's no point lightening a car to put it on a dyno lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

could you be thinking of unsprung weight ?

dynos work by driving you car on , a couple of fellas lash it down and a computer is linked t :)o the coffee machine , while the cars being thrashed on the rollers a readout is taken based on the amount of people who showed up and paid for their cars to be run , if everyones a tight bastard then the figures are low and it serves you right , if everyones got a thirst on or heaven help us buys a bag of crisps then the dyno starts at 200 bhp and goes up ,,, look at spot at rs , no coffee machine ,,, 15 bhp at the fly

thats what i think anyway orrr i could google water brake :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hold up! Am I the only one who's got the wrong idea about Torque?

I was once told that torque on a dyno was calculated by the weight of the car and the HP out put which is not 100% accurate.

The formula to work out torque is: Torque = Force x Distance

To measure real torque you need a motion sensor in a car to measure how much and how hard it moves when you accelerate. ( a bit like the G force calculator in the new skyline R35)

On a dyno you can't cos the car is mainly stationary which is why it is calculated instead.

So in reality a lighter car does out accelerate a heavier car with the same horse power because it has a greater power to weight ratio. This also means it can out accelerate the heavier car as it has more torque.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as i understand it it works like this in the real world

2 cars , exactly the same but 1 is producing 50 more torques than the next car ,,,, its been chipped for torque alone

in a straight drag race they are exactly the same

stick 2 people in the high torque car and drag race again ,, they post the same time

stick 1 person into the not chipped car and run again , the high torque wins ,,,,even if you hadnt taken out the 2 people from before

bhp can be considered its power output but its out and out pulling ability is down to torque

someting like dat anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if you had a car that ran 100bhp but like 10lbs of torque, you'd be wheel-spinning like crazy when trying to drive off?

And if you had a car that had 10bhp but 100lbs of torque, you'd set off really slowly but would still be able to pull a trailer?? (like a tractor!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if you had a car that ran 100bhp but like 10lbs of torque, you'd be wheel-spinning like crazy when trying to drive off?

And if you had a car that had 10bhp but 100lbs of torque, you'd set off really slowly but would still be able to pull a trailer?? (like a tractor!)

yep , about right , this is why tractors pull 20 ton easily but dont have sod all acceleration , its because there knee deep in torque but not bhp , this enables them to belt up and down hills or pull stumps out of the ground

it can be considered torque to be the gauge of absolute power but seeing how theres not many people timing cars from 0-60 uphill then it gets ignored

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once 0-60 times on straights get boring then we'll definitely be working on 0-60's up hills :lol:

Someone's sig on here says something like;

"BHP is how hard you hit the wall, Torque is how much of the wall you take with you"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah cant remember whos it is,

Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car,

Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the back of the car

Power is how hard you hit the wall

Torque is how far you take it with you!!

Classic!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10lbs (ft/lbs you mean ;) ) won't get a car any where. :lol:

But your theory is quite right. :thumbs:

Unlike your correction. :lol:

ft/lb (which should really be written ft-lb) is a unit of force, a foot-pound of force is what is required to move an object of a pound in mass a foot in distance. This is a scalar unit of energy or work meaning that it has only a magnitutde.

lb/ft (often mistakenly written as such but more accurately lb-ft) is the rotational force required to move a mass of one pound around a pivot point at a distance of one foot. Torque is a vector unit and thus has magnitude AND direction.

:P

I'll get my coat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.