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Business venture... Need your input and thoughts please!
mikemph - 4/1/13 at 08:42 PM

I'm very seriously considering setting up dyno business on the side of general maintainace and one offs based in Oxford not far from the new mini factory. As you guys may already know in into kit cars as well as minis and that is ideally what I would like to specialise but would take on what ever so long as I know enough about it.

So basically I'm doing a bit of market research.. Would you guys rather use a dyno/workshop with more experience and pay a higher price or you would you take a chance on someone cheaper wanting to do a good job at a lower rate.

I would being doing it cheaper it may take me longer but I would make sure it was a good deal for people while I build up a reputation and of course I would do a quality job as I personally believe in word of mouth and I really enjoy turning out good quality work.

People thoughts and input will be read and seriously considered.

big_wasa - 4/1/13 at 08:50 PM

I would have a power run done but not a map. Shame your not local as I need the 7 doing.

Bare - 4/1/13 at 09:01 PM

Whatever you choose to do... buy a "real" Dyno ..a brake eddy type?
NOT the Crap Dyno-Jet contraption they are inaccurate and their info is useless for anything more than Pub babbling purposes.



[Edited on 4/1/13 by Bare]

mr T - 4/1/13 at 09:15 PM

Are you a mechanic or a tuner ???

mikemph - 4/1/13 at 09:30 PM

Mechanic but have done tuning as well.... I need to have a wide spread of work to keep the money coming in at the start.

froggy - 4/1/13 at 09:34 PM

plenty of people want to spend a few quid on a few power runs and tweaking there own maps but the market for longer sessions are well catered for with people who are well known for working with certain management systems or particular engines .

if you can drop on an older setup for a few grand then its probably worth a shot but the thought of working all day saturday doing chav wagon after chav wagon didnt appeal to me

ive been to a few power run days and it looks like you could do £400 on a saturday with two men .at least doing power runs you cant be held responsible for any blow ups .

if there is room i would look into an mot lane as it produces a nice steady revenue stream and repeat business

mark chandler - 4/1/13 at 09:39 PM

I'd be careful before investing a lot of money, people travel a long way to get cars dyno'd based upon reputation, this can take years to build up so you need to be prepared for a long term before you start seeing good returns.

One down the road from here gave in last year, torque of the devil, not sure why but they had just expanded maybe went to big?

Price, I,d pay £25 for a dyno run, £150 for mapping locally, I would expect to pay someone like Dave Walker £300 for what may be the same thing because I would know it had been done correctly.

Regards Mark

pmc_3 - 4/1/13 at 09:53 PM

If you do go in to it I would suggest joining lots of forums and doing offers of group power runs. I've been to a couple, we all paid £20 and about 30 cars went

Proby - 4/1/13 at 10:09 PM

A mate of mine runs a very reputable Subaru Specialist in the Midlands, he has many times looked at installing a dyno, but the they are BIG money for a decent setup. Just do your research and think carefully before shelling out your hard earned!

froggy - 4/1/13 at 10:21 PM

A group day looks like a good earner but they mostly happen at weekends and I wouldn't want hoards of strangers wandering round my workshop .

beaver34 - 5/1/13 at 07:50 AM

would not have a car mapped by anybody even if it was local, i do a 500 miles round trip to have my cars mapped because i trust them they do a good job, one wrong click of a mouse and your 10k engine is up in smoke!

power runs maybe

also the cost of a dyno are horrific you are aware of that?

anywhere local hae a dyno might be better that use fix and tune then and recommend they go to that palce for setting up

wylliezx9r - 5/1/13 at 08:03 AM

quote:
Originally posted by beaver34
would not have a car mapped by anybody even if it was local, i do a 500 miles round trip to have my cars mapped because i trust them they do a good job, one wrong click of a mouse and your 10k engine is up in smoke!

power runs maybe

also the cost of a dyno are horrific you are aware of that?

anywhere local hae a dyno might be better that use fix and tune then and recommend they go to that palce for setting up


What? This is unreadable ?

beaver34 - 5/1/13 at 09:16 AM

quote:
Originally posted by wylliezx9r
quote:
Originally posted by beaver34
would not have a car mapped by anybody even if it was local just because they were local, i do a 500 miles round trip to have my cars mapped because i trust them they do a good job, one wrong click of a mouse and your 10k engine is up in smoke!

power runs maybe

also the cost of a dyno are horrific you are aware of that?

anywhere local have a dyno might be better that us fix and tune and recommend they go to that place for mapping


What? This is unreadable ?


sorry early in a morning and a few spelling mistakes, sure the OP will get the idea of my post

mikemph - 5/1/13 at 09:29 AM

This exactly the sort of things I want to hear.... No sugar coated comments

coyoteboy - 5/1/13 at 09:30 AM

Lots of folkspend lots of cash on their engines and prefer to stick to known tuners. Some will be willing to risk it but I suspect they are the folk who will expect 100hp from a £100 mapping of a 1.6 n/a engine. Personally what I would LOVE to see and I know exists all over the US is rental dynos. Tune it yourself but you can get advice and a second pair of hands if you need it, but ultimately it is your own responsibility. Many megasqiirt owners would jump at this I feel.

[Edited on 5/1/13 by coyoteboy]

mikemph - 5/1/13 at 09:36 AM

quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
Lots of folkspend lots of cash on their engines and prefer to stick to known tuners. Some will be willing to risk it but I suspect they are the folk who will expect 100hp from a £100 mapping of a 1.6 n/a engine. Personally what I would LOVE to see and I know exists all over the US is rental dynos. Tune it yourself but you can get advice and a second pair of hands if you need it, but ultimately it is your own responsibility. Many megasqiirt owners would jump at this I feel.

[Edited on 5/1/13 by coyoteboy]



Maybe this is something I should consider as this is exactly how I learnt the art of tuning

beaver34 - 5/1/13 at 09:47 AM

that does sound good but realisticly how many people would want to do that to cover the cost of a dyno? we are a small amont of enthusiasts

it needs to make business sense and i cannot see that getting anywhere near coving the costs of a dyno even after 5 years!

last time i was looking at a thread about dyno's the DD rollers were over 100k? does that sound about right

Proby - 5/1/13 at 09:58 AM

100k does not sound far off, my mate reckoned it was going to cost about £88k. Roller rental for megasquirt owners sounds a great idea! Although the market would be a minority of users.

froggy - 5/1/13 at 10:03 AM

40k will get a surface mount set up but you need a 4 post ramp to get the car onto it ,

coyoteboy - 5/1/13 at 10:15 AM

2nd hand eddy current dynos are available for less than half the price of new ones, but you have to contact the manufacturers for tips.

clairetoo - 5/1/13 at 10:23 AM

quote:
Originally posted by mikemph
quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
Lots of folkspend lots of cash on their engines and prefer to stick to known tuners. Some will be willing to risk it but I suspect they are the folk who will expect 100hp from a £100 mapping of a 1.6 n/a engine. Personally what I would LOVE to see and I know exists all over the US is rental dynos. Tune it yourself but you can get advice and a second pair of hands if you need it, but ultimately it is your own responsibility. Many megasqiirt owners would jump at this I feel.

[Edited on 5/1/13 by coyoteboy]



Maybe this is something I should consider as this is exactly how I learnt the art of tuning

And dont forget - most megasquirt users want to know `what makes it tick' not just leave it at the shop and pick it up when its done .
So `diy' mapping with a bit of guidance is something I would definitely be interested in !

Volvorsport - 5/1/13 at 02:44 PM

renting a dyno to do your own mapping is something wed all be interested in .

shark performance in mansfield will let me buy dyno time for £50/hr , and help if i need it ....

everbody in the usa does it , and normally car clubs/forums hire dynos for days/week so that cars are always on the dyno with no loss of down time , especially if you only need half hour or so .

engine dynos are where proper money is made , but you have to know your operating/mapping software to make it pay , otherwise youll spend to long on it ...

have a look at the mobile mapping aswell , its fairly easy to flash modern ecus nowadays.....

jossey - 5/1/13 at 03:46 PM

What about a mobile one to bring to track days....

Oddified - 5/1/13 at 03:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
Personally what I would LOVE to see and I know exists all over the US is rental dynos. Tune it yourself but you can get advice and a second pair of hands if you need it, but ultimately it is your own responsibility. Many megasqiirt owners would jump at this I feel.

[Edited on 5/1/13 by coyoteboy]


Now that would be great, i'm more than happy to do the ecu mapping myself and it would be a lot easier than doing it out on the road...holding it on the map sites with the brakes!.

Ian

perksy - 5/1/13 at 04:29 PM

Proper Dyno's are serious money, also beware of planning regulations regarding noise etc and the chance of getting complaints from nearby neighbours and businesses
You'll need a buisness plan and a forecast of what you'll need to be bringing in to pay for it all

If you were to go down the mapping route than reputation is everything in this field, I have a local rolling road about half a mile from my house but took both my cars 100 miles away and had Troy at NMS map them.


Good luck if you choose to go for it