Break In At Dyno Shop.

-
seabee

seabee

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
2,553
Reaction score
693
Location
1537 Paper Street
Has anyone taken a motor for break in at a shop? If so, what does something like that run?
 
Brian at IMM does it I believe, usually I think prices are around 350 and includes dyno tuning
 
Fst73_410 said:
Brian at IMM does it I believe, usually I think prices are around 350 and includes dyno tuning
Click to expand...

Thats a lot cheaper than what I've heard people saying they are paying for dyno time around her. I've heard people are paying around $1K for a dyno breaking and run.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm sure I can find someone down here. $350 is reasonable. I broke in my last rebuild but had some hiccups and was very stressful. I got lucky and the cam and lifters were fine but this time around I don't want to chance it.
 
mine charges 100/hr. with a minimum of 4 hrs. + whatever supplies you need to run I.E. gas, plugs, wires, break-in oil, etc. etc.
 
My builder quoted me $650 to dyno/tune and break in my new 408. He's going to help me get my distributor and carb dialed in so that I can take it home and drop it in. Hopefully that will happen in the next few weeks!
 
Here it is $550/day with a $300 minimum.
 
We charge $350-$600 depending on what is run. EFI engines are a little more($600) as they take more time to set up and run.

$1000?? That's just nuts!
 
Just called a dyno shop near me the other day to ask about this very thing. $395 for break in and $600 + or - for a full dyno session.

I plan to do it, just to have peace of mind when I put the thing in the car. It's lot easier to find/see any leaks. Plus, the dyno operator just sets the throttle at XXXX rpm and watches everything. Probably be a little more difficult to do that effectively with the thing in the car.

Another benefit of break-in on the dyno is not having to worry too much about having the timing set right on first fire up. That prevents a lot of potential cam failures when you eliminate hard starting problems. And don't forget about getting the air out of the cooling system. I'd rather not deal with that on first start up with a performance engine.

Also, if you have a solid flat tappet cam, you generally want to run a single outer spring during break in. How much fun would it be to change the springs with the heads on in the car?
 
I'm sorry to hear that someone broke into your dyno shop....
 
My auto shop teacher knew several people in the engineering department at Mercer University, in Macon. We've dynoed literally dozens of engines through the years down there for free. It was really nice. But he's gone now, so I have lost that connection. I am not even sure the dyno room is still there anymore, as they've made a lot of changes through the years.

That said, I've seen deals on dyno time from 350 for a day to 800 an hour. It can get expensive. I just don't worry about it. It was really cool to have that learning experience, but make goods parts choices. Follow good advice. Your **** will run good. Besides, the drag strip is the best dyno anyway. If you don't race, there's really no reason to be anal enough to know what your power is. Just build you something and enjoy drivin it.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Drop it between the frame rails and fire it up. That's how it's done.
Click to expand...

You break your $10k engine in the way you want to do it and I'll do it mine. If anything goes wrong, it's gonna happen on their dyno and they can figure out what they did wrong. It's worth the extra money for the extra piece of mind that it's done and done right.
 
Doesn't every one set base timing before starting engine?
Hook up timing light and crank over before turning on fuel. I think it is easier to adjust when engine is not running.
I like to make sure I have oil pressure and everything gets spun a little before fireing any ways
 
Our shop is $90/hr with a 5 hour minimum. The things you find and or discover on the dyno is WELL worth the cash outlay. Bring your fuel, headers, flywheel, thinking cap, etc....J.Rob
 
$400+ to break in an engine and tune it seems like a lot to me. Then again I'm on a ramen noodle budget and don't have a $10,000 engine.
 
BlueDream said:
$400+ to break in an engine and tune it seems like a lot to me. Then again I'm on a ramen noodle budget and don't have a $10,000 engine.
Click to expand...

If you think about it, there's a lot to do and time is money. It's not just starting the thing and letting it run. Setup is critical as well as monitoring it running during the first few minutes.

You can't really think about it like that either, just plunking down a couple hundred bucks out of the blue, it should be factored in to the overall budget. It's a pretty small percentage in contrast to the larger cost of building a performance engine. It's basically like insurance for your larger investment.

When I was a tech we'd never really break engines in but they were all modern and computer controlled so there was little worry about things like wiping out a FT cam. It was always a little tense at first fire though, making sure everything was good and there were no leaks or unusual noises. Bleeding the cooling system was always a hassle too.
 
Question who pays when the engine goes "BOOM" on the dyno have heard several horror stories??
 
Why not set timing while cranking with fuel? Wouldn't setting timing without fuel allow the cam to wipe off the lube anyways? I've always built an engine and only turn the crank during cam degreeing and priming and end on #1 TDC compression. Plug in the distributor and spin it by hand to check spark. Then advance the distributor rotor about 3/8 " when installed. Leave distributor loose enough to barely turn it. Crank and use the light, it'll fire instantly, buddy holds at 3000 rpm, set total time of 35degrees. Drink beer and hose radiator
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top