Exploring the Multiple Uses of a Chassis Dyno

Even if you’re new to the diesel game, you’ve probably heard of a chassis dyno. In its most common form, a dyno consists of a roller (or rollers) that measures how fast your vehicle can accelerate, then uses weight (or load) to calculate its horsepower and torque. Chassis dynos have been known to measure up to 2,500 horsepower and can handle wheel speeds of 200-250 mph! Now that we’ve told you all of this, we’re here to tell you that it is just scratching the surface of what chassis dynos can do. In addition to measuring horsepower, chassis dynos can also be used for tuning purposes, can learn transmission shifting, may be used for emission purposes or fuel economy testing, and more. For the purposes of this article, Haller’s Repair in Cheyenne, Wyoming, was nice enough to let us use their dyno, and one of their customers, Joe Webber, provided a mildly tuned ’16 Ford that we could play with.