Chassis dyno for engine break in, Is it a good idea? Options

[nine14cats]

If all goes well The Beast™ will be back in my garage by October 28th. Randal and I can then finish all of the little things and she will be ready to go.

As the motor is newly rebuilt with ZERO hours on it, I was thinking about the best way to break in the motor. Our engine builder has given us a sequence that he uses. Our first thought was to take it to the track and use the first 2 sessions to break it in. However, there is a risk that if we run into issues we will be far from home and have to deal with the inconvenience of coming home in the middle of the day.

I have a chassis dyno that is close to me and gets $135 / hour to set up your car. The unit is programmable for the load on the car. I'm thinking this may be a much easier way to break the motor in. The dyno is located in a business park, so the owner says that 20 minute pulls are no problem. Two pulls and we should be good to go. I could then bring the car home, change the oil, and be ready for some fun!

Anyone ever done this? Engine dyno's break in motors all time, so I don't see a downside.

Any comments / experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill P.

[Twystd1]

OK, Here is my opinion. Based on what I know and what the professional engine builders that I know handle this situation.

There is no safer way to break in an engine if the engine is already in the car.

Especially if you have good data logging and an EGT and o2 rig.

I have spent 3 nights this week dynoing cars.

2 nights at Pro Street. (Ricers on Hondata)

And 1 night with Stewart VanDyne and John Edwards at Lance Nists dyno shop. (Redline, Electromotive)

Almost ALL of their engines are dynoed before they race em. Either on a engine dyno or in the car on rollers.

I can't think of a better way to do this. It is a controlled environment that you can also see and hear what is going on.

And once the cam is broken in. You get to set it up right.
PEDAL TO THE METAL tuning.

Fun stuff.

DO IT.

Clayton