Hi everyone. I know it's been mentioned in passing a couple times here, but I wanted to explicitly point out this seemingly sweet app for iPhone and iPod Touch, for those who have missed it.

From the developer's website ( http://dynolicious.com/ ):

"Dynolicious is the first automotive performance meter available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Dynolicious uses the hardware built-in to your iPhone to measure the performance characteristics of your vehicle. No external wires or equipment is necessary, simply slip the iPhone into a cradle or cupholder and go!

Some of the performance metrics Dynolicious can measure:

0-60 Acceleration
1/4 Mile Elapsed Time
Lateral G's
Horsepower

Unlike other accelerometer-based performance meters, Dynolicious uses the advanced data-handling and display capabilities of the iPhone to make the most of your performance testing. Dynolicious maintains a history of test runs, showing you averages and trends in your results. Dynolicious also allows you to enter modifications performed to your vehicle, and will instantly show before-and-after results to easily identify gains or losses."


And here's a comparison/review video:
http://www.garage419.com/episode/419_20080807


I'm probably in the minority to not have an iPhone/iPod Touch. Been resisting it even though I love Apple hardware. I think this is the killer app that's going to push me over. When I get my car back and can do some testing against real dyno time, I'll post a follow up. In the meantime, is anyone using this software? Your impressions?

-duc

Two more screenshots from the developer's website:

COOL, Thanks Duc

One of co-workers has it and he says it works pretty well. I haven't downloaded it yet, but likely I will. I'm afraid to find out how slow my junk really is.

That is very cool...

But I have a question, how do they measure wheel and/or engine horsepower?

-- Rob

Rob, there's a bunch of fun formulas listed here:

http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/calc_formulas_page.htm

I haven't looked into whether they are correct...but assuming they are...

HP = (((MPH / 234)^3) * Weight)

HP = (Weight / ((ET/5.825)^3))

You punch in your car's weight, the iPhone/iPod Touch's accelerometer fills in the rest. Gotta love it!

Another way to calculate HP:

http://www.audifans.com/archives/1995/11/msg00963.html

While searching, I also came across this great article:

http://craig.backfire.ca/pages/autos/horsepower

Does it plug into an OBD port or something?

How is it putting the data on the iPhone? Would somehting like this even work with our non-computerized cars?

Zach

No cables necessary... just drop it in a cup holder. Uses the built in accelerometer and gps to do everything you need. Saw a comparison on youtube and they ran down the 1/4 mile and had the car on the dyno... iPhone was within 2% each time.

Pretty Impressive!

Tools such as Dynolicious, Gtech Pro, and the like inevitably gets compared to "actual" dyno runs. I think it's important to remember that there's a difference between the Mustang and Dynojet chassis dynos, the 2 most common (if I'm not mistaken) offerings. I can confirm from personal experience that HP and torque readings do differ between the 2 (more than 2% w/ a 914 I ran a couple years ago: Dynojet registered 106 peak rwhp, Mustang 115...which, I guess, is the opposite of conventional acceptance that Mustang shows about 10% less than Dynojet). I hear about dyno operators having 'tricks' to manipulate runs, too, so operator should be a variable to consider.

I guess my 2 points:

1. We should expect some degree of variation in registered readouts. Ambient temp, elevation, and a host of other variables also come into play (when dealing w/ Dynolicious, as it doesn't apply correction factors as the house dynos do). Any HP reading should be reviewed with these considerations in mind. All this considered, Dynolicious seems quite good, from the reports floating around the internet. I'm sold!

2. Any of these methods, as long as you stick with one, would prove helpful in tuning efforts. Rather than comparing between the different dynos, you compare gain or loss from your baseline on whichever one you have access to.

Found this article, which discusses the difference between Mustang and Dynojet (I've only skimmed it, but it seems decent):
http://g35driver.com/forums/engine-drivetr...-good-read.html

Anyhow, that's been my experience. I'm sure those with much more expertise will correct me if I'm wrong

I've read that it's important to make your runs on LEVEL ground. And given that Dynolicious relies on an accelerometer, it's probably a good idea to secure your iPhone, rather than letting it bounce around in a cup holder. Once I'm able to test, I'll try different approaches and will report back.

I have it. Pretty cool toy. It's more expensive than most iPhone apps, but compared to a Gtech, well it's cheap. I tried to rest it in the console of my 914, but it bounced around too much and gave obviously wrong readings. The cupholder of my Cadillac worked fine. I measured a 0-60 run which was in line with all the magazine reviews considering the massive wheelspin.

I plan to get one of the armband style iPhone holders and strap it to the center armrest in the 914. If I ever do, I'll post some results.

I'm happy with it. Acceleration times, lateral g's, etc. should be accurate, but anyone expecting to get really accurate horsepower numbers is going to be dissapointed. That should just be a given on things like this.

There is also another app coming soon called "Rev" that has some of the same features. Only the free version is out right now "Rev Lite", but the paid version will have the ability to connect to OBD-II ports and report just about any sensor reading. Pricing of the app and the cable are TBD right now, but I'm curious.