Tech::.
Tips and tricks on how to increase the performance of your machine.

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I came across the Mr. Dyno ^® Performance Computer in an advertisement in the back of Sport Compact Car^© magazine. I had been thinking of purchasing a G-Tech Pro^® performance computer for some time, but the US$239 price tag was a bit beyond my means. The Mr. Dyno^® ad claimed that the computer could do all that the G-Tech could and more, for just over half the price (US$125). It sounded too good to be true, but I decided to give it a go, and e-mailed the company for a quote.

 Joe Koelker, the company President, e-mailed me back and said that while he’d never shipped overseas he was willing to give it a go. I sent him a bank draft and a US address to make things a bit simpler. Unfortunately, at the time there was no facility for credit card payments (on-line ordering is available for US residents only, http://www.mrdyno.com/ ), so I had a bit more work to do than if I was getting the G-Tech, but for half the price I was willing to get off my butt and go to the bank!

 The package came a couple of weeks later (due in part to the US address). Figure 1 to the left shows the contents, minus the included DC power supply (a 1.5V to 12V adjustable supply) which is somewhat permanently installed in my car.

The Main Unit and Accessories

The Mr. Dyno^® measures about 10.5cm x 6cm x 2cm. It mounts using two included thumbscrews to a 4-cup suction windscreen mount, which holds it very securely. The unit is constructed of black plastic, with a red display window at the front and 4 membrane buttons on top (more on these later). It also has a compartment at the back for a 9V battery, which means that you can use the unit without connecting it to the power supply. You don’t need the battery for most things, but you do need it for data downloads and firmware updates. It uses a precision 2-axis, ± 2G accelerometer, digital acceleration measurement and a 16-bit RISC CPU for processing the data. It can store the results of up to 50 tests internally, and the download feature means that you can store unlimited tests on your PC.  It also provides for SAE J 1349 power correction using weather and altitude values you enter, and has the facility to allow for vehicle squat and dive during acceleration and braking. It can also compute vehicle losses, for more accurate power measurements. (Mind you, I haven’t figured it all out yet!)

Downloads and uploads are accomplished via the included serial cable and software for the PC (no Macs here!). Your PC needs to meet the following requirements:

• Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/ME

• CD-ROM drive for software installation

• 10MB free hard drive space

• 32MB RAM

• 1 male DB-9 (9-pin) serial port

•  800 x 600 or better display

• Optional printer (for printing graphs)

If you don’t have a serial port you can use a USB to serial converter cable.

The manual is pretty thick and covers pretty much every conceivable use of the Mr. Dyno. It’s arranged in a pretty logical way, with a Quick Start section up front for those of you who want to play with the new toy immediately, and an in-depth description of each function afterwards.

How it Works

Unlike the G-Tech Pro^® , you use the Mr. Dyno^® by navigating nested menus. When you turn on the unit it comes up with the “Test” menu. Pressing the enter button takes you into the various tests you can do, which are shown sequentially on the little screen as you scroll with the up and down buttons. To do a particular test you scroll to it and press enter. Pretty simple, once you learn to decipher what is shown on the four 7-segment LED’s. It isn’t too hard. Under the “Test” menu are –

• The “Show G’s Test” (for all of you who want to know how many G’s you pull in a corner or under accel/brakes),
• The “User-Defined Acceleration Test”, where you can customize your standing start & rolling start tests,
• The “User-Defined Deceleration Test”, for measuring braking performance,
• ¹/₈^th mile sprint test,
• ¼ mile sprint test,
• “Record Only”, which allows you to record say a lap at Bushy Park,
• “Valet Mode”, where you can leave it in the car (hidden, of course) when you drop it off at the mechanic, and see what he was up to with it afterwards, or maybe see if the spouse is a closet racer (she pull how many G’s?)!

The next main menu is the “Vehicle Selection & Editing” menu, where you can store details on up to 4 different vehicles. These details are saved to non-volatile memory, unlike the G-Tech, which loses the information when you unplug it and can store only one vehicle’s worth of data. You can store things like weight, squat and dive angles, RPM/Speed correction factors etc.

After this is the “Weather Conditions” menu, where climate numbers are stored, so you can benefit from the SAE J1349 power correction. Other menus are there for “Calibration”, “Units”, “Data” and “PC Link”.

You can also use the unit to as a shock dyno, to measure the performance of your suspension components.

Using the Mr. Dyno^®

 I have found that it takes about 60 seconds to switch on the unit, set it for the test you want, level it up and go. It allows you to do the same test over and over using the “repeat test” feature, so you don’t have to set it up repeatedly. The display is bright enough to see in direct sunlight, and once you get used to the funny characters (those 7-segment LED’s are not too good at showing a “W”, for example) menu navigation is a snap. Contrast that with the G-Tech, where you need the patience of a saint to enter your weight figures each time you power up, for example. So far I have only used it for 0-60 and ¼ mile tests, and it has produced good results on both. As with the G-Tech, you need a level, smooth, straight road for these tests. Find your own road – I’m not telling where I go!

The PC Software

Downloads to the PC software take a matter of seconds with the serial cable. Once the data is in the PC you can graph it however you like. The unit records all the parameters, and you can put all on the graph, or just the ones you want. You can change the axes so that you can plot power vs. RPM, speed vs. time, or whatever you want. (The unit is supposed to use RPM-sensing technology, but I haven’t put in all my factors in the vehicle menu so I don’t know if it’s working.) The software also has a feature which allows you to apply different smoothing factors, to take some of the hiccups out of the graph, or magnify them. With experience you are supposed to be able to see the effect of a misfire or similar event, but I haven’t got that good yet. There are sample graphs included to show you how they look, though. Figure 2 shows the basic software main screen (the Aston is my desktop), Figure 3 is the tests screen, and Figure 4 shows one of my tests.

Figure 2: main software screen	Figure 3: test database	Figure 4: accel test results

On the right side of the picture in Figure 4 you can see all the parameters that can be graphed. The graph only shows power and torque, but any or all of the parameters can be displayed.

Conclusion

I’ve had the Mr. Dyno^® for several months now, and it has generally performed as the manufacturer says it will. I only had one problem. I normally do not leave the unit in the car, but on one occasion I left it on the dash for a couple of days, as I was doing some testing and was feeling lazy. The result was that the “down” button stopped working. After contacting the manufacturer he advised that the problem was most likely a faulty membrane keypad which failed as a result of the unit being left in the sun (he had had several failures, and has since changed his supplier). He offered me the choice of returning the unit for free repairs, or having a new keypad sent to me for me to install. I chose the latter, and a few days later the keypad came in the mail. It took 10 minutes to install, and the unit is working properly again.

I have since updated both the PC software and the unit firmware (free updates are downloadable from the website) and have gained new functionality, something you can’t do with the G-Tech. Another update is due shortly. Further, the manufacturer is offering an additional unit which could be permanently mounted in the car, which will enable logging of two analog parameters, e.g. boost, intercooler temp, EGT, or whatever you want. It is not yet available as the manufacturer is seeking expressions of interest from customers.

Overall, I have found the Mr. Dyno^® to be a valuable test tool. It functions as advertised, it is much easier to set up and use than the competition and it offers more features, including the PC analysis software. The manufacturer is responsive to problems, and provides frequent updates of software, adding new capabilities with each revision. I would recommend the Mr. Dyno^® to anyone with a need for accurate, repeatable test measurement

ZHAUST does not promote illegal racing or reckless driving! Drive responsibly.