dyno's
 

So over the past 6 months or so, I have put some serious thought into opening my own business within the next 3 years. I would like to have a car wash (DIY and a automatic, all coin/cash operated) and a small shop on the side for BASIC maint. work, such as oil changes and things like that. I also would like to expand into mobile detailing and mobile oil changes.

I have also thought about having a bay with a dyno. Now, my thing....I have -0- clues on tuning. I could easily get to a efiuniversity class, but really...does that teach you anything, and give you any experience? No.

So, a 100% DIY dyno is in the thought process. How much do dyno's cost? Worth it? Is a dyno nothing more than a selling tool to sell other products? (kinda like a tire machine to sell tires)

My brother-in-law has recently taken over his parents transmission shop, and I tried to talk him into a dyno...so he researched it a bit. He stopped his research when he found out another local shop had a dyno and had to sell out. When I asked him if they advertised, he said they did not. They didnt even have a yellow pages ad, or a phone number in the phone book. Im from N. Indiana...and would plan to put it there. We have SEVERAL circle tracks, 2 drag strips, and tons of 'street machines' in the area...not to mention, the SCCA and road courses within a 200 mile radius. There is also a new motorsports park opening about 40 miles from where I would put the dyno. Hell, the tire rack's main location is about 30 miles north of where I would put the dyno.

thoughts?

Re: dyno's
 

just go for it bro!

worst that happens you fail and end up where you where, or you make it big and buy HMT

Re: dyno's
 

worst that could happen is you filing bankruptcy. :P

but all millionaires have had to take big chances soo :y

Re: dyno's
 

nice tits

Re: dyno's
 

Dynos do very light traffic in random people looking for pulls.

People associate tuners with dynos and tuning. They seldom seek out a dyno shop for tuning unless they have a reputable full time tuner. As a tuner, 90% of the people coming to me go to the dyno of my choice. With car egos being what they are it can be hard to install a full time tuner and field homeless tuners looking for small, but somewhat frequent, dyno sessions.

If you want your dyno busy you need a full time dyno guy who markets himself and the dyno. Have much experience hiring honest, reputable, self motivated people? Good luck with that.

The economy being what it is the nature of making a dyno make money for you is changing. I'm seeking an affordable used DD for the porta ility aspect; I go to small or dynoless performance shops and offer my services to make both of us money. My name in tuning adds value to their mechanical work, and the ability to have dyno days is a great draw.

Call me.

Re: dyno's
 

You want some serious advice? Find some kid who reads everything on pgmfi.org and tell him you will be business partners with him. Not in the traditional sense though. He is just some salary ------- and you own the business. You will wrench. He will tune. You will train each other and learn from each other as you work together. He'll make money for the first 3 years while you are poor but if you learn from him you will be set. After that 3 years you should start making money. That is if you succeed.

As for a dyno, FWD dynapacks cost about $45k I believe. I wouldn't buy anything else as they are small and you can still use the bay if you need to. Anything in ground kind of takes that away. Plus dynapacks work extremely well and are very safe, easy to use dynos.

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You believe that's what Dynapack 4000's go for, nowtype?

You've been running that "hire me" sig on HT for a while now. How's that working out for you?

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im drunk at the momet. wanta drunken call joey?

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Call in fifteen, got to drop the kid off somewhere.

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http://www.efi101.com/forum/viewtopi...655e909be2df9d - I'm super far off

As for my job. I have one. I've had one for months. I've never had a problem with getting jobs. I put that signature up, a few weeks later got a job, and never cared enough to change it. I'm also not involved in a shrinking industry like the automotive industry. We just got another client that is part of a group that does several billions of dollars of sales not to mention our other clients. I'll be going to LA for a week with work in October to work a job for 2 divisions of JPMorgan, Bank of New York Mellon, and another smaller bank.

Re: dyno's
 

serious advice. this is hmt. sometimes serious advice comes around this place. sounds like a plan though. I have no idea on what the market is like, other than what I can brainstorm up in NC...and while overseas. This isn't just an idea I woke up one morning with. Ive got a few other ideas to go along with this....such as a 'hobby shop' -Come into my bay at my shop and have access to a toolbox which I supply, pay $20 an hour. Don't finish, that's fine...store your car for $5/24hrs, outside. My bro-in-law says insurance will really suck for this...but I am still gonna give it a shot.

thanks for your input. honestly didnt even think about that.

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The smartest thing you can do as a business is surround yourself with people smarter than you. If they aren't smarter than you, they better know stuff that you don't know. Businesses where one person does everything generally have growth issues and never take off. The smartest thing you can do is build your business knowing as much as you can but also surround yourself with people that know more than you.

Re: dyno's
 

I'm thinking the same as you but without the car wash. A dyno in my native town would be great. There are a lot of kids with sport cars and older drag fan. I think I will have a buisness in website creation too. I already did one and I like that! ;D

I say go for it if you want to do it!

Somebody want a website? :P

junkyard racer: you will need a website! Let's talk buisness, I'll do it for cheap :6

Re: dyno's
 

I plan to start a simple car wash with two or three employees, probably high school kids while I am still doing my day to day job, and I would branch the dyno/minor car repair off of that. The thing with coin operated car washes, its all self sustained. If I can make it a day to day job, then I will leave my govt job and move into that, full time. The ONLY car washes I have seen go under are the ones in the ghetto and not maintained. Even ghetto looking car washes that are maintained, do well. I also am looking into self storage. Between the two, a car wash seems to be the better of the two though.

Re: dyno's
 

I say go for it but do your research of course.

We had a to do a business project and our group chose to do an engine build/tune shop.

There is alot more money involved then first thought. Its an awesome idea you have goin for you, but don't forget....
-you can't dump your oil in the drains/ground (but u can take it to the parts store to dump) ;)
-building and/or land rental costs,
-utilities (water and power and phone),
-insurance(s) (on customer cars/building/health)
-equipment you may not have now (whatever that may be wideband, clamps, hoses, welding supplies, etc...)
-cleaning supplies to clean up around the shop
-if u plan on having any vending machines u need a food liscence (but u could do "employee cookouts" for customers if u do a dyno day or something)

Its a great idea to run a business like this and there is a lot of money that "CAN" be made, but the economy is rough....

And I wish you luck with this. My hat's off to you if/when u get this off the ground

Dyno machines are pretty ------ expensive

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Shoot for the stars bro.

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Thought: Here's how you do this. You get start at the bottom and work your way up. Go get a job at a dyno place. Work there, learn the ins and outs, etc. You'll learn everything you will learn in 2-3 years. By then you'll know what kind of dyno to buy, why, what the markets are like, what people want, twenty things your old boss did wrong that you could have done better to make the business more profitable, etc etc. The learning curve will whoop your ass if you jump in this with no experience and no clue. And like the other smart person said hire people smarter and you that have know how and skill. Learn from them. It's how you get good.

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I think its a horrible idea. Dude you cant tune and want to invest 50K+in a dyno. Have you looked at insurance rates for dyno owners. I know of 3 shops in my area selling their dynos right now because they are loud,annoying and dont pay the bills. 2 of them are very succesful one being one of the founders of the k series movement with tons of traffic through his shop.


Want the best advice learn a skilled art in automotive field and do it on the side. Im pretty handy with a grinder but the days of major change are upon us and Im not going to fool myself that in 5 years I can still make a living doing what I do.

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The economys not going to be down forever. The end of next year and I think it'll be pretty much back to normal. Your probably not planning on being in business by then anyway so I wouldn't worry about a slow economy. If you have a niche you'll be able to keep work going even in slow times.

I learned alot from the owner of the upull yard a worked for. It's all advertising you put moeny into getting your name out and they will come. If you have the right tuner tuning cars for you then you'll get repeat business. Good Example Widebody93 with his next tuning session will have given 1500 within 6months. to a certain dominate tuner

The guy can't be a one make tuner either. Like joseph and dave it should be if you bring it it gets tuned and money goes in the register.

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Thanks for the advice. This is honestly what I want.

Like I said, this is nothing more than an idea I have in my head, and something I am brainstorming. The car wash is def. a goal I have, and have no reason it wont work. Now, when I go in front of the city council in the next upcoming years is another story. If I don't ---- bricks the days before that, it will be a miracle. Oil changes, showing someone there air filter, rotating a tire or two is something I have in mind. Small town business, people appreciate these things.

Drop your car off in the morning, pick it up with a fresh oil change, a fresh wax, tires rotated, and a ride to work and back...is something people value.

Those kids who need a place to put a car in the air and look at the underside of there car is the hobby shop idea.

In the Marine Corps, we have hobby shops. We can pull our car into a bay, have a full access to basic tools, your basic backyard mech, and do whatever we want to our vehicles. Its a great thing, in a fun/safe environment My prices wouldn't be like this, but this is what I would base my business off of. http://www.mccscherrypoint.com/autoskills.htm

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Car wash great idea even with the space cars we will be driving in 15 years people will still want them clean. Oil change another solid idea. Dyno horrible idea. Thats why I have gone into the used parts business more than performance. Used parts will be needed till the end of time. Performance parts are a fading market. Will people survive sure but how many will fail.



dynapacks are around 80k brand new and produced in california so you can actually speak to someone here in the states.

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I think you can pay the dyno off and make a living offering dyno days for car clubs and the like. Tuning is a trust sort of thing, and it only grows over time. You can't jump into that it doesn't work that way. Like I said on the phone, owning a dyno is a lifestyle. Are you doing it to make money or because you can't see yourself being without one?

That's nice. As I have stated previously, I'm in this for life whether or not it pays my bills. Can you grasp why I find your input on things very limited at times? Some things you simply do not understand because you are a mere enthusiast and not a real gearhead.

BTW, $43K for new 400 whp Dynapacks. That ----'s not worth owning. I break 400 whp 1-3 times per week, ------- stock Corvettes or F-body with bolt ons are pushing that figure. I repeat: "You believe that's what Dynapack 4000's go for, nowtype?"

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Why not just start out with a normal service shop, then advertise yourself and build up a clientel with the local performance crowd and slowly move yourself in that direction depending on how much interest there really is. A dyno is a HUGE investment that would almost certainly cost you big time. Theres no reason not to open up a repair shop, yes the economy is horseshit at the moment, but it will come back around. And cars sure as hell aren't going anywhere, you will just have to advance with the technology. It's going to be a long long time before our current technology is going to be phased out anyways. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

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I'm also happy to see the way that takes this thread since I want to do similar things. I didn't know about insurance and price of the dyno. I still think it's a good idea for myself because there is no more than 10 dynos in quebec and 0 in my native town (and around)... I hope the economy will be better when I'll finish school...

Come at my dyno JD and I'll pay you 80$/hour 40 hour/week until I have money to give you ;)

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right, like I have said, this is nothing more than an idea at the moment. Until things come around, and I have a place to put the fucker, its still a thought.

As of right now, I think I need to get more involved with tuning before a dyno is even considered for investment purposes.

Re: dyno's
 

Well having owned and failed at a few business attempts, I figure I will chime in here.

If this is your first go at your own business start something from the ground up. Something with very little investment, that you can grow as you go. Stay away from most franchises. Or borrowing much for capital. As let me tell you there are not to many things more un-appealing then waking up in the morning after it has all ended, back at a 9-5 job owing $100K and knowing you will be paying that back for the next several years. There is nothing about owning a small business that is fair. You will get ---- on by everyone.

With that being said I hate being an employee, i have never been a good one and probably never will be one. Unfortunately I need something with a steady income at this point in order to pay out my debts from past failed attempts. I miss the freedom every hour of everyday that you get with owning your own business and loathe the "security" and as soon as the legal aspect of my last venture is sorted out and I am not at risk at loosing things in the future to things in the past, I will try again. I will continue to try again until I succeed at this.

My final thought, there is no risk to being an employee, also there is very little reward, but every business needs employees, and not every employee is cut out to be an employer.