What goes into a dyno run with a Ferrari 458 Italia (or any other car we tune)

There is more to doing a dyno run than simply driving into the dyno cell and pushing your foot to the floor.  In fact much of what happens when we do one is all about preparation.  Most of our time is spent doing the prep work and making sure both the car and the area is safe. 
Any vehicle we test goes through an extensive series of checks prior to being moved into the dyno Lab. This includes everything from checking the tires for age, tread depth, speed rating and pressure as well as the torque values on the lug nuts.  We also put the car on the hoist and give it a thorough inspection and look for any panels that may need to be removed so we can get attachment points to secure it.  Typically on sports cars like a Ferrari this could be something like a diffuser at the rear of the car.

Next is sensor connections, and depending on what the customer is looking for they can be anything from Lambda, boost, back pressure etc.  We often have requests to see how well an intercooler is working and we can measure the temps of the air going into the intercooler and the temps coming out of it to get a good idea of how effective it is.

Calibrating the dyno is a critical step.  The computer is given the values for the car prior to the car even running and setting the values for the starting ramp in km/hr for the car etc.  The car is then started and warmed up by driving it an easy pace on the dyno, making sure all coolant, oil temps and oil pressures are good and all systems are functioning.  Once this is ready the car is brought up to full speed, and then let to coast so the computer and the dyno can determine parasitic losses from the flywheel all the way through the driveline to the wheels.  We usually do this a few times to get an accurate reading of the losses

The Superflow Dyno we use automatically calculates and corrects for barometric air pressure, Inside temperature and humidity.  It doesn't just check this once - we do it continuously through the pull to ensure the most accurate results

Performance Pull.  Only once all of the above has been done, the straps holding the vehicle down are rechecked, and the sensors checked and ready to go, do we do the final pull to see what kind of power is made. All of that is displayed in real time in the control room and on a big screen in front of Stefan, our dyno guru. Stefan has well over 30 years in Europe in Canada doing exactly this. We've often had comments that it looks like a space launch as Stefan can also have a computer with him in the vehicle to adjust fuel tables and any other a parameter. With that car at full speed and the fans pushing thousands of cubic feet of air it sounds like it.

Lets be honest - if you read this far you really want to see what that all looks and sounds like.  This is not an exhaustive list of prep work or all that goes into a dyno run but we always get requests for more detail and we are happy to oblige.  The video is just below but I will close on this:  We do this level of prep and attention to detail for each and every car we test and tune.  From motorcycles to Ferraris and all things in between.  Would you really want to take your car to anywhere that does less?