How busy are rolling roads?
Turbo Mini Forums

How much business do these places get in general?

And what about dyno sessions, i.e. people just wanting a power runs?

There isnt one here on the island, and I think its about time there should be :)

Cheers

Joe

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

i'd be interested to know aswell, was talking to my old man about getting another unit and setting up a rolling road in there.

depends on the market i guess. if there are alot of people in the area or on the island that are wanting them/are traveling along way to get one done then yes they will be busy. i would say its like any company if there is a market then there is money to be made. you are going to have to find out what the potential market is in your area and then weigh up the number to see if its worth while.

just my 2p's

James.

Hi,
How good you are will also play a large part in how much work you get. Reputation goes a long way in this trade....
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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2wd or 4wd ??

A new Dastek is circa £45-50k, and a DynoDynamics is heading towards £60k ( both 4wd of course )

I priced another a while back, Mainline Dyno's and it was around £60K too.

Dastek are based in Scotland, the other 2 in Aussieland, although DD might have a dealer here. Either way it will come from Australia.

A used set would be good....although not sure how often such things appear.

Is there a market though ? If you got a set of car rollers.....wonder if they can be used for bikes too ?

9.85 @ 145mph
202mph standing mile
speed didn't kill me, but taxation probably will

Hi,
Bike roller is different.
There's only one for a start, about a 1/4 of the size too.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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As attractive as the idea is it's a BIG responsibility and lots of knowledge required to do the job properly.
Give it plenty of thought.
Regards.
Dave

What about this lot

http://www.dynapack.com/dynapack.html

Ive been mulling it over for the past year or so, I dont want to quit my job, so it would be an evenings/weekend venture.

Over here a unit is about £10K a year including bills
Anoter £10K to kit it out iwth sink/bog/office
£50K for a Dastek delivered and installed

£70 Loan means approx £15K yearly payments

So ongoing overheads:
£15K repayments plus £10K rent/bills approx

So business over £25K is money in my back pocket.

25K/56 = £450 a week


So about 10 cars a week @ £45 should cover costs/repayments.

I just dont know if I would get 10 cars a week though, is this reasonable?

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

Geryy Gaffney said he can provide an add-on to the dastek for bikes, which is what i would go for (do shoot outs in TT week)

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

On 6th of Jan, 2008 at 10:31pm Bat said:
Hi,
Bike roller is different.
There's only one for a start, about a 1/4 of the size too.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

On 6th of Jan, 2008 at 10:45pm Sprocket said:
What about this lot

http://www.dynapack.com/dynapack.html

9.85 @ 145mph
202mph standing mile
speed didn't kill me, but taxation probably will

Edited by Bat on 7th Jan, 2008.

VEMs Authorised Installer / Re-seller. K head kits now available!

WB/EGT gauges. Click here for customers write-up

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My Mini build diary

Don't forget, it's not just the dyno you need to buy. You also need exhaust fume extraction, lots of sound insulation. Air conditioning is also a big bonus for people.

I use Emerald for my rolling road session, nice stable air conditioned rolling road cell, to keep all reading constant. There is around a 2 - 3 month waiting list for Emeralds rollling road usually.

Team Racing

Emeralds rollers are very nice I must say, as Jim says though, there is a big waiting list to get on them, I enquired about an ECU and rolling road session last May time when Carl and I started on the DON, it came down to us either going to the rollers the day before Avon Park, or giving us 9 weeks to get the car from a shell with nothing on it to a car running enough to go to the rollers. It was quite frantic at times trying to get things done.

Jo the other thing I'd think about is ancillary kit. For instance wideband lambda setups and datalogging stuff for all cars, then computers for mapping ECU equipped stuff, knowledge of Webers etc for those with those....
Power runs I expect will net a certain income, but to make the money you need to be able to map stuff really. Also remember the liabilty potentially comes back to you if said customer melts a piston etc after you have mapped it?

LOL, yes 56 wks in the year over here, well it feels like it at least!

Hmm, lots of food for thought there, I was think along similar lines as Tom F, diversifying by supplying high end widebands/performance parts/gauges/ecus, along with various other sidelines so its not soley dependant on the rolling road for income.
Regarding potential come backs from disasters, Im sure I could cover myself with use of disclaimers/business insurance.

Rob/Jay, Regarding the costs for power runs, £20 sounds very cheap, from what ive gathered doing a bit of research on the tinterweb most advertise between £35 and £50 for this, and bear in mind i would have the monopoly over here too, but I would prefer more customers at a lower price than vicaversa.
Obviously you could do promotions for clubs/group discounts etc

Hadnt thougt about tune-ups just yet (as Im not sure where to begin!, and would need to do alot of reading up, maybe a course on the subject), but Im treating that as a totally different ball park for now and it would be much more than a power run.

To summarise, overheads would come to £500ish a week (not a precise figure of course), so whether turnover consists of numerous power runs at between £20 & £50 a pop, or tune-ups costing (obviously) more, as long as combined they clear £500 then its a winner in my eyes.

The good thing about a Rolling road is overheads dont go up with demand the same way it would with other business's.

Is this going to be possible on this island? And can I do this just at weekends? Not quite sure yet.

On another note, once going, if I find there is the demand, and its possible to clear over £750 a week then I could happily quit my 9 to 5 and put all my efforts into improving/expanding the business.

Just got to do some market research, and see if there really is a profitable market.

Cheers for all the the feedback guys, please keep it coming, even if its critical.

Regards

Joe

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

Dont forget.

If you are currently in the business of repairing cars, diagnostic work etc....a RR can be a very valuable tool too. Not just for performance work.

9.85 @ 145mph
202mph standing mile
speed didn't kill me, but taxation probably will

It's a big responsibility eeh an RR.
Cos imagine it like this.Joe Bloggs has just spent 5k on his Mini,and Tom TOms has just spent 20k on his skyline and both these guys are depending on you to set up their engines right.

But I think it 'll be a hit if done right.
People could go down there for the weekend,relax,tune their motors then exploit the lack of speed limits with their newly tuned engines and go home grinning like feral chipmunks!!!
Maybe you ought to be thinking about package holiday deals!!

Warning:Stig in Training

I was always under the impression that if my car melted on the rolling road it was my fault, and had no come back on the operator?

Team Racing

Hi,
That'll be the at the "owners risk clause"
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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Yes, but you would still feel a prize cnut!

Im certain that if I inadvertantly caused a meltdown of a customers car, whether legally responsible or not, on a small island like this, it most definately wouldnt be good for business!!

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

but if the guy sets it up too lean or whatever? and 200 miles down the line your pistons all start doing sieve impressions?
what then?

Warning:Stig in Training

thats why in the world of tuning reputation is EVERYTHING!

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

went with a mate to aldon automotive for some engine management work including set up on the rollers a few years back, his car bounced out of the rolling road and came down with a bang, bent a wishbone and had no come back from aldon.. it was just a given that these things happen