Frequently Asked Questions

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To help answer some of the common concerns and questions normally in the tuning community we have developed this FAQ. It will continue to be updated as common trends come through the pipeline. I hope it helps answer some of your questions and adds confidence to your decision to use OnPoint’s services.

How far will you travel for dyno rental?

We will gladly travel as far as you would like. However, we charge $2 per km. While this is below the cost of what it takes to own, insure and operate a truck and trailer, it at least covers most of the cost. However, the farther we travel, the more we require for a minimum number of dyno hours. In practice, we usually do not travel more than 1.25 hours away from the GTA unless there are multiple cars to be tuned.

Will you bring your dyno to a racetrack?

Yes. And no. If there is going to be rain, we will have to cancel the appointment as the equipment cannot be exposed to rain. However, the equipment can be used at the racetrack, and this can prove extremely valuable especially when troubleshooting a problem between sessions. Our dyno can also be used by series officials to check for those outside of the performance envelope of the rules. The cost for opperation at the racetrack is above and beyond standard pricing, and there are minimums involved depending on travel, as mentioned above.

How do you bill the time you spend tuning or with dyno rental?

We have moved to a price based model for most cars we tune. Generally, we will provide a quote for the car prior to the session, and unless there are mechanical problems or significant time delays we will be able to stick to that price. When billing strictly by time, the clock starts when we unload our equipment and the clock ends when the equipment is loaded back into the trailer.

If cost is a concern it is of paramount importance that you are ready for us before we arrive. There have been numerous occasions where literally hours are wasted because some very simple pre-planning was not done. Things like having tools ready, staff aware and ready for us, space available for the dyno, cars moved out of the way etc. There is no sense in paying us to stand around and watch while these tasks are happening!

What does a dyno tune typically cost for X car?

Every car and setup is different – and requires a different amount of time on the dyno. However, we are able to estimate tuning time for most vehicles once we know what has been done to the vehicle and what sorts of special functions need to be tuned, and offer flat-rate pricing for most common platforms as mentioned above. Please keep in mind that our flat-rate pricing is for the dyno tune only – it does not cover additional tuning that may be required in the future.

Things like multiple boost levels, variable cam timing, different fuels or secondary fuel injection systems all increase the time the tuning takes. OEM ECUs that do not offer Real Time Tuning also increase the tuning time required. All tuning estimates do not account for any time spent dealing with mechanical issues, so please keep this in mind.

Feel free to contact us for a quote to tune your vehicle!

Will you accept cheques?

For repeat clients accepting cheques is no problem. We do not accept cheques for first time customers. Email money transfer is faster and more efficient than cheques, and everyone should have that setup this day in age!

I race in the same series as Sasha Anis, if we use OnPoint for tuning how do we know he won't purposely de-tune our car?

If you know Sasha you know that he is the kind of person that wants to beat you fair and square. He may openly tell you you have way too much power, but he will also tell you if you don’t have enough power for the series. He will always optimize the engine for the fuel that you are running. Sasha also has the ethics not to go and complain to the officials about it. We are happy to have your business, and will optimize your engine. No matter how much you may be cheating! We do tune with some degree of safety however, but that is the same for our race cars as it would be for yours.

I want my dyno numbers to be a secret. How do I know you won't publish them anywhere?

Heresay is heresay. Anyone can claim someone has a certain amount of power, and if you’re running in a series and doing well – it’s likely someone has already made up astronomical numbers about the power you’re making. What can hurt you is if they have proof. What we will do at OnPoint is unlike what any other shop will do. We can cut all of the files from your session out of our dyno computer, and paste them onto a flash drive you provide – RIGHT infront of you. You will see that the files are gone from the computer, and they are only on your flash drive. You will be able to bring the files back if you want to use them to compare in the future, however we will not be able to view any of the data from your session. Of course if you lose that flash drive, you lose that data. We can even take it a step further – if you bring your tuner and he is confident operating the machine, we will gladly step away from the room and not look at the numbers your vehicle makes. To each their own.

What kind of support do I get after a tuning session?

Included with your tuning session is a review of a datalog and map update within 8 weeks of the tune date. If after that revision we discover that the vehicle requires more tuning, a follow-up appointment can be made for additional tuning. Sometimes the client will request additional tuning for a street car as weather changes, to work on cold start and things like that. The dyno is perfect to tune most aspects of the engine, but for engine start and especially low load, low rpm drive-ability, street tuning and TIME are required for this. Racing clients may not be concerned with this, where a car driven on the street year-round with a standalone and big injectors most certainly would.

Is there a warranty with my tune?

Similarly to how there are no warranties with most aftermarket parts, there are no warranties with tuning. There are far too many mechanical systems working together to be able to warrant the tune alone. This is usually only an issue with highly modified cars. In these cases, one small mechanical component going out of adjustment could throw the tune out the window and potentially damage the engine. We use protection strategies wherever possible to ensure engine damage is unlikely in the event that a mechanical problem does occur. The moral of the story is don’t perform any modifications to your car unless you can do them 100% the right way.

If I am given a flat rate quote to tune my car, does that mean I can keep coming back until the tune is perfect at no charge?

No. The price you are quoted is for a single tuning session. In that session, one of two things can happen: In the first case, the car tunes well, you are happy with the vehicle and accept the vehicle with the tune that it has. You are welcome to test the vehicle and ensure you are happy with its performance. The price of this tune includes tuning for current weather and mechanical conditions only, with our commonly used environmental correction tables. If you find that as the weather changes the vehicle requires further tuning, that would be an additional fee.

In the second case, the vehicle has a mechanical problem and the tuning session cannot be completed. These types of situations will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Generally speaking, you would pay for the tune as quoted if we got more than halfway through the tune. The next tune would be billed hourly, with a minimum number of hours – generally 2.5. It is critical to do everything in your power to make sure there are no mechanical problems, because so much time is spent loading and unloading the car, and because when a car breaks on the dyno we cannot just magically bring in another customer intantly for a tune – so we have to bill enough to cover our day’s costs.

If we max out the injectors/MAF/MAP sensor, and you have to re-tune the car once the new part is installed, is there a discount?

This will be dealt with on a case by case basis. But 9 times out of 10, the answer is no. While we try to answer questions for clients before a dyno session, we are responsible for the setup of your vehicle – especially if we were not consulted about the build. One of the reasons we use a vehicle specification sheet and ask for it to be sent in 48hrs before the appointment is so that we can hopefully find and fix these red flags before they cost you money. However, the use of the VSS does not mean we are responsible for not seeing things that could potentially be a problem. Whoever sells you parts for your car hopefully gives you good advice, and if they don’t, you should be buying your parts from someone who does!

We have so many customers that were given mind bogglingly ignorant advice, and told to spend money on parts that have zero effect. If you aren’t sure about what you’re being told, please do some research about both the information you’ve been given and the shop or person that is giving it to you. Blindly trusting people is never a good idea, and it puts us in an awkard spot when we have to deliver the bad news that your setup is not going to work and you’ve just wasted a pile of money on a dyno tune you weren’t prepared for.

All of these technical questions and talk about engine damage is scaring me. All I want is to reflash my car for a little bit more power. Should I be concerned?

Absolutely not. The majority of this FAQ section is designed for those that have done a lot of work to their vehicles and are planning to produce a great deal of HP for the engine size. Those of you with regular bolt-ons or stock vehicles will not have these problems because the OEMs spend millions of dollars developing and testing the vehicle before it leaves the factory. These systems are still in place and all we are doing is fine tuning them to optimize the engine for your specific car. We are sorry if this comes across as intimidating – reflashing stock (or mostly stock) vehicles and tuning fully built vehicles really are two totally separate things! We tune cars with bolt-on’s day in and day out and rarely ever have a problem.

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Policies

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Below you will find our policies for doing business. Most of them are fairly common sense, but we would rather be clear and upfront rather than assume anything. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. This page is subject to change at any time.

Dyno Rental Policies:

Dyno rental time starts from the point the trailer door is opened to unload the equipment until the dyno is loaded back up.
It is required that one person is available to help with loading/unloading the vehicle on the dyno, and loading/unloading the dyno equipment from the trailer. If we are required to bring an assistant the cost will be an additional $60/hr.
There is a minimum dyno charge of 4.5 hours, even if the session is completed early.
Dyno time is billed on 15-minute increments, rounded to the closest interval.
The building must have available the following features:
- Hose bib within 100 feet for sessions longer than 2 hours for dyno cooling
- 110v 20A power for the dyno system within 100 feet.

If a spare O2 bung is available please have it cracked loose prior to your dyno appointment. Time spent trying to un-seize an O2 port will be billed at the regular dyno rate. A sniffer is available however we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the readings if the car has any exhaust leaks. This method is not suitable for vehicles equipped with catalytic converters.

Vehicles must be set up in such a manner so that the exhaust can be ducted out of the building. We will not tune a vehicle in a space that will fill with carbon monoxide.

Vehicles that run leaded fuels are charged an $80 fee to use the dyno wideband due to the deterioration of the sensor with leaded fuels.

Included with the rental is an operator to run the dyno. You or your tuner are welcome to operate the dyno yourself, under the condition that said person has been trained and is experienced with the Dynapack system. We take no responsibility for damage that results to your vehicle as a result of improper dyno operation.

If we operate the dyno we will follow simple instructions and accept no responsibility to inform your tuner of vehicle status. For example, we are not responsible for watching manifold pressure, air-fuel ratio, or water temp. This is the tuners responsibility. The reason for this is to ensure there is a clear understanding of responsibilities during tuning to avoid dangerous assumptions. Please ensure your tuner understands this prior to your session.

There will be no discount or refund if your vehicle has overheating problems on the dyno. We have many fan options to help with vehicle cooling, but a radiator fan is still recommended to reduce cool down time.

If at the dyno appointment you realize that you forgot something essential to operate the vehicle, such as your lug nut key, you will be charged for the full minimum. However, we will wait on site for the duration of that time if you can get the tool or part that you require. While OnPoint makes an attempt to have lug nuts, bolt-on spacers and wheel lock keys in stock – it is YOUR responsibility to have what you need to remove the wheels. It is YOUR responsibility to let us know if you have unusual lug nuts, or a large wide-body kit that would require large spacers for the dyno adapters BEFORE we arrive with the dyno.

Tuning Policies:

The vehicle owner is responsible for providing an up-to-date and accurate vehicle summary sheet (provided) to us no less than 48 hours before the tuning appointment.

If the vehicle has been tuned before, a summary of previous tunes, including all previous problems is required to allow us to help discover any underlying issues the vehicle may have.

Re-tuning is charged at the same original dyno rate. We will not offer a discount for re-tunes. A vehicle consultation is recommended to help reduce the likely hood that a second tuning session will be required.

Street tuning is offered for licensed, insured and street legal and mechanically sound vehicles ONLY. We will not drive the vehicle.

We take no responsibility for failing to predict that certain components of the vehicle build are not suitable for the target power. If another appointment is required as a result of this discovery, it will be billed at normal rates. If you had already requested our consulting services however, a discount in this instance may be considered.

Appointment, Payment & Deposit Policies

OnPoint Dyno Ltd. accepts Cash and E-mail money transfer only. Repeat clients may pay via cheque. However if a cheque fails to process, you will be charged a $50 NSF fee, and will no longer be able to pay via cheque.

Deposits are required for all first-time clients. Deposits may be made via PayPal or E-mail money transfer. If a deposit is not possible, you will lose the $10/hr deposit discount and will be billed an additional $10/hr at the completion of your dyno session. The purpose of this discount is to encourage clients to provide a deposit, which helps us avoid downtime caused by last minute cancellations.

Deposits are Non-refundable, however, you may reschedule your appointment if we are notified at least 5 business days prior to your appointment. Beyond that time, if you want to re-schedule you will have to submit a new $150 deposit. Deposits are non-transferable, so if you sell your car or decide you do not require tuning you will forfeit your deposit. The reason for our deposits is simply to ensure a client is serious about our services before we spend time reviewing their VSS, making suggestions and preparing the client’s file.

Payment is required at the time of service completion. Payment MUST be received while OnPoint is still on site. Failure to do so will be charged as a $100 late payment penalty with NO EXCEPTIONS. Please respect this policy, we are not structured to chase clients for payment. We have internet access available if you need to log onto your bank or PayPal to submit the payment.

Release Of Liability:

OnPoint Dyno Ltd. Does not warrant or guarantee any of its services. Any damage, injury or loss caused by or suspected to be caused by OnPoint Dyno Ltd. is the responsibility of the vehicle owner. The vehicle owner agrees not to hold OnPoint Dyno Ltd. responsible for any damages or loss under any circumstance. All clients are required to sign a release of liability prior to dyno rental or tuning services.

OnPoint Dyno Ltd. Does not offer any warranty on its engine tunes. The end user is responsible to monitor the health of the engine and to inform OnPoint if he/she suspects that the engine may have problems. It only takes a small mechanical or electrical problem to cause an engine to run in a dangerous or damaging state. Poor fuel, ignition problems or other mechanical problems can arise at any time. As a result, there is no way OnPoint can warranty a vehicle tune.