Aitkenvale Auto & Dyno | Cars

Aitkenvale Auto & Dyno

Phone: +61 7 4728 3382

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Cars

25.01.2022 Covid-19? Nah, Unichip-20 is much nicer. Just ask Paul the owner of a 2016 auto D-Max we just Unichip tuned. He opted for the bluetooth map selector to set which of his 5 different tunes he wants to use including an imobiliser tune. But it's not as if he needs that in Townsville is it? Um yeah. Paul came in with 92rwkw & 416nm, & is leaving with 131rwkw & 610nm on tune position 1. That's a gain of a little over 40%. I told you Unichip-20 was much nicer.

24.01.2022 "So do you lift your bonnet often?" "Of course I do. Need a shorter earth cable to hold the battery in. Apart from that & the zoo on top of my engine, it's all good" (Mazda 6 in today for a service)

22.01.2022 The booking waiting times are getting ridiculous & the enquiries are still coming fast, so we really do need another qualified mechanic. Not an apprentice & we've got a T.A., so need an experienced mechanic come servicing technician who has the ability to cross over into performance work as required. Need some diagnostic skills along with a good sense of what makes for quality work. The right person will get $65-70k P.A. inc. Super. If you want a change & love a challenge working on all sorts of different vehicles, contact us by p.m., email or landline for a chat. We are never quiet & it is never boring.

22.01.2022 The blown small block Chev had to leave the sanctity of our engine room to make way for 3 other engine builds in progress. No way to get our fork lift in there on Saturday with a workshop full of cars except through a side door with a boom. Don't often need 2 plates to lift an engine but I DID NOT want anything to give way & cause damage. It's now on a engine trolley inside reception, joining an n/a 350 Chev & a Cleveland. The Hotrod chassis is not quite ready for the engine so we're hanging on to it for the moment.

20.01.2022 Just when you think you've run out of ideas to modify your Jeep Wrangler (and there are PLENTY of mods on the market for that), why not texture paint the entire car. Down side is you will wear out your favourite car wash sponge pretty quickly, & also if you brush against it while walking past, you will bleed. Up side is it looks cool, & it should be easy to find the Coles car park......unless you know of another one like this...which we doubt.

19.01.2022 Aitkenvale Auto & Dyno has taken a stand against anything Corona related that does not need to have a slice of lime shoved into it, so Toyota's unloved Corona of the 70s & 80s is in our sights. Much like Holden's Sunbird & Ford's Cortina, the Corona was one very ordinary car that is now residing mainly in landfill around the country with only the odd pocket of resistance surviving. So you won't come into contact with any type of Corona in our workshop which is open, very busy, & only consumes Great Northern.....yeah so we bought a pallet of it. Don't judge.

19.01.2022 This is the incredible AP6 of customer Lucas' we finalised the engine bay assembly on to get running & able to be driven on the road. It was a couple of years ago we worked on it & not long before he & car moved south. We featured it here on our facebook page driving through the workshop & it got viewed 20,000+ times. Attention to detail of the whole build was awesome, with the very tuff blown & stroked small block Chrysler engine finishing it off. It is a pleasure working on a car like this that the customer wants right, not cheap. Kudos to Lucas & his AP6.

19.01.2022 Need a V8 diesel to crack 200rwkw? Nup. Unichip, 34psi, +30 injectors & straight methanol injection, all on a stock 1HD-FTE with an auto. 223rwkw & 1044nm on a lazy 34psi will get you there. A forged engine is being built for it & it may be getting an even bigger turbo. Why? Because SOME is good, but MORE is better...

18.01.2022 Apologies to anyone needing to get their vehicle in quickly for repairs, servicing or performance work. We are currently booked 6 weeks in advance but if you are patient & can leave the vehicle with us for a spell we may be able to help. As you can see there are all sorts of things being worked on at the moment. Never boring!

18.01.2022 Never ceases to amaze me the run of coincidences we see in our workshop, from a day of only white cars, or a day with 7 different Toyota models in, or a day of only Korean cars. So how's a day with 6 Australian built cars with the newest being made in 1980? The HR has a worked 202 getting a new head, the red VC Commodore with big 308 is getting steering & oil leak repairs, the orange HQ's 350 chev is getting a new cam, the silver HZ 1 tonner is getting an ignition system, the UC Torana is getting a 5 litre, & the white ZJ Fairlane with fresh 351 Cleveland is getting set up for its first start. In another 2 weeks time we could have nothing older than a 2010 model. Never boring!

15.01.2022 Just sitting a 5 litre EFi engine into the bay of this UC Torana along with a 4 speed auto. Lots to do still but this engine will remain stock with a nice exhaust so will make an awesome cruiser. Yeah the red rocker covers are going....

15.01.2022 Got a 3 litre Prado that's a bit gumby on the road? Want to challenge those V8 Landcruisers at the lights (ask if it's been Unichipped first though)? Do you want to be able to actually overtake other cars on the highway while towing your caravan? You need a Unichip & 5 map selector like the one we just fitted to Des' 2015 150 series. It came in with 95rwkw & 376nm, & is leaving with 130rwkw & 575nm with only an extra 3.5psi boost. You're not going to set land speed records, but the extra motivation from the Unichip make these medium sized SUVs performance much more respectable...

13.01.2022 Not automotive related, but Alison & I came back from Cairns today through the Tablelands for something different, & we went past the Mt Emerald Wind Farm near Tolga. Very impressive! We counted around 50 turbines (there are 53 apparently) which was really easy to do when they're NOT SPINNING. Not one! Handbrakes left on? All 53 down for maintenance, or is this normal? It was a cloudy day too so solar power would be ineffective. Is this what we have to look forward to in years to come? Their web site pics don't do the magnitude of it justice & kudos for the engineering, but today they were ornaments....

12.01.2022 JOB OPPORTUNITY AT AITKENVALE AUTO & DYNO Do you fix cars too? WE NEED YOU! Affected by Coronavirus layoffs or lack of work or job security? We're not, we're bloody busy. Must be qualified & the more experience the better. Attention to detail is important as is a positive attitude. Hope you like to be paid above award wages coz you're going to. Give us a ring, an email, a FB message or drop in for a chat.

11.01.2022 Friday just gone we had this 2015 200 Series Landcruiser in for a Manta turbo back twin 3" to single 4" exhaust. The owners have cracked 200,000kms in just over 4 years to & from their property out west, & we'd guess there was 200ks of mud under there! It was a hard hat area when pulling the old system off, but it was worth the effort as the new system made a huge difference to the on-road performance with the benefit of not being much louder on cruise throttle, but having a purposeful V8 sound under acceleration :- how they should all be...

11.01.2022 Today we tuned a 2015 70 Series Landcruiser with a Unichip package including a 5 map selector & EGR delete. Already fitted with a 3" exhaust & a fresh h/duty clutch....luckily, as we doubled the torque at 1500rpm from 320nm to 650nm. No way would the stock clutch cope with this! We didn't chase top end, finishing at 151rwkw from 108 on 19psi, but it felt so good on the road no-one would pick another few KWs at the top. Smart tuning we call that & not just number chasing so many dyno shops get excited about...

08.01.2022 So how do you shoe horn a 6 litre V8 into an RX8? Not from the top that's for sure. It's been in & out in this form once to confirm clearances for legality. The abs module was relocated, fuse box modified & remounted, 3 core radiator mountings fabricated, fuel lines reshaped. The Tremec 'box is bolted to the block with the h/d DCS clutch in between. Fabricated exhaust to the cat converter is bolted up as is the starter motor, alternator & crank sensor for the electric power steering. From engine/gearbox assy on the bench to bolted into the car is 10 minutes of work when done this way. We know it fits, & from this point if there is such a thing as a plug-and-play V8 conversion, this is it. It takes planning, but it's better than trying to solve conversion problems in a tight engine bay.

07.01.2022 Back in October last year when I advertised our convertible for sale the option if not successful was to use its 6 litre in our RX8 instead of the 5.7 that is currently in there for dummy up. That is now the way we are going which will speed up the RX8 completion immensely. So the convertible is now priced at $15,000 as a rolling complete body with no engine or gearbox. Everything is still there to fit a 6 litre & 6 speed straight back in, or you could fit a 5 litre efi or even a V6, whatever floats your boat. The price is negotiable to a point but the less you pay the less you get. Don't like the flames, paint it. Don't like the wheels, fit your own mags. You want something unique to finish off in your own way? It is still fully engineered too.

03.01.2022 Tell me old technology is useless now!

03.01.2022 Not far off some times either...

01.01.2022 Aah a scent that never, ever, ever leaves your nostrils. Remember this for my next birthday everyone...