Chilly mornings, crisp blue skies and a gust of skin slicing wind every occasional moment. All this can only mean one thing; good bye winter and hello spring. While the change in season signifies a relief to many, spring is a reminder to my friends and I that our annual dyno day will be taking place soon. The Sahau Dyno Day has been a close-knit calendar staple for well over a decade. Essentially an excuse to throw a BBQ and mingle, the day serves as a catalyst to catch up with old friends and to meet new faces – all in a modest and intimate environment. This year, 15 or so cars jumped on the rollers to help create some noise.

Since this tradition begun, the venue of choice has always been at Graham West in Marion. Despite the heart breaker reputation their Mainline dynamometer is known for, owner and manager – Brett – is a talented and knowledgeable tuner. His friendly and welcoming demeanour is why the annual Sahau Dyno Day continues to call this location home.

Numbers, no matter what context, are always a sensitive topic to discuss. Out of respect to the owners, I’ll refrain from detailing figures achieved throughout the day. Speaking of numbers, this might have been Adelaide’s largest gathering of Lexus IS F’s in one location. Three examples attacked the dyno, all opting for X-Force hardware to release their spent exhaust gasses. A delightful back-to-back symphony was performed by the three Yamaha-derived V8 power plants, gratifying all audience members in attendance.

A few of the boys (and girl) from In Our Element came out to support. Last year’s Sahau Dyno Day saw Chan’s Evolution 9 wearing Volk CE28N SL shoes. They’ve since been replaced with another set of Ray’s – this time the just as stunning Volk ZE40 in trademark anodised bronze.

Alex popped by in his Championship White FK8 Civic Type R. Despite owning the car for over 12 months, it was due for a service so he was reluctant to find out what numbers it’d make.

Sahau Dyno Days have historically been Honda oriented. However, the 2018 occurrence deviated from this norm. The only H-badge vehicles which went on the dyno was my ITR and Sahau boss’s CR-X. OG-spec Spoon SW388 wheels sit so well on the EF8.

Rays Engineering wheels were definitely a crowd favourite. Whether factory issued items like the limited edition 370Z 40th anniversary bronze rims installed on the Z33 below, or the circuit-oriented Volk TE37 RT Black Edition worn by the blue Evo – genuine Rays wheels make any car look great (and perform better due to reduced unsprung mass).

Street Tuned Racing was launched earlier this year by Nathan K. Based locally, Nathan’s business specialises in supplying go-fast bits for Evolution and WRX application. As his personal Evolution 8 was at home in pieces, he brought along his brother’s gunmetal Evolution 8 MR. You can find out more about Street Tuned Racing here.

The day wrapped up after lunchtime and we all made our merry way. Although dyno days can get quite competitive depending on environment, numbers are a secondary agenda item at the annual Sahau Dyno Day. Sharing the passion for modified car culture, relishing spring’s temperature and enjoying a snag or two is the main objective. Gigantic thanks to Sahau boss for the organisation and Chris J for operating this year’s dyno.