The Dakota R9 Sonic Tester (part number Z-309-0002, PR-9) is an ultrasonic thickness gauge developed for the racing industry, commonly used to measure cylinder walls, head ports, decks, chassis tubing, body panels and windshields. Engine and chassis components are frequently machined close to their limits, so confirming wall thickness before boring a cylinder or port avoids breaking through into a water jacket and ruining the part.

The dual element style probe of the Dakota R9 Sonic Tester can locate blind-surface corrosion or deterioration on the far side of a wall, such as in the water jacket area, before any machining takes place. A high-speed scan feature takes 100 measurements per second, so the user simply drags the probe from the bottom of the cylinder up to the deck at a given clock position to find the minimum thickness; scanning can then be switched off to pinpoint the exact location. Three material calibration options of the Dakota R9 Sonic Tester, single point, two point and target velocity, support accurate results, and cylinder wall mapping software is available for manually creating reports.

The Dakota R9 Sonic Tester weighs 312g including batteries, runs on two AA batteries for up to 45 hours on alkaline cells, and operates from -30 to 75°C. Factory calibration is traceable to NIST and MIL-STD-45662A, and the Dakota R9 Sonic Tester carries a 5 year limited warranty. Used across cylinders, body panels, chassis tubing, roll cages, head ports and windshields, and supplied by BAMR, South Africa's authorised Dakota distributor.