Wheel testing

Wheel testing involves a series of tests that are carried out to meet vehicle OEM requirements or the specifications of test standards on bending fatigue, radial fatigue, biaxial impact, energy absorption, radial impact or torsion.

Independent wheel tests carried out by a certified test lab provide various benefits to wheel manufacturers and their clients:

• Evaluate the quality of your product and increase sales revenue
• Meet individual safety, quality and performance requirements of OEMs and testing requirements for homologation, enabling export to key automotive markets
• Ensure the consistent quality of your products and use the provided test data for optimizing the development of new wheel models
• Gain recognition for your brand and strengthen your reputation among OEMs by providing comprehensive test results which ensure product safety

TÜV SÜD is the biggest independent institute for tire and wheel technologies in Europe. We operate advanced wheel testing facilities that are equipped to conduct the full scope of tire and wheel tests. Our experts are highly trained professionals who work extensively with top automotive OEMs and suppliers worldwide. Through this experience, we have developed a strong knowledge of manufacturer and vehicle OEM requirements. We also have the expertise to conduct testing on special wheels that are not covered by any standards, such as wheels for trucks, agriculture vehicles and other special vehicles.

As a neutral, independent third-party organization TÜV SÜD provides you with the full scope of wheel tests according to standards, regulations and customer specified requirements.

We conduct wheel testing to the following test standards: StVZO, ECE, VIA, JWL, JASO, SAE, ISO, INMETRO, EUWA and AK-L08.

Wheel Testing

Includes wheels for passenger car/light truck, truck and motorcycle, agriculture vehicles and other special vehicles.

Multi-Axis Wheel Testing

Thanks to our new biaxial test rig, we can not only test wheels separately for fatigue, but also reliably assess their behavior in the wheel assembly and also the adjacent chassis components. For example, we can simulate real time programs on our test bench realistically, so that driving tests on the road to assess the wheel assembly can be partially substituted by a test bench test. The additional installation of a brake including real-time control up to the ABS control range allows the reliable simulation of important parameters such as different operating temperatures. The flexible design of the test setup also allows for the investigation of issues that could previously only be carried out in road tests and which, in addition to high material costs, also posed logistical challenges. The new test machine now effectively saves time and money also in these areas.

We offer:

• Fatigue testing under highly realistic conditions
• Development of programs to test the setting behavior of wheel bolts on the test machine instead of in drive tests
• Reliable simulation of operating temperatures, particularly for carbon and plastic wheels
• Mapping of multi-axis real-time programs to simulate operating loads
• Multi-axis tests of wheel assembly including chassis stiffness
• Extended tire testing programs, e.g. determination of rolling resistance under consideration of chassis influences (wheel alignment, wheel hub and wheel bearing) and high-speed testing under consideration of wheel alignment (setting of track and camber)

Torsion Testing

Torsion testing machines test an important aspect of the safety of motorcycle wheels made of (light) metal or fiber-reinforced plastic. Specifically, these test rigs simulate tangential forces on the wheel that would occur in a real driving situation during braking and acceleration. For passenger car wheels, this testing may also be required if there are technical concerns due to the cross-sections, number of spokes, or wheel design.

To ensure reliable results, the test rig must meet special requirements, such as those specified in the Traffic Bulletin Publication Road Traffic ("Verkehrsblatt-Veröffentlichung Straßenverkehr"), Year 1998, No. 287, Section 30 of the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVZO). Our torsion testing machines meet these requirements and offer additional features that ensure a particularly realistic simulation for maximum safety.

Technical data of the test rig:

• 4 electric servo drives
• Real-time synchronized operation
• Self-learning force controller
• 4 force sensors – DAkkS calibrated
• Alternating torsional moment: ± 2,500 Nm (max. 3,000 Nm)
• Frequency: max. 10 Hz
• Variation of synthetic input signals: sine, square wave, static preload, alternating or swelling

Type Approval

We offer project management services that cover the control of the development process as well as reporting to the OEM.

Other Types of Testing

Testing of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) according to ECE R64, as well as testing and certification of tyre sealant and inflator packs and snap-in valves.