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Competition in Automotive Market is driving the need for more time - and cost - effective testing methods. In the fatigue life analysis of new passenger and commercial vehicle designs, laboratory testing through servohydraulic equipment plays a very important role. In DaimlerChrysler do Brasil, the Durability Test Laboratory represents an important basis to assure high endurance reliability for all kinds of our commercial vehicle applications. In order to respond to the above mentioned testing tasks, this paper will focuse what we call our “New Policy of Durability Tests for Commercial Vehicles”, based on development of simple and low cost Road Simulators, fully dedicated and customized to testing of vehicle components and chassis. Experimental results as well as other data related to consumption of laboratory's: area, utilityes, pressurized hoses and test time, will be used in order to illustrate advantages and disadvantages of the new testing resource.

With the increasing necessity of reducing the development time of new products, and also the need to evaluate product reliability levels, a trend to rationalize field tests through test benches has been noted. These tests have proved more and more representative and carried out in much lower times and with lower costs. In the automotive industry this trend has generated considerable effort towards making these bench tests more representative of actual conditions towards the increase of their reliability. The quantity of simulated parameters is growing and it becomes necessary to collect more data from ground measurements signal (acceleration, temperature, pressure, flow, etc.) in experimental vehicles.

During the last years, DaimlerChrysler do Brasil (DCBR) has been moving ahead in order to research and to develop an Automatic Vehicular Location System (AVL System) due to the increase of the security through blocking and tracking devices, monitoring and mainly, logistic solutions that includes maintenance and fleet management. DaimlerChrysler do Brasil faced the necessity to prepare a test that could reflect a real situation, not only to try the system's features regardless communication and management of transmitted data, also however, to ensure the durability and reliability of the on-board vehicles equipment focusing on Brazilian Infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to describe the methodology, used tools and acquired results obtained by DCBR improvement test of his AVL System, throughout the “9o Rally Internacional dos Sertões - 2001”.

Due to the growing need of reducing development time of new products and also to evaluate their reliability, a growing trend towards reduction of field tests has been noted. Bench tests, in contrast, are being more widely used because of the reduced time to carry them out, at much lower costs. In the automotive industry this trend has led to great efforts to make these bench tests as truthful as possible in order to increase their reliability. The quantity of simulated parameters is growing and this, or course, requires the collection of an ever increasing quantity of data from signal measurements (acceleration, temperature, pressure, flow, etc.) in experimental vehicles.

Because of the increasing need to reduce the time of development of new products, or even to evaluate the reliability of products, one has been noticing a trend to rationalize field tests through essays in ever more representative test benches, within a shorter period of time at a lower cost. In the automotive industry, the trend is to increase the reliability of tests in benches. The quantity of simulated parameters is increasing, what demands an ever increasing survey of data based on measurements of signals of deformation of leaves of spring leaf and courses of suspension in experimental vehicles.