Old Man Emu ESC Compatibility Testing
Safety, predictability and reliability are at the heart of each development project undertaken by ARB’s Old Man Emu engineering team. It goes without saying then, that ensuring compatibility with modern vehicle safety features is of paramount importance.
With electronic stability control (ESC) now a mandatory fitment to all new passenger vehicles sold in Australia, it is vitally important that during development, Old Man Emu (OME) engineers ensure the fitment of OME suspension components does not negatively influence the performance of this important safety feature.
As part of each new development project, OME engineers perform a number of tests using both computer modelling and real world driving to assess the impact of aftermarket suspension components, raised ride heights and additional weight, on ESC.
Not prepared to rest on their laurels, however, ARB has recently invested significantly in extensive computer aided testing with Bosch, Australia’s experts in ESC, at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) in Anglesea.
Testing aimed to assess the effects of aftermarket modifications on Sine with Dwell manoeuvres, the compatibility of OME suspension components with ESC in accordance with Australian Design Rule (ADR) 35-03, and to validate the in-house OME development and testing procedures.
Testing was undertaken over 3 days (September 23 – 25, 2013) and involved three different vehicle configurations, each with differing levels of applied load and accessory fitment (see following page).
Using a combination of Bosch’s specialised in-house measurement equipment and a VBOX SL3 GPS data logger, Bosch engineers measured a number of vehicle parameters during controlled manoeuvring exercises including:
- FL, FR, RL, RR wheel speeds
- Lateral and longitudinal vehicle acceleration
- Vehicle yaw rate
- Steering wheel angle
- Vehicle roll angle
- Vehicle speed
- Side slip angle
Results from the testing confirmed that the Sine with Dwell performance in each of the three vehicle configurations complied with the relevant requirements described within ADR 35-03. Testing also revealed an increase in performance, particularly on heavily loaded vehicles. After receiving the test results, Old Man Emu engineers performed extensive work to further validate ARB’s in-house development procedures to ensure an ongoing compatibility between OME suspension, ARB accessories and ESC. Customers can take comfort in the knowledge that ARB remains committed to extensive research and development in order to ensure that our products continue to provide the industry leading levels of innovation, reliability and safety for which the company is known.
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