Moose test
A moose test (driving dynamics test) is a driving maneuver that simulates avoiding an obstacle that suddenly appears on the road. The test is used to check the driving stability of cars . At speeds between around 50 km / h and 80 km / h, a lane change to the left and, after a short straight line, a lane change to the right is driven without braking. The vehicle should neither break away nor tip over sideways.
The term elk test was coined by the press at the end of 1997 after a Mercedes-Benz A-Class fell over during a test by journalists in Sweden. The test was originally called the children's test in Sweden. The term elk test is also used to describe a collision test of the vehicle with a (simulated) elk . Saab Automobile and Volvo conduct such tests to check the stability of the A-pillar and roof against an impacting moose.
General
With its large, constant lane widths, the moose test offers a wide scope for the driver's steering strategy. The Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has therefore designed an evasive test in which the aisle widths depend on the vehicle width. It is also mandatory to take gas off in the first alley. This maneuver has now been adopted under the name VDA lane change test in the international standard ISO 3888-2. It is part of testing the driving characteristics of new vehicles. The elk test is sometimes also carried out on trucks with a special loading attachment.
A vehicle equipped with ESP is much more stable in evasion tests such as the moose test than a vehicle without ESP. Since November 2011 all new car and commercial vehicle models that are registered in the European Union must be equipped with ESP. This has been true for all new vehicles since 2014, even if the series itself has been on the market for several years.
history
The term Elchtest received a high profile, as on 21 October 1997 a vehicle of type Mercedes-Benz 168 series , "A-Class" (then the latest product of the Daimler-Benz AG), in a test of Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld on the side tipped and ended up lying on the roof. As a consequence, Daimler-Benz installed the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard - a novelty outside of the luxury class at the time. The reputation of the A-Class was initially damaged.
Tests with other cars
The daily newspaper Thüringer Allgemeine carried out the elk test in 1997 with a Trabant 601 , which passed the test at 75 km / h.
Another example is the Dacia Logan , which initially apparently failed the moose test in July 2005. However, it was not the standardized moose test, but a driving test by the ADAC . The distances between lane changes and the speed had been increased, which led to the tire partially running off the rim and thereby tipping over. In retrospect, this test turned out to be inconclusive, as the tires of the affected vehicle were already damaged by various previous extreme tests.
In October 2005, as Teknikens Värld reported, the BMW E60 was tested in Bromma, Sweden , and the rear of the vehicle was broken. This was presented by BMW as "scheduled late intervention of the ESP".
In June 2007, the Land Rover Defender , a classic that has been built for over 60 years, tipped over. The reasons for this were its high center of gravity and the lack of ESP.
The ADAC carries out its own evasion test, which can be driven at higher speeds. In 2010, the three almost identical vehicles Citroën Nemo , Peugeot Bipper and Fiat Qubo were tested at a speed of 80 km / h. The Nemo tipped over during the test at 80 km / h. Citroën immediately agreed to equip the vehicles with ESP from autumn / winter 2010. The Qubo, which was equipped with the optional ESP during the test, also passed the test at 90 km / h. For safety reasons, the test was no longer carried out on the Peugeot Bipper.
Since 1999 the Citroën Xantia Activa V6 has been the record holder in the elk test of the Teknikens Värld with a speed of 85 km / h. This places it in front of vehicles like the Porsche 911 GT3 or Audi R8 , despite the lack of ESP .
In particular, road vehicles with a high center of gravity ( small vans , off-road vehicles , SUVs , vans and minivans ) can tip over or fall on their side due to their height during extreme driving maneuvers. This has physical reasons and is therefore independent of manufacturer and price.
Norms and standards
- ISO 3888-2 (VDA lane change test).
Web links
- Burkhard Straßmann: " The Elchtester " - Article in the period 2/1998 about the Robert Collins car tester and the 1997 "Elchtester"
- Hermann Winner: Mercedes and the elk: The perfect embarrassment "- physical considerations about the elk test of the A-class In: Die Welt , October 20, 2007
- Deadline: 10 years ago: A-class car overturned at "Elk test" - wdr.de
- Description of the VDA test on colliseum.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the VDA evasive test
- ↑ Welt online, October 21, 2007: Mercedes and the Elk: The Perfect Embarrassment , accessed January 23, 2012.
- ↑ Trabant 601 during the evasive test
- ↑ Pylon arrangement during the ADAC evasive test page 4 (PDF file 214 kB) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Citroën Nemo in the ADAC evasion test
- ↑ Teknikens Värld Elk test list
