The masked prototype of the new Fabia rides on a straight line at the test site. He pulls a flat cart behind him, which does not appear to be heavy or has great air resistance. Nevertheless, the fabia engine sweats a lot.
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As? That truck is the so-called “towing dyno” – a trailer with an engine brake. It contains a dynamometer with a maximum load of 9 kN and an output of 150 kW. It brakes its wheels, which slows down the car and thus not only simulates driving with a trailer of different weight, but can also simulate climbing uphill hills of various slopes.
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Škoda Fabia IV. generation in testing.
Photo: Škoda
According to the carmaker, it is possible to simulate the road to the Grossglockner, one of the huge number of alpine passes. Of course, the density of the intake air and its temperature do not change, because the car is still running in the Czech Republic, but the climb can be simulated.
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Pavel Kolajta from Škoda shows a dynamometer in a trailer.
Photo: Škoda
However, it is also tested in real demanding conditions – behind the Arctic Circle or in the desert. “With a car under maximum load, it is driven in temperatures and below −30 ° C and above +45 ° C, we drive in snow, through freezers, in dust, we perform tests with simulation of monsoon rain, “lists some extremes Pavel Kolajta, who is responsible for the functional tests of the new Fabia.
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Security is mainly tested virtually
Simulation in combination with real tests is also used in the development of security systems. Car safety is one of the most rigorously assessed criteria, and demands are growing with each generation of the car. And the challenge is the basic development of the body’s safety structure.
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Škoda Fabia IV. generation in testing.
Photo: Škoda
The load-bearing part must be as strong as possible, together with the belts and airbags, to protect the crew as much as possible, but at the same time the bodywork must be as gentle as possible in collisions with careless pedestrians or cyclists. Therefore, so-called impactors are used in testing, which check the behavior of individual panels.
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“During the development of the Fabia, we fired impactors at the car and its parts over two hundred times. However, one such test has an average of about 140 virtual simulations, which help to tune the parts before the real test, “explains Csaba Sirgely from the car safety engineering team.
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Škoda Fabia IV. generation in testing.
Photo: Škoda
In the classic crash tests of the whole car, this ratio is even more extreme – there are about a thousand simulations per physical test. And of course much more is being tested.
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“During static tests, for example, we will fire the passenger airbag about three hundred times. Roughly the same number of tests apply to each airbag in the car, which together gives an enormous number of tests that are performed at temperatures from −35 up to +90 ° C, ”adds Sirgely.
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The aerodynamics of the hatchback are a challenge
It is a matter of course that the car is difficult to develop even in terms of air resistance and other aerodynamic properties. As a hatchback, the Fabia is harder because it is short and offers fewer areas where aerodynamics can be optimized. And it is the air resistance that has a major impact on fuel consumption, which is perhaps the most closely monitored data today.
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Compared to its predecessor, the new Fabia is larger and has a larger front surface, but the aerodynamic drag is 10% lower, according to the carmaker, which means CO2 emissions 3 grams less when measured according to the WLTP standard.
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Škoda Fabia IV. generation in testing.
Photo: Škoda
Interesting tricks in the fabia sleeve are active cooling blinds, which can limit or close the air inlet to the engine compartment when the full power of the cooling system is not required. This, of course, will improve air resistance.
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Covering the chassis is a matter of course, but another trick is the vents on the sides of the front bumper, which improve the flow of air around the front wheels. And the fabia is also to receive special wheels with aerodynamic inserts.
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Take a look at the current offer of new and used cars Škoda Fabia on Sauto.cz. |
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