Bilstein has announced the expansion of its services for car manufacturers, racing teams and tuning companies, with a new damper and suspension site featuring a seven-post rig in Meuspath, Germany, next to the Nürburgring racetrack. Bilstein predicts that customers and partners will benefit from the new equipment when carrying out suspension analysis and development. The seven-post-rig is the only one of its type situated at the Nürburgring’s industrial park.
“Our credo has always been to be where we can support our partners. A test bench somewhere in the provinces was never an option for us,” commented Peter Klaus Kirner, CEO of Bilstein. “That’s why it was clear to us early on that there could only be one location for our seven-post vertical dynamics test bench – in the heart of motorsport, directly at the Nürburgring!”
The rig is said to be one of the most advanced in Europe and is capable of investigating the body behavior of an array of vehicles, with four hydraulic rams simulating road excitations in a vertical direction. Alongside this, acceleration sensors and spring travel transducers on the wheels and chassis measure vehicle and wheel movements generated by the hydraulic rams’ excitations. By doing this, customers can optimize spring-damper design. Furthermore, three additional hydraulic actuators enable replication of aero loads.
The Nürburgring location means lower logistics costs for users of the service and the added benefit of repeat accuracy. The service also offers professional support and analysis from Martin Malinowski, an engineer with 15 years’ experience in vertical dynamics test rigs, who will be responsible for operating the seven-post rig.
“Particularly in OE series development, suspension requirements are becoming increasingly demanding and complex,” commented Carsten Obst, vice president sales OEM at Bilstein. “With our new location at the Nürburgring, state-of-the-art equipment and over 60 years’ experience in the field of damper and suspension development, we can provide our partners and customers with even more targeted support.”
