Goodyear opens driving simulation centre in Luxembourg

Luxembourg – Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has opened a simulation centre in Luxembourg, aimed at improving tire design and development.

The unit features a DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulator developed by VI-grade and is designed to enhance collaboration with OEMs, said Goodyear 26 March.

The centre will also help Goodyear “support elite tire performance through personalised product development,” it added.

As part of its virtual tire development process, the tire maker will use the simulator to test and validate tire models for car models that do not yet exist.

This allows for “speedier production” and ensures that tire modifications can be made in the development process to suit the vehicle’s needs.

The expansion follows the launch of the inaugural centre in Akron, Ohio in 2021.

According to Goodyear, the use of simulated driving allows for fewer physical tires to be produced and a faster manufacturing process.

“It will also help enable Goodyear to achieve first to approval for all development tires with only one physical iteration,” the tire maker added.

In fact, Goodyear claims that based on its calculations, the ability to develop one physical iteration will save an average of 13,000 tires and 97,500km of physical tire testing.

The “industry-leading” simulation centre demonstrates Goodyear’s commitment to “investing in and shaping the future of mobility,” said Romain Hansen, VP EMEA product development.

“Our virtual tire development team has run numerous projects to date with the leading OEMs from Europe, the US and China," he added.

According to Hansen, automotive engineers have acknowledged “both the potential business and possible sustainability impacts."