Apollo, you might have heard of it. An established tyre manufacturer that makes really good tyres. However, it seems that Apollo wants to push its limits with improved products.
What’s New
Apollo inaugurated an Advanced Tyre Testing facility, which is housed at its Global R&D Centre, Asia in Chennai, India. The new facility will help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the product development cycle for passenger vehicles and two-wheeler tyres, including the ones for electric vehicles.
The key features of the Advanced Test Facility include, the custom-designed Flat-trac machine and Anechoic Chamber, which would characterize the performance of tyre’s dynamics and acoustics, leading to faster product development for both OE and replacement markets. The development of tires for high-end passenger vehicles, EV-specific tires for PV, and high-end motorcycle tires would be the products that would directly benefit due to this facility.
CTO Speaks
Speaking at the inauguration, Danielle Lorenzetti, Chief Technology Officer, Apollo Tires Ltd., said,“We strongly focus on continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of product development, and this new facility will further augment our testing capabilities for future vehicle models. We will be able to fine-tune the performance of our products by simulating closely to the real-world conditions using this facility. This is aligned with Apollo Tires’ 2026 vision, of which Technology is a key pillar.”
Flat-trac
The Flat-trac machine, which is a key component of Advanced Tire Testing, is used to characterize handling parameters and tire models, measuring force and moment (F&M) properties of tires, as per vehicle’s improved dynamics. This machine is custom designed to address tire simulation needs of future vehicles, such as EVs and autonomous vehicles. Unlike previous versions, this machine replicates real-life situations, including emergency maneuvers of vehicles like high slip angles and high torque ramp-up. For two-wheelers, it simulates the most severe inclinations, as prevalent amongst premium motorcycle riders.
Another component of this testing facility is the High-Speed Uniformity machine combined with Anechoic Chamber. This helps simulate the NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) properties of the tires, which are critical for vehicles, especially EVs and premium vehicles. This machine combines the study of both mechanical and acoustic comfort parameters, by building different road profiles for the tires to be tested.
Apollo Tires is also looking at reducing the expensive and time-consuming tests at different tracks around the world, by augmenting the advanced testing capabilities.