Tyre wear measurement in the laboratory – a milestone for greater planning reliability for OEMs and tyre manufacturers.

Munich, Germany, May 2025 – Indoors instead of on the road: With its new test stand, TÜV SÜD can now simulate tyre abrasion all year round under controlled laboratory conditions – faster, more sustainably and more precisely. This reduces the number of road tests and provides comparable results at an early stage – a milestone for greater planning reliability for OEMs and tyre manufacturers. TÜV SÜD presented the new testing technology live for the first time at today's Open Lab Day.

Every year, countless test kilometres are driven in Europe to determine the abrasion behaviour of tyres. In the process, tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) are generated, which will be subject to Euro 7 regulations in the future. With its new Tread Wear Tester, TÜV SÜD is taking a forward-looking step by moving testing from the road to the laboratory – for greater control, efficiency and resource conservation. “With the new test stand, we are able to simulate tyre abrasion in a realistic and repeatable way without the need for expensive test fleets or prototype vehicles,” explains Klaus Baltruschat, tyre expert at TÜV SÜD.

The new test stand was delivered and installed at the end of 2024 – a logistical highlight: the 27-tons system had to be lifted over the roof into the test stand room using a heavy-duty crane with a 30-metre boom.

To mark the successful commissioning, TÜV SÜD invited partners, customers and industry representatives to an exclusive Open Lab Day in Garching near Munich on 14 May 2025. In addition to a live demonstration of the test stand, guests were treated to in-depth technical discussions, networking opportunities and insights into current and future developments in the field of tyre testing and regulations. “We are delighted with the great interest shown by our customers and partners,” said Baltruschat. “The Open Lab Day has shown that indoor abrasion testing is more relevant than ever – and that our Road2Rig strategy is precisely tailored to the needs of the industry.”

The latest generation of Tread Wear Testers developed by ZF Test Systems works with a 3-metre drum – a unique feature in the industry. This allows abrasion tests to be carried out in accordance with UN ECE R117 Annex 10 (‘Drum Method’) as well as individually adapted follow-up profiles. Different drum coatings can also be used to simulate different road surfaces.

The system allows a wide range of driving modes with speeds of up to 140 km/h with artificial road surfaces (e.g. real asphalt) or 200 km/h on standard surfaces (sandpaper). With a load effect of up to 25 kN (passenger car) and a slip angle of up to +/- 10 degrees, cornering can also be realistically simulated.

The Tread Wear Tester is a key component of TÜV SÜD's ‘Road2Rig’ strategy, which aims to increasingly replace real-world driving tests with laboratory tests. This is not only good for the environment, but also offers significant benefits to vehicle manufacturers: the tests can be carried out at an early stage based on simulation data, without the need for prototype vehicles. This ensures predictable development, faster results and lower costs.

“Our substantial seven-figure investment is a clear commitment to the future of tyre testing. Together with ZF, we want to develop an integrated solution for generating and measuring TRWP in laboratory operations in the future,” says Klaus Baltruschat. “In this way, we will contribute to technical progress and also to meeting future environmental requirements.”