2012 South India Special: Wabco takes to road and track

Tucked in a neat little corner off the Chennai-Bangalore highway is a 1.6-kilometre-long straight track that has had a ring-side view to the evolution of the Indian bus and truck. As the only privately-owned and managed test track that can homologate a vehicle’s brake systems, Wabco India’s test track is constantly buzzing with yet-to-be launched trucks, buses and passenger cars doing the runs.

As part of a 200-acre facility bought in the mid-1990s, this track may soon see an expansion to include a high-speed circular test track with a 200-metre radius. This test track, when established, will homologate cars with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Roll Stability Control (RSC). Land is available in plenty and the plans are pretty much set in stone; all that is required for the bulldozers to work their magic is demand for ESC and RSC systems from the market.

The test track also boasts of split-surfaces in order to make the tests more comprehensive with 200-metre-long strips of blue basalt, ceramic and asphalt that are laid parallel to each other. The track also has a sprinkler system to simulate wet weather conditions. The ceramic track, when wet, has friction that’s similar to ice and is the most slippery surface used for testing. But since Indian regulations don’t require full wet ceramic testing, the ceramic track is used along with another surface to conduct tests.

Wabco India has been offering this test track to OEMs which are based in and around Chennai like Renault-Nissan, Ford India, Hyundai Motor India, and Ashok Leyland. The inauguration of NATRIP will possibly make Wabco India’s test track a non-option for OEMs, but seeing how that project is heavily delayed, Wabco India is not worried about the next two to three years.

The process to homologate a truck generally lasts for three to four days. When the truck is brought to the track, WIL’s engineers fit in their systems and conduct the government-mandated tests to collect readings. Later, these readings are matched with the parameters dictated by the regulations and further tweaking is done, if required.

KARTHIK H