Škoda’s production plants also include short polygons where new cars are tested. These are to detect any shortcomings before the cars hit the customers.
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Each Škoda must have a quality test polygon after leaving the line. For example, the Scala, Kamiq and Fabia models pass through the polygon, which adjoins the M1 hall of the Mladá Boleslav plant. However, other types always undergo a similar test near their production line. This is one of the reasons why the new Škoda does not have zero on the odometer.
The quality test polygon is a relatively short test track that consists of several types of surfaces and different pitfalls. The cars go through two circuits, each about 450 meters long and each with a slightly different character. The whole test takes about 12 minutes, even when taking over the car from the production line.
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In order for test drivers to catch up with the pace at which cars roll off the production line, there are fifteen of them working every shift. Each car must take the same route and, if the drivers have a comment on the car, the vehicle travels to the so-called overhaul workplace for repair and, after the irregularity is eliminated, it goes to the driving test again.
So what pitfalls does the polygon include? Up to 14 different “obstacles” await the cars, twelve of which are used by default, two of which are only for deeper verification in case of irregularities. The test begins on the approach slope, where the functionality of the parking brake is tested. This is followed by a passage with special cast iron sheets, where the torsional rigidity of the body is tested at a speed of 10 to 15 km / h and the driver monitors unwanted noises. This about fourteen-meter section is followed by a slightly longer passage with similar irregularities modeled from cast iron sheets, where, however, the intensity of the torsion is a little different.
Next, the car heads to the section where the pitfalls are waiting for him, which he may encounter in real traffic. “We have a section with canals at different heights, both sunken and raised, followed by an imitation of a railway crossing,” describes Petr Konečný, driving test coordinator from the Quality Management Department. In this passage, the speed starts from the previous section, but through that simulated railway crossing, the car is already traveling at speeds of up to 40 km / h. Then follows a section with cast iron bulges, there is again about forty, followed by granite paving. In both cases, the car knocks and vibrates differently. “Drivers watch for unwanted noises from the car, or for something to knock or squeak,” Konečný explains.
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Next is the smooth asphalt, where the driver tests the shift and the car’s behavior when accelerating and braking. Here the cars reach speeds of up to 70 km / h. This is followed by a section of “cat’s heads”, which are stacked in different sizes into different groups, up to fifty. After that, it continues on a short section with completely smooth paving, where a sharp stop is tried from a speed of up to 30 km / h. “Smooth paving does not destroy the tire when fully braking and simulates a slippery road,” explains Petr Konečný, which is the choice of this surface. Then only a kind of “stairs” made of paving follow and then the car heads to the parking area, where static tests take place. These verify the functionality of the car’s systems.
“In addition to the ride itself, the drivers also test the functional elements of the car with the engine running so that the battery of the car’s 12-volt system does not suffer. Among other things, they check the function of turn signals and return levers, test horns, wipers, washers, test the functionality of mirror adjustment, air conditioning and heating, heated windows or seats and infotainment, “explains Petr Konečný.
The polygon at Hall M1 was the first of its kind in Mladá Boleslav, Škoda cars have been moving around it since 1994. The circuit is of course continuously modernized and the individual passages undergo maintenance, during which, for example, the surface is restored to the required shape.
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