US Patent 7174776 Methodology for vehicle box component durability test development

A vehicle component test method includes measuring first acceleration data at discrete locations on a first vehicle frame during an actual road test of a first vehicle and measuring second acceleration data at the discrete locations on a second vehicle frame of a second vehicle mounted on a test fixture. The second acceleration data is compared to the first acceleration data and an acceleration error is generated. The test fixture is adjusted based on the acceleration error until the acceleration error is within a predetermined range.