Using case study material from two collaborative projects, an approach to vehicle handling predictions involving models of a medium level of sophistication is proposed. It is argued that to be useful in commercial design context, the models must be sufficiently accurate to represent behaviour into the high lateral acceleration regime but also sufficiently user-friendly to enable designers to investigate the effect of parameter variations easily and efficiently.

VDAS (Vehicle Dynamics Analysis Software) is a design toolkit for use in the prediction of vehicle ride and handling behaviour. Within this field, it addresses the four requirements of the vehicle designer: (1) a modelling capability; (2) mathematical manipulation of the resulting equations of motion; (3) manipulation of the results into a readily assimilated form; and (4) the ability to assess the effects of parameter changes. This paper briefly discusses how VDAS addresses these requirements. For the covering abstract see IRRD 860691.