FCA Drops $2.5 Million On New 4x4 Dyno For Snow And Ice Testing

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced that it has spent $2.5 million to improve its Chrysler Technology Center (CTC) at the FCA HQ in Auburn Hills, Mich. The new CTC is designed to test the capability of 4x4 vehicles in a wider range of temperature extremes from -40 with snow blowing at 100mph to 130-degrees simulating a warm Texas summer day.

The drive cell housing of the new dyno can be chilled to 40 below zero to simulate blizzard conditions to determine how the vehicles will perform when dense snow clogs air intakes. The drive cell has a dyno system that and handle up to 350hp in the front and a dyno that can handle up to 650hp in the rear.

There are other pieces of equipment inside the CTC that are designed for extreme testing of vehicles. An aerodynamics facility can create winds at speeds over 160mph, which is the highest speed produced by any domestic OEM wind tunnel.

The CTC has 129 dyno cells that run 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. The facility has maintained that 24/7 operation since the day it opened in 1991. The entire CTC facility has 5.4 million square feet making it larger than any other HQ in North America this side of the Pentagon.