At the Smithers Winter Test Center, we can think of many reasons why you may want to get in the car and take it for a spin. With well-maintained
handling courses, hills, circles, and other surfaces, plus a new
event center on site, our clients have many options available to them for live demos.
Whether you’re hosting your colleagues, suppliers, clients, or the press, the team at Smithers can support you in planning and executing a successful ride and drive event for:
- New product launches
- Demonstration of new features
- Driver training
New Product / Feature Demonstration Days
A successful and memorable launch or demo event starts with the right stage. The Smithers Winter Test Center offers a range of
surface types, including split mu, ice, packed snow, and road courses, so you can choose the best option for showcasing your latest technology advancements in tire traction, suspension, traction control, autonomous vehicle sensors, and more.
We’re committed to working with you and your team to ensure a successful event. From welcoming guests and and arranging catering to managing safety and surface preparation, we’ll make sure everything you need is ready to go, so you can focus on your guests.
Contact our on-site team to discuss your goals and preferences for your next launch event and learn about your options for:
Driver Training
Invest in your team’s expertise: Send your development groups, test engineers, and validation teams to the Upper Peninsula for a custom tailored curriculum including theory education and hands-on learning, focused on winter weather driving. We can organize a custom training program with a qualified driving trainer or provide the space and surfaces you need to bring in your preferred instructor. The Smithers Winter Test Center is a certified examination site for SAE J3300 Driving Level Skill Certification.
SAE J3300 serves as a benchmark for professional drivers to report their own driving skill level and for proving grounds to assess the skill of professional drivers. The standard includes several categories including a general driving level, low mu/winter driving, trailer towing, and automated driving.
Our team can help to design the most effective training program to suit your needs, enabling your team to:
- Create and execute component-specific testing protocols that will advance your product, including:
- Vehicle dynamics
- Basic & tiered car control advancement
- Tire performance evaluations
- Powertrain & chassis validation
- Instrumentation setup and usage
- Insert human intuition into loop testing methodologies and achieve deeper understanding of the customer, market, or industry feedback and ratings.
- Develop structures for collecting and interpreting information so that your data works for you.
- Integrate the observations and contributions from your testing group with the goals of your development team.
Curriculum Options
All of our courses use a blend of indoor seminars and on-track experiences to ensure you’re learning as much as possible and getting the most value for your time.
Start with a deep dive into the theory and science of handling and stability traits, traction gradients, and the importance of each component in cohesive behavior tuning. Then get behind the wheel for hands-on exercises to experience the test procedures and processes that produce defined results.
Smithers works with some of the industry’s leading driver training professionals who focus on safety, skill development, testing methodologies, and repeatability. We can help you choose the right instructor and customize a program that meets your needs.
