The All-New Mazda BT-50 has successfully passed rigorous testing in the lead up to its much anticipated launch, scheduled for later in 2011.
The All-New BT-50 was subjected to 12 weeks of salt highway testing which is designed to replicate some of the harshest environments in the world, such as northern Europe and northeast USA and Canada.
The testing is used to assess the vehicles total corrosion resistance, including body, trim, chassis, electrical, engine, climate control, transmission components, fasteners and manufacturing.
Over a 12 week period, the vehicle was continuously exposed to a range of demanding conditions. The strict testing involved a repetitious cycle of the following stages;
Salt Spray Highway
The salt spray highway is a 50m long straight with salt spraying installations on both sides of the track. The surface is made of concrete and 1/3 of the track length has standing salt water. This test replicates the most corrosive conditions a vehicle will face and the results show that the All-New BT-50 will easily face up to challenging Australian conditions, such as fishing or boating.
Click here to watch the salt highway testing in action
Dust Track
The dust track stage is completed immediately after the salt highway and is used to prevent the salt from drying and evaporating. This test lengthens the time that the salt is actively corrosive and puts the vehicle surface under more pressure to ensure it can withstand prolonged corroding.
Stone Pecking Road
The stone pecking road is a long closed loop track with 4 bends. The vehicle’s body is exposed to loose stones that test the vehicle’s surface coating, which protects the steel underneath from rust.
Salt Spray Booth and Salt Wading Bath
Salt is then applied to the vehicle again; the salt spray booth is a covered cabin with 22 salt spray nozzles placed on the floor, roof and sidewalls of cabin. The trough is 50m long and consists of a bath which is 50mm deep with spraying installations along both sides of the bath. This stage puts the vehicles resistance to corrosion to the test once more.
Mud Bath
The All-New BT-50 is then immersed in a realistic mud solution. The mud bath has a length of 100m and a width of 5m. This mud bath tests yet another element of the harshest terrains in the world.
The vehicles response to the testing is carefully measured daily against strict criteria, to ensure it can operate in these harsh environments. The All-New BT-50 was successfully put to the test.