Study of the Effects of Lightweighting on Lateral Vehicle Dynamics Through Double Lane Change Manoeuvre: An Integrated Approach Through Simulations and Track Tests

The automotive industry is moving toward cleaner and more sustainable solutions, with vehicle lightweighting emerging as a key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxides emissions. While the energy benefits of lightweighting are well documented, its influence on vehicle dynamics and active safety remains less explored. Focusing on a D-segment passenger car during double lane change manoeuvres, this study evaluates the effects of mass variations on pure lateral dynamics. A virtual vehicle model was developed within the VI-CarRealTime® environment and calibrated to replicate the real vehicle behaviour measured during on-track testing. The model tuning process was enhanced by the installation of several measurement devices that provided experimental signals of both driver inputs and vehicle outputs, to perform realistic offline simulations. Finally, the use of a driving simulator integrating the tuned simulation model and Driver-In-the-Loop (DiL) allows for the investigation of various loading conditions. Since physical weight reduction was not feasible, additional mass was applied through ballasts to assess how increased weight alters the vehicle’s dynamic response compared to the unloaded condition. Meanwhile, lightweight configurations were evaluated solely in simulation across two distinct scenarios. Double Lane Change manoeuvres performed in the driving simulator highlighted differences in vehicle dynamics across mass configurations, although quantitative metrics were limited by the simulator feedback characteristics and driver variability. Despite these constraints, the simulator experiments offered qualitative insights consistent with theoretical expectations, confirming the sensitivity of vehicle handling and stability to mass distribution and total weight, and supporting the validity of the digital twin for future investigations.