The 67.23-in. (1.707-m) diameter laboratory test roadwheel is one of the most extensively employed testing devices for tire durability and endurance testing.

This test apparatus operating in the laboratory at controlled surface speeds, loads, and ambient temperatures simulates, to a degree, tire-operating conditions resembling actual service. Because of the roadwheel curvature, the test tire is fatigued more rapidly than a tire operating on a road.

The laboratory roadwheel described in this practice is suitable for comparative evaluation of tires under controlled operating and environmental conditions.

While the laboratory roadwheel may not reproduce structural fatigue exactly as it occurs in service, the laboratory wheel can be used to produce fatigue under controlled conditions.