In every project at Adam Opel Company, the strength and fatigue limits of a passenger car body are determined consequently and during an early phase of development. The required load time histories are determined by a MBS simulation with a virtual test track. To evaluate the strength of a car body, driving through pot holes is simulated by respective non-linear finite element models. To calculate the fatigue strength the procedure of modal superposition for a trimmed body model is applied among others. By such procedure, relevant weak locations can be detected without previous build of hardware. Confirmation of the results is carried out by the release test. In the present contribution it is shown how modifications of the MBS Model under consideration of the interaction with the finite element model change the load time function and thus, the evaluation of the car body performance.
