Real Environment Test
This is another Jamesism and you will often hear him say this on our Car Water Leak Found videos.
When he says, "The car is all done and ready for its real environment test", what he means is, that the real test is being out in the real world. Our tests are very thorough, but they are not real-world tests, and they can miss issues that could only appear in real-world use, and these are issues we could never predict.
Examples of this might be holes that have appeared on the underside of the car. Our tests simulate rain, and so we pour water from the top, yet water ingress might appear when the vehicle is moving at a certain speed on wet roads, causing spray from the wheels to hit an area that wouldn't be hit when the car is stationary. Some of these issues are known, for example, on some Ford Focus cars this can be an issue with holes hidden behind the bumpers.
Another example might be something specific to the way the car is treated, such as being regularly parked nose-up or nose-down on a steep slope. This might cause water channels, which work perfectly when the car is parked level, to become overwhelmed.
It is also the case that when a car is moving, accelerating, or cornering, the body shell will flex, which can cause seams to open up and let in water.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 06/11/2023 17:14