MODEL-BASED LONGITUDINAL STIFFNESS ESTIMATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

A tire-based system and method for estimating a longitudinal stiffness between a tire (12) and a road surface is disclosed. The system comprises at least one tire (12) mounted to a wheel hub and supporting a vehicle (14); load measurement means for determining a load level (42) on the at least one tire (12); wear estimation means (38) for estimating a wear state of the at least one tire (12); tire-based sensor input means for measuring and/or providing tire-based input parameters (44); and longitudinal stiffness adaptation model means for deriving a longitudinal stiffness estimation (46) scaled by the load level, the tire-based sensor input parameters, and the wear state.