RFP385992607 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Tire Testing Consultant

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to provide tire modeling, test-data processing, simulation, and customer-specific research support for the Global Center for Automotive Performance Simulation (GCAPS) within the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), with proposals due October 1, 2026, at 3:00 PM. Virginia Tech encourages SWaM (Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned) business participation and requires that any SWaM subcontractors be certified by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity by the time of award.

The scope encompasses tire model fitting and optimization using MF/MF-Swift, PAC2002, CDTire, and FTire modeling platforms; test-data scaling and processing for wet-test and asphalt-data sets; tire metrics and data-processing improvements; test-system and modeling development including hardware-in-the-loop implementation; technical publications and technology-roadmap development; and customer-specific research support. The consultant will operate under the direction of GCAPS to improve test data collection for model creation, enhancement, and simulation applications.

The initial contract period is one year with options for four additional one-year renewals, all subject to negotiation. Proposals are limited to 20 pages and must include detailed responses to the Statement of Needs, pricing proposals, project timelines, references, descriptions of comparable projects, project-management approaches, resumes of key personnel, and plans for SWaM business participation.

Evaluation is on a 100-point scale: quality of products and services (25 points), qualifications and experience of the offeror (25 points), specific plans or methodology (25 points), cost or price (15 points), and SWaM business participation (10 points). Virginia Tech reserves the right to conduct oral presentations, cancel the RFP, reject proposals, award to multiple contractors, or negotiate with two or more qualified offerors. All data, materials, and documentation created shall be owned exclusively by Virginia Tech. Questions are due September 22, 2026, at 3:00 PM, directed to Derek Spraker at (540) 231-4524 or dsprake@vt.edu. Proposals must be submitted through https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=VATech. Offerors must register with Virginia Tech's eVA electronic procurement system, and eVA transaction fees must be included in pricing.