This paper discusses some aspects of durability tests in laboratory, justifying the necessity of a new procedure for data compression. Attention is paid to dynamic tests, with the presence of inertia forces. The new procedure is introduced, which uses concepts of fatigue due to vibration and signal analysis. The compression procedure is applied to generate a synthetic signal for the experimental stress test of an automotive component. Copyright © 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. Siqueira, L.P., Nogueira, F., Determinação de um Procedimento para Cálculo de Vida à Fadiga em Componentes de Veículos Automotores (1998) SAE Techincal Paper 982902, , SAEAhid, D.N., Jones, D.I.G., Henderson, J.P., Vibration Damping, , John Wiley and Sons Inc. ISBN 0-471-86772-1Meirovitch, L., Elements of Vibration Analysis, , McGraw-Hill Book Co. ISBN 0-07-041342-8Shanmugan, K.S., Breipohl, A.M., Random Signals: Detection, Estimation and Data Analysis, , John Wiley and Sons Inc. ISBN 0-471-81555-1Krolo, M., (2000), Auswirkung der Energieerhöhung eines Schwingungssingnals auf den Raffungsfaktor, Studienarbeit report, DCBRJuvinall, R.C., (1967) Engineering Considerations of Stress, Strain, and Strength, , McGraw-Hill Book CoBertsche, B., Lechner, G., (1999), Zuverlässigkeit im Maschinenbau - Ermitlung von Bauteil- und System-Zuverlässigkeiten, Springer-Verlag, ISBN 3-540-65229-9