8/29/2015 - The Auto Future - Following Elio Motors: The Iav Engines That Power The Three-wheeler

I realize that the engine we will get in our Elio is not a Geo Metro engine but an engine that is based on and improved beyond that one. That really makes me excited. Why, because my wife owned one of the early Geo Metros. It was the greatest. My wife drove that car until she wore it out. Daily commutes into D.C. it would easily drive 85 90 as if it had much more to give. Later my wife joined a carpool. She would drive to the meeting point and then carpool. Once she had to leave work early so she drive in to work. One of the owners of the carpool she was in worked at the same place. Her partner had the car at another place and this person needed a car to make an emergency errand. she borrowed my wife's Metro. She had in the past picked at my wife about the little car that was more of a toy than a car. When she returned the car she kept talking about how that little care could go. she never joked about it again.

Another thing that is good about a three cylinder as opposed to a 2,4,or 8 cylinder engine is this. If it is properly balanced 3, 6, and 12 cylinder engines run smoother and can run at higher RPM's without coming apart. That is why companies like Ferrari tend to use 12 cylinder engines over other tyrpes. Think about it this way if comparing two engines of lets say 300 cubic inches, with one having 8 cylinders and the other 12. The 12 cylinder engine would require more parts, but the pistons, connecting rods, ...etc would be smaller. So less weight to be causing vibration. Many 12 cylinder engines redline at 7,000 to 8,500 RPM or higher. Most other types of engines redline at lower RPMs unless they are built for performance. While,we are not getting an 8 or 12 cylinder engine the same principles apply when scaled down.

There is also one other difference visible when looking at the parts of a 2,4,6,8 cylinder crankshaft vs. a crankshaft from a 3,6,or 12 cylinder engine. The crank throws in the 4,6,8 are at 90 degrees to each other. But the view from the end of a crankshaft of a 3,6, or 12 cylinder engine are arranged at 120 Degree intervals. This also making the 3,6,12 inherently more smooth when running. Of cource a big factor is how well any engine of any type has been balanced. Race driver know all about that since racing engines need to be balanced far better than the average passenger car.