100 Preproduction Elio's To Be Built In December!!

[RUCRAYZE]

View attachment 8770
Umm, I think Elio would get creamed in a 3 wheeled race at this point. Everything with 3 wheels right now are performance based.

well, maybe not every three wheeler :-)

 

[Maurtis]

Depends on the track, and how you outfit the tires on your Elio. A tRex has some interesting acceleration, but at some point they lose it on a turn. An Elio with good rubber, will have a lot better g-force rating on a turn. Still the two would probably be considered different race categories and not compete directly. You couldn't drag-race against a tRex, but I wouldn't take the tRex fast down Pikes Peak. In an Elio, probably much safer.
Going uphill on Pikes-Peak, I'm betting on the Elio, to at least make it there.

Why are you thinking the Elio will handle the curves better than the T-Rex? I have not driven either (LOL), but the T-Rex claims to get 0.5g better on the skidpad at least, Elio said 0.8G and T-Rex says 1.3G? They look similar weight-wise around 1,200 lbs, but almost 3X the power in the T.

Is it because of the rear wheel drive? Apparently it can get squirrely very easily, but I hear Porsches do too

 

[outsydthebox]

The purpose of the pre-production vehicles is to get feedback prior to production. Not to fill an order. Therefore, there must be time to get the feedback before final assembly for the production model begins. The amount of time will be affected by the nature of the feedback. I'd just plan on another six month to a year.

If these 100 can be driven (only) 3k miles per month, of "REAL WORLD" driving, that would give them 1million miles of data in a little over 3 months! I seriously doubt they will find any major issues. What I think they WILL be looking for, is little "rattles" and "squeeks", door seal leaks, proper "shift points" for the AMT and interior "sound quality". Things like this will be Very quick and easy to remedy.
By the way, I appreciate you well thought out replies.

 

[AriLea]

Why are you thinking the Elio will handle the curves better than the T-Rex? I have not driven either (LOL), but the T-Rex claims to get 0.5g better on the skidpad at least, Elio said 0.8G and T-Rex says 1.3G? They look similar weight-wise around 1,200 lbs, but almost 3X the power in the T.

Is it because of the rear wheel drive? Apparently it can get squirrely very easily, but I hear Porsches do too

I'm meaning an Elio with the racing upgrades. I should have said that yes? But the subject was racing configurations.
The issue I have with the tRex, is the weight distribution and the predictability of over steer & understeering. This can go all kinds of different when you put power into that rear-power arrangement. One time, sure hits 1.3g, next time you put more or less power and you can't do .5g.
It's a lot less predictable than power-control moves in a mid-engine 4 wheeler. A 4wheeler has no tradeoff between roll-over and traction as it allies with center of gravity. The over/under steering dynamics are also much more controllable. They loosely go together.
This is one reason the tRex has close to a ?7ft? wheel track.
Once you put on racing rubber to the Elio it will widen by 6inches if you like. Even if the tRex still has better side g's, the Elio will be more control-able.
Having said that, between the tRex and the Elio, only the tRex can do a power-control-turn. In fact that's part of it's problem, powering out of a turn, it's just a bit too easy to do a power turn. But that's when the unpredictability kicks in as well.

There are bunches of things to worry about in the rear wheel drive for a tadpole !when there is excessive power!. In the cabinscooters forum I frequent,;
A gentleman there had a TriMagnum with 1100 cc. Weight was just a bit too much to the back. His friend took it for a spin-literally. Unfortunately it was a horizontal spin. The man gunned it, popped a wheelie, rolled mid-air (long-ways flip), and ! died ! in the process. The point here was, that it was an excessively quick event, no time for human intervention at all. It takes at least 1/10 of a second for a human to react to unexpected input. By that time, it was too late. That is what I mean by unpredictability.

Yes, yes, depending on all things engineering, your mileage may vary.

 

[AriLea]

Another example of the racing issue. I built a rear-powered tadpole in 1982-4. It also had a very wide track, an seemingly good traction for power. It did not seem to have any roll-over trouble due to the very low CG. Cornering was very, very good, until I hit the least bit of gravel. Then I completely lost side traction in a turn. There was no compliancy with the rubber, it would 'bridge' the gavel and you had nothing to hold the road. This was too lightly loaded rubber. Wider tread would not have made that better.

Yes softer rubber and lower tire pressure would have helped. But then roll-over and understeering would have suffered for other reasons.

 

[Ekh]

For those of you who were wondering, I checked. The E-Series cars are of course being developed as per schedule. The fleet cars are for commercial users, and there will be at least two Fleet operators involved in the first 100 test. I was told that the 100 fleet vehicles would be exposed to very severe service conditions. They will not be swooping along the interstate for the most part.

Also, there are no plans to change the design of the car to increase storage space. The production car will have exactly the same amount as the P5.

 

[KD]

For those of you who were wondering, I checked. The E-Series cars are of course being developed as per schedule. The fleet cars are for commercial users, and there will be at least two Fleet operators involved in the first 100 test. I was told that the 100 fleet vehicles would be exposed to very severe service conditions. They will not be swooping along the interstate for the most part.

Also, there are no plans to change the design of the car to increase storage space. The production car will have exactly the same amount as the P5.

I AM one of those who are wondering!

If they are indeed going to be used for "severe service conditions", is it safe to assume then that the suspension is 99% there, along with engine/trans combos, interior dimensions (shift levers, steering wheel position, et al) and all that? I presume, like life in the manufacturing world, that last 1% is a bitch, and Rousch is on board to smooth out the last final details.

The idea of making these into "race" vehicles (because, you know, Rousch) is humorous to say the least. We must crawl before we walk, then run, then do whatever other athletic maneuvers we can improve on because we did the prior events.

I am so looking forward to the 100 doing real world conditions to make OUR Elio's that much better!

Oh, don't look at the Jalopnik website either. Unless ye are a naysayer. Then knock yourself out!

 

[pistonboy]

Excellent. Where did you get this information?

 

[Marshall]

... We must crawl before we walk, then run, then do whatever other athletic maneuvers we can improve on because we did the prior events...

That's it. I'm changing my Elio from a crawfish to a crawlfish.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

All this talk about fleet sales and rental car companies and a problem with carrying enough luggage makes me all the more sure that Elios need more luggage space.

I can't imagine the larger trunk would increase gas mileage all that much. Air is still moving around the vehicle, but I'm no engineer either.