Crash Testing?

[KScarguy]

I looked at the P4 construction photos and I do not see any side impact protection built onto the frame on the right side. I also don't see any built into the door. Anyone have any further input into this?

 

[Rando]

It's only a prototype. No airbags yet either.

 

[dteke]

They said 20 were being built for crash testing I think. Would be good to confirm and even better to see the results.
DT

 

[paddy's wagon]

They said 20 were being built for crash testing I think. Would be good to confirm and even better to see the results.
DT

Is that 20 complete cars or 20 frames or a mix of configurations?

 

[Craig]

I looked at the P4 construction photos and I do not see any side impact protection built onto the frame on the right side. I also don't see any built into the door. Anyone have any further input into this?

 

[goofyone]

Is that 20 complete cars or 20 frames or a mix of configurations?

Up until this point, the prototypes have been built as a “one-off” for engineering purposes to answer specific questions. The next series of builds will be considered E builds where 18 to 26 vehicles, each numbered accordingly, will be built to address a specific mission (e.g., fuel economy) from which it will be evaluated against. It is also important to note that through each of these series of steps, the production assembly sequence, methodology and the needed tools are being finalized. Therefore, the objective is to prototype a vehicle for engineering as well as prototype the assembly process. This is a critical difference between Elio Motors and other automotive manufacturers given Paul’s vision was to take a more conservative approach in design by constantly keeping production capabilities at the forefront when developing the vehicle design.

http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=e32f0f9f33&e

According to a report from the Phoenix showing this weekend crash testing is scheduled for the 4th quarter of this year. This timeframe makes sense to me as they have to build the P5 and make sure it is what they want then start building and testing the E builds before crashing them.

The good news for all of us watching is that the pace of news coming out about the development process should really speed up over the next six months which should make things much more interesting around here.

 

[goofyone]

[Broken External Image]
By the way the side impact protection system in the Elio is no different from what you have in any other car so there is no reason at all the Elio would do worse than any standard car in a side impact. It should actually do a bit better on the right side where there is no door creating a gap which much be reinforced.

Another interesting safety tidbit for the Elio is that in side impacts, due to the single rear tire, the vehicle has a tendency to spin away from an impact instead of staying put and absorbing the impact like a four wheel vehicle would.

 

[Lil4X]

That's a great point. Elio's light weight also plays into many crash scenario - as inertia is a critical consideration - it's the amount of energy that either has to be absorbed . . . or dissipated. Within limits, the less there is, the better.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

Thinking of the Godzilla movie, what about top impact protection?

 

[H2odog]

I looked at the P4 construction photos and I do not see any side impact protection built onto the frame on the right side. I also don't see any built into the door. Anyone have any further input into this?

Some of you folks are kind of like the neophyte baker that looked at his cake batter and wondered just how he was going to frost that! Knock off the BS speculation and wait for the facts before hollering "The sky is falling"