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Adjustable Rear Suspension-a Must On Elio
- Thread starter Greycat
- Start date
Lil4X
Elio Addict
Amen! Although I'd like to see some additional "practical expertise" in instrumentation demonstrated in the Elio, I'll probably be opting for an aftermarket panel.Except for the Elgin Dash, totally agree! Sorry couldn't help myself....
I suspect that the person or business who can perfect switching out the Elgin
quickly and efficiently at a reasonable price for the display shown above could do pretty well financiallyI suspect that the person or business who can perfect switching out the Elgin
Pep Boys are you listening?
Pep Boys are you listening?
I doubt they are listening ..... most don't seem to have a clue that EM exist
I think that's right, but these guys &/or their reps are at the supplier meetings:
- Pep Boys
Company - The Pep Boys: Manny, Moe & Jack, is a full-service and tire automotive aftermarket chain. The first store, originally named Pep Auto Supplies, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1921 by Emanuel ...Wikipedia
- Headquarters: Philadelphia, PA
- Customer service: 1 (800) 737-2697
- CEO: R. Odell Michael
- Stock price: PBY (NYSE)$9.82-0.03 (-0.30%)
Dec 31, 4:02 PM EST - Disclaimer - Founded: 1921
Ocean9000
Elio Addict
just guessing here, so be nice... minimum load, 100 lbs., one very small person, empty fuel tank - maximum load, 700 lbs., two full size Americans, full fuel tank and a 46 lb. lasagna in the storage area. Divide the 600 lb differential by 2 (instead of 3, for a buffer) and you get a 300 lb. unloaded to fully loaded weight that the rear suspension would need to handle. Look at the rear shock above. it's beefy and at least 16" long - a good progressive spring on it would deal with that without issues, I think. Might want something else for track days, but that's a whole other discussion.
Cargo coils vs Variable rate. Well, I won't clear this up exactly, but I can say something about the tech details.
Variable rate, back in the 80's entailed a different spacing along the whole coil. As spring coils that were close spaced touched against others, the rate of loading change was different, effectively stiffening the spring.
Now on the pinching as described, this would mean that coils would not lay against each other so fast, effectively lengthening the distance a spring can compress. If it still has a variation of spacing, then it still is a variable rate. It just has a longer 'throw' before the rate climbs, since it also has a long overall travel distance. This is used to get a longer compression distance into a smaller spring package. But I should also say a tighter coil in the pinch will also be a bit stiffer section. this is like stacking different stiffness springs together, which is also a variable rate method.
So in review, there are 4 ways to get a variable rate.
1 Stack up different rated springs. (parallel or serial layouts)
2 Variable spacing, (cheapest to make, and implement)
3 Variable Coil radius. (also increases the compression distance)
4 Variable wire diameter (or wire shape) or variable material composition. (totally impractical to fabricate, which doesn't stop the aerospace industry :-) )
Variable rate, back in the 80's entailed a different spacing along the whole coil. As spring coils that were close spaced touched against others, the rate of loading change was different, effectively stiffening the spring.
Now on the pinching as described, this would mean that coils would not lay against each other so fast, effectively lengthening the distance a spring can compress. If it still has a variation of spacing, then it still is a variable rate. It just has a longer 'throw' before the rate climbs, since it also has a long overall travel distance. This is used to get a longer compression distance into a smaller spring package. But I should also say a tighter coil in the pinch will also be a bit stiffer section. this is like stacking different stiffness springs together, which is also a variable rate method.
So in review, there are 4 ways to get a variable rate.
1 Stack up different rated springs. (parallel or serial layouts)
2 Variable spacing, (cheapest to make, and implement)
3 Variable Coil radius. (also increases the compression distance)
4 Variable wire diameter (or wire shape) or variable material composition. (totally impractical to fabricate, which doesn't stop the aerospace industry :-) )