Engine Cost?

[Ekh]

6 quarts? I never knew that. I wonder if they have an oil cooler; that would remove some of it from the pan.

I doubt the oil cooler: cost!

 

[Ekh]

Some members have speculated about what a foreign market for the motor would be. There are thousands of small river boats in Thailand that run a yoke mounted motor on the stern with the prop running straight off the crank shaft. They run any kind of motor that they can fit into the yoke.
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Not to mention Tuk-Tuks, rickshaws, mini-vans galore clogging the streets of Asia and India. The efficiency of the Elio engine would make it attractive for all those vendors, delivery services, repair services, and hucksters thronging the Third World.

 

[Ekh]

Some members have speculated about what a foreign market for the motor would be. There are thousands of small river boats in Thailand that run a yoke mounted motor on the stern with the prop running straight off the crank shaft. They run any kind of motor that they can fit into the yoke.
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Just imagine the vibration levels in those long shafts! Oy!

 

[booboo]

Just imagine the vibration levels in those long shafts! Oy!

Finally a reason to Bond.

 

[Francisco]

Cooling is definitely better now days with electric fans that supply cooling when you are stuck in traffic. Another thing I learned from Jerome at the Salt Lake P5 stop was that the engine carries 6 quarts of oil which also provides additional cooling and better lubrication. I think the engineers and Paul are putting together a winner. Looking forward to getting mine. Go Elio!!

 

[Francisco]

Does anyone know the oil viscosity?

 

[Ekh]

I re-lisened to this week's presentation by Paul Elio. He confirmed something -- that the Elio has a built-in gross margin of 23%, which is about $1,000 per car. Take that out of 7,300 and you get 6,300. If the engine is 10% of the cost (which is normal for the industry), that means the engine costs $630 or so, and should sell for about $800 or so. They'll mark that up for replacement engines, so figure $1,000 to $1,200. Not too bad!

I wish I knew what Linamar thinks they can build the engines for. Kind of a key number both for the success of the overseas market, and for Elio's actual profitability. It should cost Linamar $400 - 500, which is AMAZINGLY cheap -- they must be confident they can really churn those puppies out.

 

[wizard of ahs]

Does anyone know the oil viscosity?

I know what mine is going to be....
The same Mobil 1 0w/40 full synth!
It's worked well for over 7 years and over 120,000 miles in my smart

 

[Ty]

Is the place still to have Elio assemble the engine? I mean, is Linamar just going to cast the blocks?

 

[W. WIllie]

As far as oil capacity, I see no reason to have a 6 qt. capacity on a 1 liter engine. My Gi Insight has a 2.9 qt. capacity and I did at one time monitor the oil temp. It seemed to run around 174F at the max., IIRR, using 0-30 Mobile 1 sync. oil. (It calls for 0-20, but I run 0-30 because of the turbo.)
I've seen Insight engines apart and see no indicatio of any oil scoring from overheating. The normal water temp. is usually in the 197-204 range.
(My opinion)
Willie