Horse Power

[Folks]

Ahhh! The penguin joke! Love that one!

OK, I'm game. Please tell us the penguin joke? I'll probably regret it.

 

[NSTG8R]

OK, I'm game. Please tell us the penguin joke? I'll probably regret it.

A penguin pulls into a gas station/garage because his car is acting up. The mechanic say, "This might take a while, there's a Dairy Queen next door if you want to kill some time." An hour later the penguin comes waddling back to check on his car. The mechanic says, "Well, it looks like you blew a seal." The penguin wipes his face and replies, "No, it's just ice cream."

 

[RKing]

Uh, how many concurrent conversations do we have going on here????? Seems some drama I may have overlooked????

 

[pistonboy]

Watts is becoming the preferred unit of power for internal combustion engines. An example is Wikipedia. I under stand this is because the definition of a horsepower will vary from country to country, but the definition of a watt is universal and scientifically defined.

 

[wheaters]

If the IAV puts out 55hp, the Elio will have a comparable power to weight ratio equal to, or better than, most other cars being driven to work. My fifteen year old, G10 engined (as in the Elio prototypes, 52 hp) Suzuki Swift easily keeps up with motorway traffic on my 45 mile drive to work. My other car is a BMW 330d, with over 230 hp and I have no difficulty commuting in the Suzuki instead.

The 850 cc Reliant engine in my Liege produces a mighty 40 hp and 50 ft lbs of torque (I know because we've had it on a rolling road three times over the years). It weighs about the same as an Elio and has the aerodynamics of a barn door. It also has a very accurate speedometer and its top speed is over 85 mph. With its far cleaner shape, the Elio will be, to quote an old British term, "quite nippy".

So, I'd say don't worry about the performance as it comes from the factory.

 

[NSTG8R]

Watts is becoming the preferred unit of power for internal combustion engines. An example is Wikipedia. I under stand this is because the definition of a horsepower will vary from country to country, but the definition of a watt is universal and scientifically defined.

I agree, but it is a little ironic that James Watts came up with the formula for HP.

 

[NSTG8R]

Uh, how many concurrent conversations do we have going on here????? Seems some drama I may have overlooked????

Can't pinpoint the actual moment, but it appears to me that a little sarcasm was taken to heart and blood pressures rose rapidly. I've seen stuff like this happen before. It's kind of difficult, when the other party isn't physically present, to tell when they're just ribbing you a little.

 

[Smitty901]

Harley TC 103 puts out about 66 HP and will move an 1100 pound Touring like a rocket. I am sure at 55HP the ELIO will do ok for day to day driving.
Torque maybe a larger issue than HP. The TC103 does put out some pretty good torque. Have not read anything about real numbers on the Elio engine .
Reason topic keeps getting redirected in many of the threads on the sight , it helps to avoid the real issues.

 

[Ekh]

If the IAV puts out 55hp, the Elio will have a comparable power to weight ratio equal to, or better than, most other cars being driven to work. My fifteen year old, G10 engined (as in the Elio prototypes, 52 hp) Suzuki Swift easily keeps up with motorway traffic on my 45 mile drive to work. My other car is a BMW 330d, with over 230 hp and I have no difficulty commuting in the Suzuki instead.

The 850 cc Reliant engine in my Liege produces a mighty 40 hp and 50 ft lbs of torque (I know because we've had it on a rolling road three times over the years). It weighs about the same as an Elio and has the aerodynamics of a barn door. It also has a very accurate speedometer and its top speed is over 85 mph. With its far cleaner shape, the Elio will be, to quote an old British term, "quite nippy".

So, I'd say don't worry about the performance as it comes from the factory.

My Marcos GT of long ago weighed 1600 pounds and had a 115 hp volvo b18b engine. Screamed.

My Suzuki Burgman 600 scooter weighs 640 pounds (plus me) and puts out 66 horsepower -- but has about the same acceleration as the Elio or my Subaru Forester, about 10.5 seconds 0-60. But the bike gets 41 mpg, not 84!

 

[Folks]

If the IAV puts out 55hp, the Elio will have a comparable power to weight ratio equal to, or better than, most other cars being driven to work. My fifteen year old, G10 engined (as in the Elio prototypes, 52 hp) Suzuki Swift easily keeps up with motorway traffic on my 45 mile drive to work. My other car is a BMW 330d, with over 230 hp and I have no difficulty commuting in the Suzuki instead.

The 850 cc Reliant engine in my Liege produces a mighty 40 hp and 50 ft lbs of torque (I know because we've had it on a rolling road three times over the years). It weighs about the same as an Elio and has the aerodynamics of a barn door. It also has a very accurate speedometer and its top speed is over 85 mph. With its far cleaner shape, the Elio will be, to quote an old British term, "quite nippy".

So, I'd say don't worry about the performance as it comes from the factory.

I view quaint jargon and English terms as a little added spice. I must say I'm hooked on the point in times and culture portrayed in the "Dounton Abby" series. Is there a term called zippy similar to "nippy" there? Nippy, here, means cold. Perhaps both having the origin from the word "brisk" as a descriptor as in brisk weather or brisk performance of your car.