Is 84mpg Even Possible?

[Coss]

Hello and OldAFGuy glad you decided to join our group of patient members (or is that members that are patients?)
This site is a wealth of knowledge on the Elio and just about everything else under the sun; which is probably why our threads will drift from time to time (ok, most of the time). The group comes from all age groups and walks of life.
If you haven't used it yet the SEARCH function for the site works really well, or as you have already discovered, ask and the members will be glad to help; most of the time you'll get great answers and depending on the mood, some "fun" answers too (Thanks John )

So pull up a chair and make yourself at home.

 

[Elf]

I believe that 84 mpg can be met easier than $6800 price tag .

 

[OldAFGuy]

well understood on 84 mpg being a high goal .... as noted, the actual testing should only be a few weeks away .... I don't recall the exact number but the last release I saw said that they were over 80 but a few mpg short of 84 .... at that time they were still working with the hope of meeting/exceeding their goal

The P5 is supposed to have the production motor in it correct? I guess that will be the actual truth vs all this jabber and speculation. Should be velly intalesting to see what road testing shows.

 

[Elf]

The base C5 Corvette weighs about 3400 lbs ,LS1 360 hp can achieve 34 mpg cruising at 75-80 mph .Areo is a key part of the equation .I haven't. seen the estimated weight on the Elio

 

[JEBar]

The P5 is supposed to have the production motor in it correct? I guess that will be the actual truth vs all this jabber and speculation. Should be velly intalesting to see what road testing shows.

sort of .... the P5 will have an IAV motor built for Elio Motors .... Paul stated earlier this week in an interview that it will not be exactly like the production motor .... he didn't give any more details than that .... there is some ongoing speculation on that point but nobody really knows for sure .... it should be pretty close and I tend to believe that it will be used to gain real world experience so as to refine the production motor

 

[Bilbo B]

84 MPG is the estimated Highway mileage. Seems like city is in the mid 40's. Any numbers Elio has released so far are based upon simulations. Engineering analysis of the aerodynamics/weight/HP requirements versus the fuel to get that HP out of the custom engine. Pretty much all on computers. They have dyno tested the engine, so they should have some idea how many HP they can get out of it at some level of fuel consumption, but we haven't heard any of those test results. Their custom designed engine won't get tested in an actual vehicle until the P5 is built. And even with it, it's still a prototype, not built from production tooling, so if they do test it and release the results, they'll still only be representative. The 'E' series vehicles should give us much more accurate information. I doubt we see them until 2016 if they truly are waiting for the A+ funding to build them, although they have said they'd have started them by now (at one point they said they'd lag the P5 by some time, but be started before the P5 was completed). We certainly haven't heard that they have started the E builds, and the A+ offering clearly states that much of the money raised will go to build the E builds. They don't have that money yet, so I'd be surprised ift hey've actuallys tarted the E models yet. I hope so, but certainly wouldn't bet on it.

 

[bowers baldwin]

But I want at least one example of a normally-aspirated gasoline non-hybrid vehicle getting that kind of mileage since that is what the Elio is going to be.

One 84 MPG gas powered car coming up!

 

[Smitty901]

I am not hung up on 84 Mpg. If they get close good enough . My current car gets 40-41 highway long as I stay out of the big city it never get below 38 mpg.
So if ELIO hit 75mpg that would be a major difference. So if the ELIO falls a bit short I am not going to call for a hanging. Same with the price always expected it would go up some. It was made clear these were targets not end results.

 

[Ty]

The base C5 Corvette weighs about 3400 lbs ,LS1 360 hp can achieve 34 mpg cruising at 75-80 mph .Areo is a key part of the equation .I haven't. seen the estimated weight on the Elio

1,250 lbs and the Elio isn't nearly as wide as the corvette.. well, the Cabin isn't.

 

[Ekh]

Welcome OldAFGuy. We will know for certain on the 84 mpgs in a few short weeks after the P5 test drive.

Maybe not. It won't have the production specs engine and may not have the variable valve lift arrangement the final version will have. So it is likely to be a bit under on mpg. Proving the mpg is what the Elio series cars will do.