Momentum V97 - A Look Inside The Process

[Ekh]

The real challenge is city mpg ... the only way to improve that is to significantly reduce the weight of the car -- and that's trending up, not down. They did save about 150 pounds going to the stamped frame and body panels (to my surprise), and that's one reason they did so.

 

[Bikebrains]

Elio went with 135 front tires because they needed less rolling resistance and to do what they can do improve the mileage.

Since I live in northern Illinois and have to deal with icy roads I would prefer to have a wider tire which would provide more surface area on the road which creates greater stopping capability. Putting it simply: When you gotta stop, you gotta stop. I would gladly trade a mile per gallon for the greater stopping capability of a tire with a larger footprint. I am speaking from experience. I have "T boned" another car, an accident that was cause by the driver of the car that I struck. Next, I slid through a red light as a result of hitting black ice. It wasn't pretty. My car was rotating. No cars were struck only because the other drivers in the intersection had control of their cars. Thus I would prefer the wider of the two tire sizes if that resulted in more rubber meeting the road.
Perhaps there is someone out there who has the expertise in both physics and automotive tire design to be able to expound on the subject of the impact of tire width on automotive safety.

 

[Samalross]

Since I live in northern Illinois and have to deal with icy roads I would prefer to have a wider tire which would provide more surface area on the road which creates greater stopping capability. Putting it simply: When you gotta stop, you gotta stop. I would gladly trade a mile per gallon for the greater stopping capability of a tire with a larger footprint. I am speaking from experience. I have "T boned" another car, an accident that was cause by the driver of the car that I struck. Next, I slid through a red light as a result of hitting black ice. It wasn't pretty. My car was rotating. No cars were struck only because the other drivers in the intersection had control of their cars. Thus I would prefer the wider of the two tire sizes if that resulted in more rubber meeting the road.
Perhaps there is someone out there who has the expertise in both physics and automotive tire design to be able to expound on the subject of the impact of tire width on automotive safety.

They need to have a soft tire available for winter. A couple of years ago I started using winter tires, and couldn't believe the difference.

 

[raptor213]

Despite the misconception that the best tire for tackling winter road conditions is a wide, beefy, gnarly-treaded Jeep Wrangler aftermarket tire, it's empirically not true for modern-day passenger coupes and sedans.

Even tire and wheel wholesaler TireRack.com preaches the benefits of "down-sizing" or "down-gauging" from OEM recommended tire sizes when shopping for a winter set of rubber:

https://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=126

A narrower cross-section (narrower width) and a higher profile (taller side-walls paired with less aesthetic rim diameter) is the ideal combination for a winter tire, should you want the laws of physics on your side.

As for the simple difference between a 'winter' tire and an 'all-season' tire, the difference in rubber compounds, tread patterns, and performance and handling is undeniably and unmistakably different.

I had been hounding Elio Motors last fall to insist that their tire supplier (Continental) offer their proprietary WinterContact SI lineup in the unique size required by the Elio if they truly want to be a recognized partner on the project. At least then, the only all-season tires offered in the size demanded by the Elio (front tires) were commercially available in Europe by less than reputable brands, and there was no such thing as a winter tire in that size. I received the typical 'thanks for your input, check out our blog for more to come' email responses, but hopefully they got the message.

 

[booboo]

I wouldn't worry about Elio parts right now. The plan is many >$10,000 Elio's, not a few <$100,000 super Elio's.
If and when, after Production starts, there should be lots of tire options, etc. Probably will end up being able to get Elio tires anywhere after a few years.
" We will have a ton of information on all of our available options as we get closer to production, so make sure to check back as we get closer."

 

[booboo]

Since I live in northern Illinois and have to deal with icy roads I would prefer to have a wider tire which would provide more surface area on the road which creates greater stopping capability. Putting it simply: When you gotta stop, you gotta stop. I would gladly trade a mile per gallon for the greater stopping capability of a tire with a larger footprint. I am speaking from experience. I have "T boned" another car, an accident that was cause by the driver of the car that I struck. Next, I slid through a red light as a result of hitting black ice. It wasn't pretty. My car was rotating. No cars were struck only because the other drivers in the intersection had control of their cars. Thus I would prefer the wider of the two tire sizes if that resulted in more rubber meeting the road.
Perhaps there is someone out there who has the expertise in both physics and automotive tire design to be able to expound on the subject of the impact of tire width on automotive safety.

I had an 18wheel 80,000lb vehicle fully stopped at a light in Idaho. It started inching into the intersection, and the trailer started going sideways from that stop with my foot still on the brake! BLACK ICE!
It does not matter how much rubber you have on the road, if you can't walk on it, you should not be driving on it.

Snow is different, traction is usually possible, and not the problem with snow, it is usually, "driving too fast for conditions" , that gets people in trouble.

 

[Ekh]

I plan to leave the Elio inside if it snows and drive my aging Forester instead. Guaranteed arrival at 23 mpg

 

[wizard of ahs]

If it snows, I'll just stay inside

 

[W. WIllie]

What's SNOW?

 

[Doug McDow]

What's SNOW?

That's what I say, what snow ! It was 89 here today!