Road & Track Livestreams A Test Drive Of The P5. And The Fender Falls Off... :(

[Coss]

Has anyone brought up the "belly pan" and its affects of aerodynamics?

(By belly pan I am referring to a pan below the frame on the very bottom of the vehicle to smooth out airflow.)

I believe the aerodynamic testing is what determines of they have a belly pan or no.

AriLea mentions them in post #151, the first post on page 16; " ..................or some under-panels and maybe a side panels at the suspension 'gap'"

 

[Ekh]

Has anyone brought up the "belly pan" and its affects of aerodynamics?

(By belly pan I am referring to a pan below the frame on the very bottom of the vehicle to smooth out airflow.)

I believe the aerodynamic testing is what determines of they have a belly pan or no.

I want one even if it's just an option. They help control sound, can help with aerodynamic performance , and can keep a lot of crap from building up under the car. They do add weight.

 

[pistonboy]

Yep, probably only after the Wind-Tunnel testing is done. Even though the mirrors are about the biggest variable in that.

They could test a front 'chin' changes or some under-panels and maybe a side panels at the suspension 'gap', and that's probably about it. Maybe some shape changes to the nose or radiator vent?

I doubt highly that any of the other current skin geometry is up for gabs.

You mention side panels at the suspension 'gap'. It will be very interesting if they include these panels in the final design. They have shown a few recurring pictures of these side panels in the suspension gap. They may improve aerodynamics, but they look very difficult to design, install, be rugged, and inexpensive all at the same time.

 

[Sethodine]

Mightn't some sort of rubber gasket fit in the "suspension gap"? It would handle the vibration of the road much better than a solid piece, and would be flexible to account for the wide range of geometries that area must accommodate.

 

[Elio Amazed]

I want one even if it's just an option. They help control sound, can help with aerodynamic performance , and can keep a lot of crap from building up under the car. They do add weight.

Well Ekh, we don't want to give EM the idea that they should start charging us foreverything that should be a standard feature.
If I have to, considering the estimated price of some of their future "options", I'll probably cut out a big piece of plastic and bolt in on.

 

[pistonboy]

In the driving test, the R&T driver says at the beginning it is like an old Volkswagen in that you must rev the engine to take off.

If you notice the various take-offs throughout the video, they become quiet and he is not reving the engine.

At time -0:35 the reving is very small.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/videos/a30189/elio-test-drive/

 

[Elio Amazed]

In the driving test, the R&T driver says at the beginning it is like an old Volkswagen in that you must rev the engine to take off.

If you notice the various take-offs throughout the video, they become quiet and he is not reving the engine.

At time -0:35 the reving is very small.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/videos/a30189/elio-test-drive/

Maybe it was the B team driver.

 

[Coss]

Anyone that hasn't driven a stick in a while will almost always over rev the first few times until they get used to where the clutch "grabs" and their timing of where it grabs and how low you can sync without stalling it. aka "getting back on the horse"

 

[booboo]

One of the many reasons real men prefer to shift manually.
http://firstquarterfinance.com/manual-cars/

 

[Ekh]

Anyone that hasn't driven a stick in a while will almost always over rev the first few times until they get used to where the clutch "grabs" and their timing of where it grabs and how low you can sync without stalling it. aka "getting back on the horse"

Road and Track guys are not B team drivers, nor to they have to remember how to drive a stick shift. Come on guys, they're car testing pros. Each car varies a bit, and it takes a few starts to get down what that particular car wants, but basically -- about a 1 minute learning curve.

In 1969 I once got to drive a fully race-prepped but (theoretically) roadable car -- a monster Chevy from back int he day -- I could barely operate the clutch, it was so stiff, and you REALLY had to give it some gas -- so of course it grabbed (it was supposed to) -- frankly, it scared the crap out of me -- but once launched, it was a bullet! About as non-Elio a car as one can imagine, and way too much work to be fun on the road.