Should Elio Offer An Ecu Tuned For Higher Hp?

[Joshua Caldwell]

I ran off the road once long before cell phones existed. The police officer asked if I had fallen asleep at the wheel. I had not. My sons were arguing and instead of getting off the road and getting them settled down the easy way, I allowed them to distract me enough that I got off the road the hard way.

My dad used to write his thesis on a notepad (paper not computer) while driving. Quite a few times we went off the shoulder and into the dirt at highway speeds before he corrected.

 

[carzes]

I think the potential hot-rodding for this vehicle will have to wait 'till it's actually been built. If it ends up with a geo motor, or any of the three cylinder options out there I don't think any of them were designed with a lot of extra strength in the engine components. I have had experience with several three-bangers in Europe and I wouldn't be comfortable throwing much added stress on any of those motors. They are designed to be cheap and go down the road sipping gas, not tolerate high performance stress.
I think the drive would be more fun with some kind of air or hydralics in the front to pivot the body on the rear wheel in tight turns rather than just getting more go-faster power. I guess the real question is; exactly how fast is fast enough? No matter how fast it is the answer to the power question is always "MORE". And the bottom line is, as always; Speed costs money. How much do you want?

 

[msmith5150]

Somewhere in my dim, distant past I was assigned to rewrite the Smith System for a series of driver training videos for a large oilfield service company. That and "Shifting the 13-Speed Road Ranger Transmission" remain some of the creative lowlights of my career. The Smith System for those unfamiliar with it, is based on five elements:

1. Aim High in Steering (look way down the road, not just in front of you)
   
2. Get the Big Picture (be aware of situations developing beside and in back of you)
   
3. Keep Your Eyes Moving (don't stare ahead, keep checking mirrors, instruments, etc.)
   
4. Leave Yourself an "Out" (situational awareness - where would you go if cut off?)
   
5. Make Sure They See You (use lights as DRLS, use turn signals, to show your intentions)

Intended originally for fleet drivers and OTR truckers, the Smith System "space cushion" concept helps drill into drivers the idea of keeping a minimum of two seconds (three or four in a big truck) between you and traffic ahead. It is probably one of the more effective training programs available and it's better organized than most local "defensive driving" courses. It's certainly better than the "comedy" classes where frustrated standup comics go to inflict their lack of talent on the rest of us who were sentenced to be there in traffic court. Talk about a captive audience . . .

For classroom or online instruction the Smith System probably as good as it gets, but it still needs the optional one-on-one instruction on the road to make it complete.

That's really interesting, I've never heard of that system before but that's almost exactly the way I have instinctively driven for the better part of my adult life. I didn't know there were different schools of thought for driving, I always thought it was just idiots and people like me lol!

 

[outsydthebox]

I think the potential hot-rodding for this vehicle will have to wait 'till it's actually been built. If it ends up with a geo motor, or any of the three cylinder options out there I don't think any of them were designed with a lot of extra strength in the engine components. I have had experience with several three-bangers in Europe and I wouldn't be comfortable throwing much added stress on any of those motors. They are designed to be cheap and go down the road sipping gas, not tolerate high performance stress.
I think the drive would be more fun with some kind of air or hydralics in the front to pivot the body on the rear wheel in tight turns rather than just getting more go-faster power. I guess the real question is; exactly how fast is fast enough? No matter how fast it is the answer to the power question is always "MORE". And the bottom line is, as always; Speed costs money. How much do you want?

Hey carzes, welcome to the family!
The motor that is going to be used is completely "new". It is designed by IAC. They A stellar reputation and have designed for Mercedes, BMW, and many others. It will use a timing chain instead of a belt, for longevity. It will be a 2-valve head, but with "up to date" combustion chamber & intake design. Yea, probably not the best for "hot rodding"...but someone will do it. With the whole thing being such an inexpensive platform, I can see how it might be hard to resist "tweeking" it just a bit!
Then there will be those who will be "tweeking" for even BETTER MPG's & aerodynamics! Then the "customizers"...Then the ........................................................GO ELIO!

 

[Jim H]

As a lifelong fan of open wheel racing I watched the Indy Car race last night and enjoyed the onboard camera shots as the cars streaked down the straight sections and into the turns. It was like the lights finally came on and I realized why I love the Elio so much. Looking over the long narrow body and nose of the car and the front wheels I imagined that would be the same kind of view I would be seeing from my Elio. No, I will never expect my Elio to go 200+ mph but I can still fantasize and enjoy the ride, and yes, someday someone will be racing Elios.

 

[Lil4X]

. . . No, I will never expect my Elio to go 200+ mph but I can still fantasize and enjoy the ride, and yes, someday someone will be racing Elios.

Well, somebody came up with Formula Ford and Formula V - based on small production engines from Ford (of Europe) and VW (Beetle) in a low - cost open-wheel car. More thrills than ought to be allowed for racing on the (relatively) cheap. Don't count Elio out, wherever there are two cars, someday there will be a race. Three cars requires a sanctioning body.

 

[Jim H]

I saw my first live open wheeled racing at Laguna Seca, California in 1962. They were forumula V's. Been in love with it ever since. Right now there are people who race everything from lawn mowers to high speed aircraft. No reason to assume they won't be racing Elio's some day at your local track.

 

[msmith5150]

As a lifelong fan of open wheel racing I watched the Indy Car race last night and enjoyed the onboard camera shots as the cars streaked down the straight sections and into the turns. It was like the lights finally came on and I realized why I love the Elio so much. Looking over the long narrow body and nose of the car and the front wheels I imagined that would be the same kind of view I would be seeing from my Elio. No, I will never expect my Elio to go 200+ mph but I can still fantasize and enjoy the ride, and yes, someday someone will be racing Elios.

It should be a very fun drive on long twisty coastal highways or mountain roads, both windows down,sunroof if you had that option, would be almost like a convertible!

 

[carzes]

Hey carzes, welcome to the family!
The motor that is going to be used is completely "new". It is designed by IAC. They A stellar reputation and have designed for Mercedes, BMW, and many others. It will use a timing chain instead of a belt, for longevity. It will be a 2-valve head, but with "up to date" combustion chamber & intake design. Yea, probably not the best for "hot rodding"...but someone will do it. With the whole thing being such an inexpensive platform, I can see how it might be hard to resist "tweeking" it just a bit!
Then there will be those who will be "tweeking" for even BETTER MPG's & aerodynamics! Then the "customizers"...Then the ........................................................GO ELIO![/QUOTE
Oh, I had not heard they'd finalized the motor decision. I wonder if there will be any news about the real-world mpg results soon? I'm certain you are right and a lot of people will be modding the Elio in every conceivable way as soon as it hits the streets. There is a lot of potential there for some really fun mods. I can certainly see a future sport version rolling off the line someday, if the concept is accepted by enough of us gear-heads, but for now I still say 'just get it out the door'. We'll all put our own personal touch on it once it's in our garage. 'Hot Rodding' cars did not start out in a factory, it was regular guys tweaking motors and that's why it was fun! If enough copies of the Elio sell, there's a whole potential industry of modding gear to be made and sold to guys who still have a few bucks left 'cause they didn't spend everything just buying the car! Who can afford mods for a car you just paid $30,000 for and will spend the next six years paying off?

 

[ArthurKent]

My experience is that changing parameters in an ECU with a new performance chip can result in an engine that fails an emission test (and I can pretty much guarantee that the Elio will have to have emission testing in those locales where it is required). What generally does NOT happen is any significant improvement in performance. This is not to say that claims won't be made. Believe it or not, but I once read the results of a performance chip in which the tester (quarter mile runs) was enthusiastic about the effects of this chip swap, but when you looked at the quarter mile runs, the differences were so small that you couldn't possibly rule out simple random variation.
I could see no idea why he was enthusiastic, except for the fact that the chip maker had a prominent ad in the tester magazine's pages. My own performance chip swaps (I've done seeveral) have convinced me to never buy another performance chip.
Also I stay away from "cold air induction" systems, after proving conclusively with a neighbor's Mustang, and simple logic, that they cannot possibly work. Or "high flow air filters." In my experience, if the mod is easy to do, it won't do anything.