The Elio Engine

[pistonboy]

I have heard of timing belts running in oil but this is the first firm example I have heard of. Looks like it would be a good choice.

What about the rest of the vehicle. In the old days, people had to lube the ball joints, tie rods, differential and transmission oil changes, door hinges, and a lot of "nit picking" stuff. Can anyone help me out here? I have never purchased a new vehicle (except my first motorcycle) but heard a lot of requirements that seems overly demanding.

What were some of the odd maintenance requirements?

Has all that gone away today?

Of course, this is now starting to get into the rest of the vehicle, not just the engine.

 

[John Painter]

Well, PE just settled any question about the IAV engine(s) status during tonight's event. Yes they built more than one, the first was disassembled to measure wear, and a different engine the same generation (hint there's already a second generation?) will be in P5. Hmmmmm.

 

[WilliamH]

Well, PE just settled any question about the IAV engine(s) status during tonight's event. Yes they built more than one, the first was disassembled to measure wear, and a different engine the same generation (hint there's already a second generation?) will be in P5. Hmmmmm.

He also validated that the original dyno test engine was pulled down and measured for wear.

 

[Ty]

I think the "first generation" comment was meant to indicate there were no changes from the one on the dyno and the one that will be in P5. Any adjustments will be in future generations, of course.

 

[WilliamH]

I think the "first generation" comment was meant to indicate there were no changes from the one on the dyno and the one that will be in P5. Any adjustments will be in future generations, of course.

Maybe gen 2 will be the turbo?

 

[pistonboy]

Will the turbo engine be the same as the non-turbo engine or will it be beefed up?

 

[JEBar]

Will the turbo engine be the same as the non-turbo engine or will it be beefed up?

a while back EM (I believe Paul himself) said that down the road an OEM turbo would be available for retrofitting onto their production engine .... in short, the production motor was designed and will be built with a turbo option in mind .... I'm looking forward to buyer reports about the actual handling characteristics of an Elio .... to me that info would be important in making a decision about adding horsepower

 

[WilliamH]

a while back EM (I believe Paul himself) said that down the road an OEM turbo would be available for retrofitting onto their production engine .... in short, the production motor was designed and will be built with a turbo option in mind .... I'm looking forward to buyer reports about the actual handling characteristics of an Elio .... to me that info would be important in making a decision about adding horsepower

Paul said they were in talks with Precision Turbo & Engine but that it wouldn't be available in the first year.

 

[AriLea]

a while back EM (I believe Paul himself) said that down the road an OEM turbo would be available for retrofitting onto their production engine .... in short, the production motor was designed and will be built with a turbo option in mind .... I'm looking forward to buyer reports about the actual handling characteristics of an Elio .... to me that info would be important in making a decision about adding horsepower

One thing about the FWD, based just on HP the 'variation' characteristics differ very little from their 4wheel counterparts. And 4 wheelers tend to vary less from each other compared to RWD variations. Except that you can put more power in the 3wheeler than you can the 4, as based on power-to-weight. But anyway, find a more powerful fwd sedan, get it's power to weight, and you can very reliably go that high in the Elio. Of course, the Elio is half the weight or less! So if you find 360hp in a 3600lbs production car, you can go 120hp in a 1200lbs Elio.

Now CG would be considered differently. An increase in the engine weight (by % of vehicle weight) will affect the Elio handling more, given the CG is already closer to the one end of the wheelbase. Fortunately, a turbo conversion will not weigh in very much more. Gluing a brick at the way far back (and low as possible) will more than compensate.

 

[JEBar]

One thing about the FWD, based just on HP the 'variation' characteristics differ very little from their 4wheel counterparts. Except that you can put more power in the 3wheeler than you can the 4, as based on power-to-weight. But anyway, find a more powerful fwd sedan, get it's power to weight, and you can very reliably go that high in the Elio. Of course, the Elio is half the weight or less! So if you find 360hp in a 3600lbs production car, you can go 120hp in a 1200lbs Elio.

Now CG would be considered differently. An increase in the engine weight (by % of vehicle weight) will affect the Elio more, given the CG is already closer to the one end of the wheelbase. Fortunately, a turbo conversion will not weigh in very much more.

interesting .... my impression has been that the lack of two rear tires makes the tendency for the inside front tire on a reverse trike break loose in a hard turn .... even to the point of lifting off of the ground .... while that can be true for conventional 4 wheel vehicles, I was given to believe that the problem is greater with a reverse trike