The Elio Engine

[Johnapool]

The Elio is the first new American made car I have paid money down on since my 1978 Buick Regal. I am excited about the concept and the planned simplicity. I, like all of you, hope this little engine is a good one from the get-go. It appears to be a great little power plant that could see lots of other applications, like Wheater's little car, and in generators.
So, I am placing a lot of faith in Elio Motors to be an American auto manufacturer that makes a great little car that will still be running around getting 80 mpg 15 or 20 years from now. Think how many there will be by then....and how many millions of barrels of oil will be saved.

 

[goofyone]

I posted the following in another thread last December :

during a conversation earlier today with Jerome Vassallo, VP of Sales at the Elio exhibit on 12-6-14 in Charlotte, NC I learned a great deal about the extensive nature of the testing that the IAV Elio engine is undergoing .... from beginning mid November, the process will take several months .... as a loose outline of the process, after it was first assembled, spun tested, disassembled, measured, and reassembled, they pressure it with air and check for leaks .... after each of these steps it will be disassembled sufficiently to X-ray the components and meticulously take measurements .... next they move to installing fluids, testing, disassemble to X-ray and take measurements .... next the motor will be fired and the whole process is repeated .... as a side note, at times the motor will be connected to two computers .... one will show the computer projections and one will show the actual performance .... the motor will be subjected to a range of test on the dyno that are needed to determine how it will perform in simulations of city driving, long interstate cruises, wide open throttle .... after completing all of that testing they will eventually begin removing oil to the point the engine will fail .... this motor will never see service in an Elio .... reports will come when they come but for folks wanting frequent updates, it ain't gonna happen .... Paul Elio is actively working/monitoring the entire process

given that so far as we know, they only have 1 working motor, I can see the reality of today's company financial condition I can see them holding off on running the engine until it fails .... I have absolutely no factual info to base that on .... to my way of thinking, have the working engine installed in the P4 could be a very strong, positive advertising/publicity tool .... but that's just me

In the Town Hall Paul Elio said that the current round of engine testing is paid for so it would continue to completion. Of coures leaving out that last test would not be a big deal at this point so I can easily see this going either way. Another interesting thing to note is that just a few weeks ago EM said they would soon have a full display engine for use on the tour, replacing the current plastic mock-up, so it is possible that EM does already have the money set aside for a few more engines.

We just do not know how short of funds EM is at this time or how much each one of those engines costs even though it is likely much less money than the $500K cost of a prototype or the cost of the engine testing program. Like many other things we are simply along for the ride so we might as well enjoy it.

 

[ElioDigger]

is that two more under the covers?

 

[Edward]

sometimes I think that Chrysler's problem is quality control. Some people swear by their cars and have never had a problem. Others have no end of problems. Jeeps in particular seem to either last forever it have so many problems that you can wind up spending more on repairs than you did on the vehicle. People used the Neon for street racing but my parents' broke down on the way home from the dealership!

 

[RKing]

An Elio engine that was run to failure on the Dyno would still be just fine for a tour prop. They will consider the engine "failed" when any one of a number of parameters go out of spec, it doesn't have to throw a rod thru the block I still think there are several more sets of cast components "in the wings"", dosen't make sense to cast only one when you have to do the setup anyway. 10 blocks would only cost ,maybe 10% more than one to produce at the foundry.

 

[pistonboy]

In the Town Hall Paul Elio said that the current round of engine testing is paid for so it would continue to completion. Of coures leaving out that last test would not be a big deal at this point so I can easily see this going either way. Another interesting thing to note is that just a few weeks ago EM said they would soon have a full display engine for use on the tour, replacing the current plastic mock-up, so it is possible that EM does already have the money set aside for a few more engines.

We just do not know how short of funds EM is at this time or how much each one of those engines costs even though it is likely much less money than the $500K cost of a prototype or the cost of the engine testing program. Like many other things we are simply along for the ride so we might as well enjoy it.

You said " the current round of engine testing is paid". What are the remaining rounds of engine testing. I hope they have the money for it.

Dyno testing was suppose to be the 28th and 29th. Today is the 29th so this round of dyno testing should be over.

 

[carzes]

Possibly, a bit better at heat dissipation, especially of they threw some fins on the casting.

Fins on the casting is good for high performance engines, but to make an engine efficient you want it to heat up fast and run as hot as you can without risking it blowing up. In this case you'd WANT the oil to run hot.

 

[Ian442]

I have to disagree with your last statement even if I become lightning rod for it.
My latest experience is my little 2000 Ford Ranger 4.0 4x4 pickup. Had to have a new starter at 70K, now with 100K it has a leaking head gasket that allows a bit of antifreeze into the engine. I traded off two Toyota Previa vans each with 250K, and other than CV joints, tires and brakes, NEVER repaired them. (right now we have a 1991 Previa that just reached 100K) My current 2005 Scion xB, made by Toyota, has 144K and has never even needed the braked replaced yet.
My son has a 2006 Ford F250 that has cost him over $8000 in repairs since it rolled over 100k. A friend had one of those Dodge Caravans, like you had. He did get almost 200,000 miles on it, three transmissions later, and it was smoking like a demon by the time he traded it off.
I am for all of us buying American products, and I do my best. However, I am a retired person with less spending power than I had a few years ago, and I need a car that will last 10-15 years without expensive repairs.
I know lots of you are high on American cars, but statistics don't lie. Read the Consumer's Report annual buyers guide car section and get back with me.

I will never give a blanket statement about anything especially American made vehicles. I have seen first hand the failures of the 2.7 V6 from Mopar, along with failed 3 speed automatic transmissions from the Generation 1 Caravans, to the 3.0L Mitsubishi V6 motors with the bad valve rings causing your motors to smoke like a full hog barbecue going down the highway.

But I also think Consumer Report is skewed towards the foreign brands Toyota and Honda in particular. There was a time when Hondas and Toyotas were just rust buckets after about 5 to 10 years depending on the road salt you drove through each winter. Everybody has their faults, its how you learn from your mistakes going forward and how you correct the mistakes that you have that matters.

 

[goofyone]

You said " the current round of engine testing is paid". What are the remaining rounds of engine testing. I hope they have the money for it.

Dyno testing was suppose to be the 28th and 29th. Today is the 29th so this round of dyno testing should be over.

From what we have heard this round of testing is not supposed to be over with just those two days on the dyno but instead this is simply the beginning of more testing this time on the fully operational engine. JEBar described some of this testing in the post I was responding to. By the way I was also in Charlotte along with JEBar and heard this information first hand myself.

I posted the following in another thread last December :

during a conversation earlier today with Jerome Vassallo, VP of Sales at the Elio exhibit on 12-6-14 in Charlotte, NC I learned a great deal about the extensive nature of the testing that the IAV Elio engine is undergoing .... from beginning mid November, the process will take several months .... as a loose outline of the process, after it was first assembled, spun tested, disassembled, measured, and reassembled, they pressure it with air and check for leaks .... after each of these steps it will be disassembled sufficiently to X-ray the components and meticulously take measurements .... next they move to installing fluids, testing, disassemble to X-ray and take measurements .... next the motor will be fired and the whole process is repeated .... as a side note, at times the motor will be connected to two computers .... one will show the computer projections and one will show the actual performance .... the motor will be subjected to a range of test on the dyno that are needed to determine how it will perform in simulations of city driving, long interstate cruises, wide open throttle .... after completing all of that testing they will eventually begin removing oil to the point the engine will fail .... this motor will never see service in an Elio .... reports will come when they come but for folks wanting frequent updates, it ain't gonna happen .... Paul Elio is actively working/monitoring the entire process

given that so far as we know, they only have 1 working motor, I can see the reality of today's company financial condition I can see them holding off on running the engine until it fails .... I have absolutely no factual info to base that on .... to my way of thinking, have the working engine installed in the P4 could be a very strong, positive advertising/publicity tool .... but that's just me

From what we hear all this is the initial stages of engine testing which should result in a good engine however after eventually completing all this testing more engines will be ordered and testing will continue both in prototype vehicles and on the dyno. The engine will be put through as many tests scenarios as possible to make sure it operates as expected and that there are no issues discovered over time.

 

[wheaters]

I would have thought that until the engine is well proven, it remains the responsibility of IAV. This might be why Elio aren't saying too much about the testing process.