The Real P5 ?

[pistonboy]

In the P4, the front wheel A-arms were silver color. This picture shows them as black. I like the silver better.

 

[pistonboy]

If the tire is becoming more narrow, will the fender also become more narrow?

Open fenders is suppose to be an option. They would be the proper width for the stock narrow tire on the vehicle. But a wide fat tire (which many of us would like to put on) would stick out wider than the open fender. This would not look good. Perhaps it is best to not purchase the optional open fenders and save the money for aftermarket fenders, which would probably come in a variety of widths to accommodate a variety of tire sizes.

 

[pistonboy]

I believe the area of the contact patch is such that:

The weight of the vehicle (in pounds) is equal to the contact patch (in square inches) times the tire pressure (in pounds per square inch). A small variation will occur due to the tire stiffness.

Thus the contact patch (in square inches) will be the same, regardless of the width of the tire. The shape of the contact patch will change.

Changing the tire pressure will change the area of the contact patch.

 

[outsydthebox]

I believe the area of the contact patch is such that:

The weight of the vehicle (in pounds) is equal to the contact patch (in square inches) times the tire pressure (in pounds per square inch). A small variation will occur due to the tire stiffness.

Thus the contact patch (in square inches) will be the same, regardless of the width of the tire. The shape of the contact patch will change.

Changing the tire pressure will change the area of the contact patch.

Yes. And those factors will affect handling. For the Elio to handle safely, a certain amount of "understeer" is vital. I wouldn't be surprised if tire pressure will be different for the front and rear.

 

[pistonboy]

Yes. And those factors will affect handling. For the Elio to handle safely, a certain amount of "understeer" is vital. I wouldn't be surprised if tire pressure will be different for the front and rear.

Different tire pressures for front and rear tires. This may bring up something that happened years ago. Do you remember the Corvair? I have three of them. When developing the Corvair, there was a problem with it flipping over on hard corners. This would be solved by adding a sway bar. But to save money on the cost of a sway bar, they specified the front tires to have 8 to 10 pounds less pressure than the rear tires. This also solves the problem just like the sway bar does. The problem is that out of habit, people put equal pressure in all tires like they have in all their other cars. People were not accustomed to this different pressure. It has been claimed Chevy did not adequately make this known to people. This could be a potential legal nightmare to Elio Motors. Can you imagine the fun lawyers would have with this.

 

[JEBar]

If the tire is becoming more narrow, will the fender also become more narrow?

within the last few days Jerome told one of our members that the tire and fenders on the P5 will be narrower than the ones on the P4 and the ones on the production model may be narrower than the ones on the P5

 

[pistonboy]

within the last few days Jerome told one of our members that the tire and fenders on the P5 will be narrower than the ones on the P4 and the ones on the production model may be narrower than the ones on the P5

Thanks. I doubt skinny tires and fenders will look good. Once again, sacrificing styling for the all important 84 mpg in an era of gas for less than $2.00 per gallon.

 

[outsydthebox]

Thanks. I doubt skinny tires and fenders will look good. Once again, sacrificing styling for the all important 84 mpg in an era of gas for less than $2.00 per gallon.

There is a saying: "Those who forget the past are destined to repeat it." The era of cheap gas could end at anytime.

 

[WilliamH]

There is a saying: "Those who forget the past are destined to repeat it." The era of cheap gas could end at anytime.

The environmentalists appear to be working real hard on that.
They cant sell you a $40K EV with gas at $2.00 / gal.

 

[Ekh]

Thanks. I doubt skinny tires and fenders will look good. Once again, sacrificing styling for the all important 84 mpg in an era of gas for less than $2.00 per gallon.

Looks are secondary for Elio, but of course they do count a lot with the general public.
More important than 84 mpg, which they have to do if they possibly can, is greenhouse gas emissions (dependent in part on mpg). Helping those to succeed is vital. No argument about style, and I'd wonder about the size of the patch when it's wet, but in such a light vehicle they can perhaps not sacrifice performance.