Wheel Fenders, Fairings, Skirts, Covers

[R80RTWoody]

If he could build a full size version of that for $6800 I would be all in a jiffy.

Not me, where would my dog sit? In a "blow'up" of the "could be Red Bull", note the airfoil shape of the wheel struts (swing arms?). Don't know what the Elio struts look like but the above "puppies" were made for speed/low drag!

 

[Jayne Shelby]

The after market will take care of any ones concerns on the fenders or wheel covers. Simple 4 bolt replacement with an after market part. I must say that rims do have a major effect on the looks of a vehicle. The no-fender idea is not a good idea. Tires have a tendency to pick up stones and toss them from their treads. Best to have that sort of thing controlled. If you don't care about your vehicle that's one thing but there are others on the road with you. Just sayin!

 

[raybonz]

The after market will take care of any ones concerns on the fenders or wheel covers. Simple 4 bolt replacement with an after market part. I must say that rims do have a major effect on the looks of a vehicle. The no-fender idea is not a good idea. Tires have a tendency to pick up stones and toss them from their treads. Best to have that sort of thing controlled. If you don't care about your vehicle that's one thing but there are others on the road with you. Just sayin!

I agree fenders are a must and should be required on any on road vehicle.. My windshield looks like the backboard for the national blind dart team.. Amazingly still have original windshield after 124K highway miles!

Ray

 

[Autoxdriver]

The after market will take care of any ones concerns on the fenders or wheel covers. Simple 4 bolt replacement with an after market part. I must say that rims do have a major effect on the looks of a vehicle. The no-fender idea is not a good idea. Tires have a tendency to pick up stones and toss them from their treads. Best to have that sort of thing controlled. If you don't care about your vehicle that's one thing but there are others on the road with you. Just sayin!

If the aftermarket is the only solution people who dislike the skirts enough to know they will be replacing them will have to pay for a lot of hardware they don't have a use for, and do you really think there are going to be decent looking wheels hidden under those skirts?

I think/hope its a moot point anyway, they did say that there would be wheel/fender options at the Elio store. I don't mind having to pay a little extra, I'd just rather not have to pay for wheels and skirts I don't want.

 

[lafrisbee]

I did see some wheels I would consider putting on them with the prowler fenders....they weren't of any quality but I imagine they would work on the Elio if I could find them in the correct size....they are not easy to describe...they had a bar going through the circle and that is all that was attached to the axle... Like the Greek letter omicron.

 

[ecdriver711]

I must say, the new wheel fairings look great to me. Look at the bright side; if you don't like them, you can sell them on the forum to people like me (always good to have spares of items).

 

[zelio]

I must say, the new wheel fairings look great to me. Look at the bright side; if you don't like them, you can sell them on the forum to people like me (always good to have spares of items).

Speaking of fenders, I was escorting my son (via telephone call and computers between Oregon and Toledo, OH) around the elioowners.com site on Saturday. When he saw the picture you used for your avatar he went nuts. He wasn't sure he liked the P4 until he saw the two together and then he totally fell for the P4. Now he is trying to figure out how he can add a 3rd garage to his place so he can keep his Honda Insight, his Toyota pickup and have an Elio too. LOL The ironic thing is he introduced me to the Elio in January and a week after he introduced me to it I knew more about it than he did. In fact I still send him updates of everything I learn about Elio. Of course it helps that I am retired and he works full time. I obviously have a lot more discretionary time to explore all things Elio. LOL Z

 

[Kuda]

Those were the days.......https://www.google.com/images?hl=en..._group&ei=tLUxU8r-LuWSyAHWjIGADg&ved=0CDMQsAQ

 

[Paolo]

Recently following this thread, I implore that all the aesthetic enthusiasts engage in open minded thinking about exposed wheels.

Tonight's post is an open eyed view of the 'fender' debate, which considers the pros and cons of running an open wheeled vehicle to the currently proposed shrouded wheel of the Elio P4. I offer that reasons for covering the wheels are tenfold to the reasons to leave them uncovered. In that light, observe the following:

Top Ten Reasons for Elio Wheels Shields*

10. Additional surface area to place advertising.
9. Place to put bumper stickers that can actually be read by passing motorists that say things like "Me and 80+ mpg" or "Do not sit on wheel covers'.
8. Expands physical appearance and presence of the otherwise narrow vehicle.
7. Offers potential to place LEDs or other lighting effects to enhance appearance or safety.
6. Prevents massive rain-spray cloud from forming in wet driving conditions (think of the common SUV) and dousing windscreen, particularly when turning.
5. Prevents debris or mud-spray from pelting or showering the vehicle, particularly when turning (this can ruin a paint job very quickly).
4. Reduces exterior noise of the wheels in the same way air and turbulence are reduced.
3. Eliminates potential 'climbing' of adjacent vehicle that might drift into your lane, thereby increasing safety.
2. Emits the Elio coolness or uniqueness factor while needlessly driving around your neighborhood to show off your awesome new ride.
1. Reduces aerodynamic drag by a factor of 2 or more, thus attaining the 84 mpg target.

Top Ten Reasons to run open wheel or P2 or P3 style stubby 'fenders':

1. Personal preference for styling (as in expected or accustomed appearance).

Sorry, there really is no other rational reason other than 'looks'.

-------------------------
* Terminology:
US: Fender - Short for Defender (old school)
British: Guard - Short for Mudguard (old school)
Tech: Shroud or Shield - better technical description of the Elio P4 wheel cover
('wheel shields' has greater poetic effect).

-------------------------
For tech support on reason #1, do your own research. A couple of suggested sites are:
http://www.gmecca.com/byorc/dtipsaerodynamics.html
http://www.motorsport.com/automotive/news/irl-open-wheel-car-aerodynamics/
http://www2.hesston.edu/Physics/PhysicsRacing/researchpaper.htm’

The take-away of all this is that the coefficient of drag "Cd" dramatically increases with the increasing exposure of the rotating wheel to the point that an open wheel vehicle will more than double the drag experienced by a closed wheel vehicle. The Cd will literally increase from 0.30 or less to 0.50, 0.60 or more. One simple quote: "The biggest sources of drag on an open wheel car like an Indy car are the wheels. ...the wheels account for about 60% of the total drag." (DBN477 presented some goo info – thanks.)

This means that if you remove the Elio wheel shrouds, your highway mileage will drop to that of a common Honda Civic or worse, given the intentionally relatively low power of the Elio engine. Think of the Elio as a system or an organism. It all works together and is more than just the sum of its parts. Synergy. This is how Paul Elio thinks. I am sure he is very cognizant of R. Buckminster Fuller and the Dymaxion project. (read about Bucky if you have time.)

 

[Autoxdriver]

#s 2, 8, 9, and 10 are all subjective/appearence based, so no more justification for those than what you give for the opposing option. No one I know of is contemplating going with completely open wheels, but replacing the shields with better looking, more open fenders that perform the functions of #s 5, 6 and 7. #4 is a non-issue as tire to road contact is way louder than wind and the shrouds do nothing to reduce that. So, the only arguments you really have IMHO are #s 1 and 3 which possibly can be somewhat alleviated depending on the exact fender design chosen, including the option of just cutting open the outside of the shroud in an asthetic manner to expose the wheel like in some renderings I have seen here.

Also I'd like to point out that using wheel shrouds/skirts does not reduce their drag to zero, so you can't say they cut the Elio's drag in half, which might not be exactly what you said but it sounds like you're implying it. Does anyone know just how much drag the shrouds reduce as opposed to prowler type fenders? That 60% figure given for the F1 cars include the rear wheels and probably all the linkages between the wheels and body which are hanging out in the wind on the Elio as well and not reduced in drag at all by the wheel shrouds. I wonder if we should consider F1 style front wings?

Lastly IIRC, it was implied in a release from Marketing when they first unveiled the P4 that the shrouds were deemed necessary even though they deviated from Paul's intended design. I believe he really wanted the look of the P3, but acquiesced when it became clear that he couldn't achieve the mileage goal as it was.