Wheels & Tires

[goldwing06]

My BMW 330D has run flat tyres, as do those on the 320D and the 120D belonging to my two youngest sons. We all agree that we don't like them due to the hard ride they give. Obviously, no spare wheel is supplied these days and I wish it was. I'd actually prefer more compliant tyres and a spare wheel.

But the rear wheel of an Elio is going to be tricky to service on the open road due to it being enclosed so a run flat tyre on that wheel would make good sense.

that rear tire will be a lot easier to change than the one on a goldwing. all of that plastic will come loose with the twist of a few cleverly hidden fasteners. only problem will be a jack and a minimum tool kit. at least on the goldwing, u can lay it on the right side and get the tire out from between the bags and hitch rails. a gelcell or agm battery is a good idea if u choose this method. still tough to pick back up though.

 

[ks6c]

that rear tire will be a lot easier to change than the one on a goldwing. all of that plastic will come lose with the twist of a few cleverly hidden fasteners. only problem will be a jack and a minimum tool kit. at least on the goldwing, u can lay it on the right side and get the tire out from between the bags and hitch rails. a gelcell or agm battery is a good idea if u choose this method. still tough to pick back up though.

You touch on a very good point - for all of the talk about spares and changing flats in Snake Navel, NV (I love that place! So much better than BFE), yours is the first mention of a jack and tools.

Where would we stow a jack and lug wrench? We need to save all of the room in the trunk for a shaving kit <lol> I'm thinking fix-a-flat...

Dan

 

[goldwing06]

You touch on a very good point - for all of the talk about spares and changing flats in Snake Navel, NV (I love that place! So much better than BFE), yours is the first mention of a jack and tools.

Where would we stow a jack and lug wrench? We need to save all of the room in the trunk for a shaving kit <lol> I'm thinking fix-a-flat...

Dan

some folks have mentioned the small amount of room around the rear tire compartment. haven't seen it but there might be enough space to store a small scissor jack. the handle could be the lug wrench, to keep the parts count to a min. most jacks are heavy for their size so maybe one built of aluminum? another area could be under the hood somewhere. again, not having seen the space, don't know if it would hold a jack.

 

[zelio]

You touch on a very good point - for all of the talk about spares and changing flats in Snake Navel, NV (I love that place! So much better than BFE), yours is the first mention of a jack and tools.

Where would we stow a jack and lug wrench? We need to save all of the room in the trunk for a shaving kit <lol> I'm thinking fix-a-flat...

Dan

I passed a large 5th wheel and large pickup on the way home from the pool today that was stalled on a narrow bridge on I-5. It looked like the entire wheel had come off. Since it is a narrow bridge with 2 lanes there is almost no pull off room. The only good thing is at least all the traffic is going in the same direction. I suspect it is going to be a major problem getting that truck jacked up and the tire back on. My guess is they are going to have to close the north bound lanes for a while so a tow truck can get in there to help with it. What a nightmare that must be for those travelers. Z

 

[ks6c]

...another area could be under the hood somewhere. again, not having seen the space, don't know if it would hold a jack.

I didn't bother taking a picture of the engine compartment when they were here in Colorado because it's not the production engine, but....there wasn't even space under the hood for a spare lug nut, let alone a jack & lug wrench!

 

[ks6c]

I passed a large 5th wheel and large pickup on the way home from the pool today that was stalled on a narrow bridge on I-5. It looked like the entire wheel had come off. Since it is a narrow bridge with 2 lanes there is almost no pull off room. The only good thing is at least all the traffic is going in the same direction. I suspect it is going to be a major problem getting that truck jacked up and the tire back on. My guess is they are going to have to close the north bound lanes for a while so a tow truck can get in there to help with it. What a nightmare that must be for those travelers. Z

I don't miss commuting - or work, or meetings, or business travel. Was kinda fond of the paychecks, however...

 

[Ty]

Instead of a Jack, would a simple step lever be easy enough? Picture a flat "L" that when stepped on, would lever the vehicle up an inch or so. If done right, a 4-1 leverage advantage should be easy enough to achieve. Most of us weigh more than 100# and could press it down with our own weight and lift 400#... 150# person could lift 600#... even if the Elio ends up at 1,500#, that would be about 500# per wheel as long as Elio keeps to their planned weight distribution. Just a thought. If done right, once it was up, as long as the lever was to the rear, pulling the car slightly forward would get it back down. Just a thought.

 

[ks6c]

Instead of a Jack, would a simple step lever be easy enough? Picture a flat "L" that when stepped on, would lever the vehicle up an inch or so. If done right, a 4-1 leverage advantage should be easy enough to achieve. Most of us weigh more than 100# and could press it down with our own weight and lift 400#... 150# person could lift 600#... even if the Elio ends up at 1,500#, that would be about 500# per wheel as long as Elio keeps to their planned weight distribution. Just a thought. If done right, once it was up, as long as the lever was to the rear, pulling the car slightly forward would get it back down. Just a thought.

I think the rear wheel will be a whole lot lighter than 1/3 the weight of the car, simply because most of the weight will be in the engine compartment over the front wheels.

That said, I completely understand your concept and the first visual that came to mind was that of a one-armed man hanging wallpaper (or a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest! No offense intended towards any one-armed or one-legged men or women on the forum...) - I'm standing on the lever with the car's rear end in the air, trying to reach down to place a block under the car without falling off the lever and dropping the car with a resounding thump, or waiting for some good Samaritan to come by and block it for me!

 

[hawg_ryder]

Instead of a Jack, would a simple step lever be easy enough? Picture a flat "L" that when stepped on, would lever the vehicle up an inch or so. If done right, a 4-1 leverage advantage should be easy enough to achieve. Most of us weigh more than 100# and could press it down with our own weight and lift 400#... 150# person could lift 600#... even if the Elio ends up at 1,500#, that would be about 500# per wheel as long as Elio keeps to their planned weight distribution. Just a thought. If done right, once it was up, as long as the lever was to the rear, pulling the car slightly forward would get it back down. Just a thought.

I'm wondering if an air bag style lift might not be a good solution... Use engine exhaust to inflate... Unfortunately, the only ones I can find are for much heavier and bigger cars... This one is for Jeeps... It's rated for 3 tons which is obviously overkill for the Elio... Still you get the idea... Since it collapses it should be easy to find a space somewhere in the car to store it... You'll still need lug wrench and tools to remove protective covers... and a plug kit to make temporary repairs to the tire...

 

[Stugotz]

I am sure Cooper, and other suppliers, are being kept well in the loop on EM's development and funding and will be well satisfied by the time they need to fully commit to gearing up for mass production. I am sure the suppliers have an agreement with Elio Motors requiring certain objectives, and likely payments, which must be met before producing and delivering the products to Elio Motors for final assembly. My guess this is this will happen about six months or so prior to Elio Motors officially beginning production.

By the way I did forget to mention that while the tire sizes have not yet been officially confirmed one thing that has been confirmed is the fact that Elio will use 15 inch, 5 bolt pattern wheels.

I run 175/65r14 Michelin Defenders on my Insight, they are LRR and I manage 60 MPG driving like I stole it most of the tank.. When trying to maximize mileage I have gotten 73MPG on a full tank of gas over 658 miles. I run my tire pressure at 50PSI which is 5lbs higher than rating on tire, but the mileage improves with higher pressure. Many insight owners run their tires at 60psi and higher without any problems over the past 10 years except premature tire wear on the center of the tire. I see higher mileage driving in warm after noon weather, My Insight only gets 50-55MPG in cold California weather. I rotate every 5k miles at oil change and they look like new after 30k miles. The Michelins handle better than the Potenza and have a quieter ride.


Factory tire on the Insight is a Bridgestone Potenza 165/65r14 they do not last as long as the Michelin, most insight owners see about 30k out of these tires which is why I went to the Michelin, even tho most Insight owners report better mileage with the Potenza having to replace them after 30k make the Michelin a better value, until gas goes over $6 a gallon.



There is no practical reason to run 5 lug 15 inch tires, they just add to weight and rolling resistance.