nthawk68
Elio Addict
I just saw a Pep Boys commercial, buy three tires get the 4th free, what is an Elio Owner to do???
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Wheels & Tires
- Thread starter Keith Stone
- Start date
tazairforce
Elio Addict
Team up with another Elio owner and beat their game, for the fronts.
Ditto from someone stationed in RAF Mildenhall in the 80's
outsydthebox
Elio Addict
- Joined
- May 6, 2014
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Buy three tires at Sam's club.
...If they eventually carry the correct Coopers. I compared tire prices a few years ago and Pep Boys was noticeably higher once they added M&B, valve stems, road hazard, etc....you know, kind of like the car dealers do it.
Better that cracking...................
evboy
Elio Addict
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2014
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- 122
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I'm no expert on physics of cars, so maybe someone here can help. What are the advantages or disadvantages( safety, performance..) of having the back wheel in the elio being small or large. If the back wheel is just going along for the ride, does it matter if its very narrow, or do we need a much bigger tire in the rear to keep it more stable when going fast or taking turns.
Moderator Comment: Merged question into main tire discussion
Moderator Comment: Merged question into main tire discussion
Last edited by a moderator:
NSTG8R
Elio Addict
Not a physicist either, but I would think that they'd [Elio] keep all the wheels the same size to keep cost down, not having to stock different size rims and tires, and narrow to reduce rolling resistance/drag. They're doing whatever they can to keep the cost down, and the MPGs up.
Not an expert by no means, I think the rear tire must be a little larger.
The foot print (part of the tire that touches the ground) of the rear tire must cover a certain percentage of the foot print of the two front tires combined. JMO
The foot print (part of the tire that touches the ground) of the rear tire must cover a certain percentage of the foot print of the two front tires combined. JMO
Gosh, in this thread we certainly are playing close to that competition between engineering and desire(aka emotional goals).
Where the rubber meets the road, just because it looks right, doesn't mean it is right.
Aside from simply looking right, there are many factors in the selection of tires. But for basic engineering you start with the tire loading, how many PPSI is pushing on that rubber at the ground. (slightly different issue than tire pressure) Too little and you get no grip. Too much and there's an array of issues. The tire manufacturer generally has a range of PPSI they have rigorously tested for. And a comparable range of tire pressures to go with that. So once an automaker knows your vehicle loading, they give you a selection of tire that will fit that.
So next, the over-steering and understeering characteristics will vary with-in that range of rubber loading, and specific tire in consideration, and at that point some adjustment can be made with actual tire pressure. Some rules of thumb and gestimation can be made here, even some simulators may be available. But only street driving and slalom tests can finalize just what tires will work best. If nothing works out well enough to meet goals, suspension redesign is in order and you start all over with tire selection.
Elio Motors already had a good idea of the types of tires they could use, even before they completed the body for P3. They knew the loading of the wheels at that point, and did their initial track testing then. This gave them the required 'tire patch area'. They can change the height and width, but need to stay somewhere near that patch size. (There are other ways to metric tire specs, but patch size for your weight will do)
One of the bigger mistakes less savvy Corvair owners would make, is to miss putting less pressure in the front tires than the rear. If you rotated front to back and not re-adjust, you would think someone hit a curb with the car and damaged the front-end. I'm going to guess adjusting tire pressures is how Corvair was able to 'engineer' the same tires all around. (not sure if all years had the same tires all-around)
Where the rubber meets the road, just because it looks right, doesn't mean it is right.
Aside from simply looking right, there are many factors in the selection of tires. But for basic engineering you start with the tire loading, how many PPSI is pushing on that rubber at the ground. (slightly different issue than tire pressure) Too little and you get no grip. Too much and there's an array of issues. The tire manufacturer generally has a range of PPSI they have rigorously tested for. And a comparable range of tire pressures to go with that. So once an automaker knows your vehicle loading, they give you a selection of tire that will fit that.
So next, the over-steering and understeering characteristics will vary with-in that range of rubber loading, and specific tire in consideration, and at that point some adjustment can be made with actual tire pressure. Some rules of thumb and gestimation can be made here, even some simulators may be available. But only street driving and slalom tests can finalize just what tires will work best. If nothing works out well enough to meet goals, suspension redesign is in order and you start all over with tire selection.
Elio Motors already had a good idea of the types of tires they could use, even before they completed the body for P3. They knew the loading of the wheels at that point, and did their initial track testing then. This gave them the required 'tire patch area'. They can change the height and width, but need to stay somewhere near that patch size. (There are other ways to metric tire specs, but patch size for your weight will do)
One of the bigger mistakes less savvy Corvair owners would make, is to miss putting less pressure in the front tires than the rear. If you rotated front to back and not re-adjust, you would think someone hit a curb with the car and damaged the front-end. I'm going to guess adjusting tire pressures is how Corvair was able to 'engineer' the same tires all around. (not sure if all years had the same tires all-around)
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skygazer6033
Elio Addict
Understand that this is pure speculation since all the info on the rear tire is that it is a different size. IMHO If the rear tire has a tread width approximately twice that of the front tires which I seem to recall being 135/70/R15 or 145/75/R15 that would provide a contact patch of virtually the area as the front two tires. You would have the same rubber on the road as a 4 wheeler with the same size tires as the front. This should improve cornering as well. The only down side I can think of (other than a slight increase in rolling resistance) would be increased susceptibility to hydroplaning when the tire is well worn.