Wheels & Tires

[CheeseheadEarl]

I am not so sure that a wider tire on ice will help- I think it will slide more easily, BUT I totally agree with your last sentence- studded tires make the most sense for winter conditions if you must drive your Elio in snow and ice. Out West in snow country, Les Scwabb tire centers are swamped in early winter putting studded tires on cars for folks. They actually have special plastic bags for you to store your wheels and tires in between seasons.
So you can just get a spare set of front wheels mounted up with studs and keep 'em for every winter. No fender clearance problems, and most states that have snow allow them for the winter.
That still won't meet requirements for crossing mountain passes during heavy snowfall. They'll still require four-wheel drive or chains then.

Whatever folks work out for the weather where they live, the Elio will still be a fun car to experiment with. We'll all have the answers to many of these questions as soon as we can get our grubby little hands on the real thing. Avanti! (Forward! in Italian, not the car!)

Studs are not legal in WI or MN, unless you are a mail carrier or emergency vehicle. The only place youll acyually see em anymore is out on the lakes on ice racers.

MI allows only rubber studs (which I've never heard of, but are apparently legal in such snow intensive states as FL)

State stud law list here: http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/studded-tires/

I do run a studded track on my snowmobile though. Got tire chains for my plow truck, hardly ever used, and chains for 2 of my tractors, which do get used sometimes, but at a couple hundred pounds each, REALLY suck to put on.

Good tires and a light right foot will get you a suprising number of places you probably really don't need to go.

I've missed one day of work due to snow in the last 15 years of 40+ mile commutes, and that was mostly because I didn't want to go too bad that day anyhow.

 

[JEBar]

I have 8 - 10 tire chains hanging on the inside of the garage that were bought back in the mid 60's .... I have no clue if any of them would fit the vehicles we have today or not .... an Elio should do as well as most any front wheel drive but, depending on where it is in the country, there will be times and conditions when it would be wise to leave it parked .... that isn't to say some folks won't take it out anyway .... this is one more area where time and real world use will tell us all much more

Jim

 

[Bert]

Gotta love the eternal snow tire debate. Wider or skinnier? Good points on both sides, no definate answers. As has been pointed out, a lot of it has to do with what you're driving on.
My two cents. True snow tires have very deep and wide grooves on the tread, even wider where the tread meets the sidewall. this places a lot more weight on what is actually less rubber on the road! True snow tires are actually slightly larger than the same size counterparts used the rest of the Year. This gives you more adaptability for more types of conditions.
Although, sheet ice can take you out not matter what you have, even studs won't always save you. Using thinner tires may put more weight on the point of contact, but it also can compromise the ability of the sidewall to work as it's intended to..
Bottom line, use what you're most comfortable with. Be safe, leave early, take your time.. Send pictures of you and your Elio when you get there.

 

[CompTrex]

I have 8 - 10 tire chains hanging on the inside of the garage that were bought back in the mid 60's .... I have no clue if any of them would fit the vehicles we have today or not .... an Elio should do as well as most any front wheel drive but, depending on where it is in the country, there will be times and conditions when it would be wise to leave it parked .... that isn't to say some folks won't take it out anyway .... this is one more area where time and real world use will tell us all much more

Jim

I've been 'brought to the principal's office' a few times for doing reverse donuts in the church parking lot in my FWD car. You know we're all gonna try it in the Elio! Who knows what that's gonna be like? 1st one to do it, don't tell! Just tell us you did it then smile!

 

[nthawk68]

Do we know yet what the actual front wheels will look like?

I do hope they are not too plain, as I may well be changing the front fenders for something more open, like a cycle fender.

I hopp

Lots of people around me use chains. Not sure about the legality of that, but that's not the topic. I wonder if chains would work on the Elio without having to remove the wheel covers.

YOu would be safer using thhe right size cables vice the chains, less depth and they say tighter to the tires. I have used them several times on snow bound trails and the traction was similar to chains, just less clearance needed.

 

[CompTrex]

I hopp

YOu would be safer using thhe right size cables vice the chains, less depth and they say tighter to the tires. I have used them several times on snow bound trails and the traction was similar to chains, just less clearance needed.

cables? I'll have to look that up...

Oh, yeah. Good idea...

 

[zelio]

cables? I'll have to look that up...

They weigh a fraction of what chains weigh and are much thinner than chains. :-) Z

 

[JEBar]

Do we know yet what the actual front wheels will look like?

I do hope they are not too plain, as I may well be changing the front fenders for something more open, like a cycle fender.

with the OEM fenders covering most of the tire, I suspect that the rims will be plain (meaning light weight and inexpensive) as possible .... several discussions have taken place in which folks interested in going with P3 type fenders have indicated that they will go to optional (if available) or aftermarket rims .... for me the jury is still out because reports have stated that P3 type fenders can reduce highway mileage by something in the neighborhood of 10 mpg .... this will be one of several areas where I feel I need to use the Elio a while to determine what, if any, personalizations I want to make

Jim

 

[Jay3wheel]

with the OEM fenders covering most of the tire, I suspect that the rims will be plain (meaning light weight and inexpensive) as possible .... several discussions have taken place in which folks interested in going with P3 type fenders have indicated that they will go to optional (if available) or aftermarket rims .... for me the jury is still out because reports have stated that P3 type fenders can reduce highway mileage by something in the neighborhood of 10 mpg .... this will be one of several areas where I feel I need to use the Elio a while to determine what, if any, personalizations I want to make

Jim

The photos of the P4 show the plainest wheels imaginable. Oh well with the fender skirts they almost don't show at all.

I also really like the P3 fenders, but the thought of only being able to say I get 75 mpg. is just too hard to swallow. I need to say 84.

 

[ehwatt]

I've been 'brought to the principal's office' a few times for doing reverse donuts in the church parking lot in my FWD car. You know we're all gonna try it in the Elio! Who knows what that's gonna be like? 1st one to do it, don't tell! Just tell us you did it then smile!

Okay CT, but don't go over 35. Papa PaulE says ixnay cause if you go over 35 bassackwards, you will go over.