What Speed Do We Have To Travel To Get 84mpg?

[wizard of ahs]

Jerome Vasallo told me that the Elio was being designed to relier 84 mpg at 65 mph. "We wanted real world economy," he said. Hence the very torquey engine, to deliver the highway speed at low rpm.

Yes, but AC use WILL impact mpg's at any speed !!!

Use of the AC, assuming it will not be electrically driven but belt driven from the engine, is going to cut deeply into fuel economy. My '95 Civic would do 36 mpg reliably on a three hour Interstate run without the AC, but only 32 in warm weather with it running . . . and that was with 125 hp on tap. My '72 Opel was similar, but with only 105 hp available you definitely knew when the AC came on. When you have only 50 horsepower available, the 8-10 hp required to run the compressor becomes really significant. You should expect that when your compressor cycles on it's going to feel like you've thrown out an anchor.

Most AC systems use either a vacuum motor or a signal from the Engine Control Module to disconnect the compressor clutch at WOT, restoring those extra horsepower to get out of trouble when in panic mode. As soon as you lift you'll get that toe-stubbing sensation as the compressor kicks back in. That's why I'm all for an electrically-driven compressor, particularly with a tiny engine. It's more expensive, but well worth in when drivability is a consideration.

I have similar results in my smart. 40 - 42 mpg at 65mph but falls to 36 - 38 with AC..............I'll take it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bilbo B]

Yes, but AC use WILL impact mpg's at any speed !!!



I have similar results in my smart. 40 - 42 mpg at 65mph but falls to 36 - 38 with AC..............I'll take it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See, I don't understand that. I took my 2006 Civic Coupe from Cedar Rapids to Chicago and back (little over 400 miles round trip) with much of the trip on 4 lane highway with speed limits of 65 or 70 MPH (and I typically wave at the speed limit as I go past it). The '55 MPH' stretch of the trip was in rolling hills steep enough they have 'truck' lanes on them, and it got 34 MPG for the entire trip (with 500 pounds of passengers/dogs, AC on the whole way). I see the Smart, and the Fit, and the Mini, and all the other really small cars, but I don't see them getting all that much better mileage than my Civic. which has more space and better performance (OK, maybe not better than a Mini). I certainly hope an Elio does better than that at highway speeds WITH the AC on. At least 60 MPG.

 

[Norahsbed]

Out here no one does 65mph, (rush hour will slow them down) even if that's the posted speed on secondary roads. 75mph is the posted speed on the interstate and most drivers are doing 80. In South Dakota the new speed limit is 80mph on the interstate and again seems most are going faster. 80mph is about as fast as I will go, I'm not a teen any more and no longer feel invincible!

 

[JEBar]

Out here no one does 65mph, (rush hour will slow them down) even if that's the posted speed on secondary roads. 75mph is the posted speed on the interstate and most drivers are doing 80. In South Dakota the new speed limit is 80mph on the interstate and again seems most are going faster. 80mph is about as fast as I will go, I'm not a teen any more and no longer feel invincible!

after spending about 2 months out there, we left SD a few days ago .... I actually drove our Sportchassis at 80 for a few seconds, just wanted to be able to say I'd done so .... from what we were told, the SD highway patrol has been ordered to allow no wiggle room and to ticket anything over 80

 

[Okie51]

I am hoping to get better that 50(twice my Kia Forte) mpg as most of my miles are in city. Sometimes on the expressway I can get up to 65. I hope acceleration is not too slow as in Tulsa some of the entrance ramps to some expressways are too short.

 

[Ekh]

I once had a Subaru Outback up to 105. This was in the middle of Montana, not on an interstate, straight road for miles and miles, and not another car for half an hour. 105 was the absolute top speed for this suby, which had a reasonable amount of weight but nothing extreme. And the AC had an automatic shutoff when the engine was under load, so that was a non-issue. Took about 3 minutes to get it to top speed, and then I let it slow down to a reasonable 80. Just wanted to see how fast it would go, and that was the answer.

 

[Adamant]

I once had a Subaru Outback up to 105. This was in the middle of Montana, not on an interstate, straight road for miles and miles, and not another car for half an hour. 105 was the absolute top speed for this suby, which had a reasonable amount of weight but nothing extreme. And the AC had an automatic shutoff when the engine was under load, so that was a non-issue. Took about 3 minutes to get it to top speed, and then I let it slow down to a reasonable 80. Just wanted to see how fast it would go, and that was the answer.

I did that once in a Focus. I got up to 105mph for about 10 seconds and then backed off, just to see what it would be like. Surprisingly, it only felt like I was doing about 65mph.

But this also makes me wonder what the Elio will get when I'm driving 95mph going to Las Vegas. Those roads in Nevada are empty for as far as the eye can see, and straight all the way to the horizon. With no one else to worry about, and a super gas saver car, I figure why not go 95mph. I'm hoping though that with the Elio, I'll still be able to get at least 35mpg at that speed. Even at 35, that's still better MPGs that I'm getting out of my current 4 banger at 75mph.

 

[Smitty901]

As of yet no one has a clue. No ELIO prototype has been tested with the ELIO engine in it or drive line. So Any numbers are just a guess. While some maybe based on good research it is still a guess at this point.

 

[Coss]

As of yet no one has a clue. No ELIO prototype has been tested with the ELIO engine in it or drive line. So Any numbers are just a guess. While some maybe based on good research it is still a guess at this point.

Since the P5 will be out soon, we should be able to get some real world numbers.
The P5 will have the IAV motor in it, so any testing they do will be on record.

 

[Adamant]

This is still my #1 question about the Elio. This is definitely one I'd love to speak with them about if I can ever get to a live event, but it's always on my mind.

I'm hoping this isn't a case of 55mph, no A/C, 150lbs max in order to make 84 mpg. I'd love it if we could hit 84mpg while going 70mph with the A/C on while weighing a real weight.

If that were the case, I wonder if we could then hit 120mpg with no A/C driving 55mph?