Wheels & Tires

[wheaters]

WAaaaaaay too wide for good fuel economy.

But fuel economy isn't the only design consideration. Handling, cost, availability and wear rates are important, too.

My little car runs on 5.25 x 16 tyres, approximately equivalent to a 140 series and costing far too much money for what they are because they are an unusual size ($229 each). They get very hot at times and I wouldn't personally want to go as narrow as that, especially as the Elio is 200 pounds heavier and has a higher top speed.

 

[tazairforce]

The great secret of the Prius isn't its over-hyped "hybrid" drive train, it's the low-rolling resistance skinny tires. Replace them with "ordinary" tires and mileage falls off quite a bit.

Remember the Elio is a lightweight vehicle shooting for low cost and very high fuel economy. Given those facts and prior statements from Elio, I think:
1. Wheels and tires will all be the same size. They have stated front and rear will be interchangeable.
3. Hubs will be four-lug, probably common pattern.
3. Tires will be skinny-ish, high pressure, low rolling resistance. Likely an already commonly-available size meeting that criteria.

I hope your 1/3/3 points hold up, when I retire I would like to carry only one spare tire, on top/in my camper to replace a flat as my commute to Alaska/etc will be a far piece from a tire shop.
Does any one have any info on the problems we would have in changing a rear flat on our Elio??
The front change out should be straightt forward but the back could be a REAL challenge.

 

[zelio]

I hope your 1/3/3 points hold up, when I retire I would like to carry only one spare tire, on top/in my camper to replace a flat as my commute to Alaska/etc will be a far piece from a tire shop.
Does any one have any info on the problems we would have in changing a rear flat on our Elio??
The front change out should be straightt forward but the back could be a REAL challenge.

From what I understand, the rear tire should also be easy. The fairing will rotate away from the wheel for easy access or something like that. :-) Z

 

[Dustman]

I hope your 1/3/3 points hold up, when I retire I would like to carry only one spare tire, on top/in my camper to replace a flat as my commute to Alaska/etc will be a far piece from a tire shop.
Does any one have any info on the problems we would have in changing a rear flat on our Elio??
The front change out should be straightt forward but the back could be a REAL challenge.

Rear tire change should not be a problem, perhaps even easier than the front. Plans are for the left side panel and rear panel to swing open, released by a mechanism in the "trunk" area. This will fully expose the rear wheel. I would imagine jacking up the back end should not be difficult as well.

 

[aknaten]

But the steering wheel is on the wrong side in an Elio...

No it's not, it's on the inside as it should be. A steering wheel on the outside would be hard to handle.

 

[zelio]

No it's not, it's on the inside as it should be. A steering wheel on the outside would be hard to handle.

LOL Oh My! Thank you for that excellent dose of humor! LOL Z

 

[Snick]

But fuel economy isn't the only design consideration. Handling, cost, availability and wear rates are important, too.

My little car runs on 5.25 x 16 tyres, approximately equivalent to a 140 series and costing far too much money for what they are because they are an unusual size ($229 each). They get very hot at times and I wouldn't personally want to go as narrow as that, especially as the Elio is 200 pounds heavier and has a higher top speed.

Well good luck getting anything NEAR 49/84 mpg with 140mm section width tires on this car.

Physics is a bitch--you can't wish your way around it.

 

[wheaters]

Snick, The 84 mpg target isn't my personal main priority. I actually think it's a very optimistic goal and the Elio will be hard pushed to achieve it. I certainly wouldn't expect to achieve it in practice. I'd rather have decent handling and decent tyre life with replacements at reasonable cost than squeeze the ultimate mpg.

What size tyres would you expect to be fitted as standard and where will they be sourced? Any narrower than 5 inch tread and you are looking at round profile motorcycle tyres, which I wouldn't want, they were originally recommended and supplied by the designer of my trials car but they made the car unstable and they wore out very rapidly because a car only uses the middle of the tread.

Certainly the Elio prototypes seen so far don't have exceptionally narrow tyres and they certainly aren't motorcycle tyres.

We have a Fiat Panda 1.3 diesel in the family which is quite capable of giving well over 70 mpg (imperial gallons) and it uses 155/80/13 tyres. These are very readily available in UK, probably the cheapest size available, costing about one fifth of the 5.25 x 16s I already mentioned. I wouldn't want to have to buy a hugely expensive, special set of tyres like those every time on a commuter car, because it's all part of the running expenses equation. If the Elio needs highly expensive special tyres to achieve the mpg target, it would be a big mistake as far as I'm concerned.

 

[outsydthebox]

Well good luck getting anything NEAR 49/84 mpg with 140mm section width tires on this car.

Physics is a bitch--you can't wish your way around it.

Have you shared your "scientific facts" with EM? If you really "want" EM to succeed, you need to share these "constructive" findings with them. You may also want to contact the tire companies that are working with EM. I am sure they would be thrilled have your input.
On the positive side, (IIRC) EM was only about 3-4 MPG's away from the 84mpg target before the new engine! Will the "25 years" of improvements help them to reach the target?...A little time will tell.
EM has also said, they will redesign/reshape the nose & grill opening for "improved aerodynamics." Will this help them reach the target?...A little time will tell.
EM it also working with "reputable" tire manufacturers, to design tires specifically for the Elio, to help them reach the target.

These three improvements, I am confident, will help them to achieve & surpass the target of 84 mpg's.

 

[wheaters]

I hope they develop 16 inch tyres then I could also use them on my Liege!