Elio Racing

[karl]

http://www.scca.com/solo/

 

[Devilstower]

http://www.scca.com/solo/

I used to autocross frequently in my old Fiat X 1/9 (a cute but horrible car) and Mazda RX-7 (a fun and very good car). Had a wonderful time with both, even when I lost out to knuckleheads in vintage Minis (nothing swings through the cones like an old Cooper).

I wonder how an Elio would handle pushed aggressively on an autocross track? Understeer? Oversteer? Tail-happy hijinks? Can't wait to find out.

 

[BlioKart]

Maybe the Elio engine could make it into a Formula chassis. As for the Elio I think if the handle well enough someone(scca, nasa, etc) will make a class for it. .

 

[AriLea]

I used to autocross frequently in my old Fiat X 1/9 (a cute but horrible car) and Mazda RX-7 (a fun and very good car). Had a wonderful time with both, even when I lost out to knuckleheads in vintage Minis (nothing swings through the cones like an old Cooper).

I wonder how an Elio would handle pushed aggressively on an autocross track? Understeer? Oversteer? Tail-happy hijinks? Can't wait to find out.

You should expect it to compete like any front wheel drive car with a few changes. First it's a very low CG but there is no sway control. So anything that gets the CG lower would improve turns.
There is more cornering traction than 4wheel FWD cars, but in both it's best to not squeal around turns, you can only just lose energy and road compliance. No 'power turns' will work for it.
There is an upper limit to 'power to weight ratio' that you can put into front wheel drive, where it starts to oscillate left to right at times. The Elio's upper limit will be higher than a 4 wheel car, based on weight.

The sway bar on a 4wheeler can help with that oscillation, but it's not available on a 3 wheeler.

Heavy braking will be the worst time for road handling issues for tadpole trikes, but usually less for FWD design.

In effect, this is a new kind of racing testing driver skills and careful design in new ways.

 

[AriLea]

I'm cross posting this from another Forum. Seems pertinent. ;;;

Currently, all three wheelers are excluded from SCCA and NASA-x autocross events. At least in Southern California, it is difficult if not impossible to find a venue for competitive three wheel events.
We *might* have an opportunity to partner with an established racing school In Southern California to hold an autocross event for three wheelers if there is sufficient interest. This school holds regular track and autocross events but, like everyone else, currently excludes three wheelers.
Autocross is a competitive event at speeds no more than regular highway speeds on a low hazard course (usually a large parking lot). There are no walls, curbs or posts you can hit, no passing, and no chance of collisions since cars are widely spaced. The worst that can happen is you run over a cone.
Current restrictions imposed by the insurance company will limit participation to manufactured vehicles only (no home built vehicles, some kits probably okay), in the 2F1R configuration only. Vehicles must have seat belts, roll bars, and good rollover resistance. All makes will must be cleared by the insurance company prior to participation.
There will be many details to work out, so this is a very preliminary inquiry to gauge interest. If you think you might be interested, please PM me with your vehicle type. If there isn't sufficient interest, the sponsoring organization won't pursue this further.

 

[AriLea]

Soooo, here is some results from the first Autocross allowing Autocycles. 7 were three-wheel 'autocycles' ( not the fed definition of it ). And the actual video

(Cross-posted from 3-wheelers.com interest group)
The three wheelers were competitive. The range of times for all vehicles was about 35 to 45 seconds for clean runs. The fastest vehicles were a Subaru WRX and a Scion FRS that were properly race prepped and driven by real experienced guys. A Porsche, Miata, Nissan GTR and Corvette posted some good times (about 36-37). There was a Ferrari that could not break 41 seconds.

Two of the Slingshot drivers had extensive autocross experience in four wheelers and were able to lap the course in 37+ seconds. My fastest lap was 38.5 in the Trihawk. I was very pleased with this but my driving is probably rubbish (first time doing something like this). One of the Slingshots had PR of 39.9, and two others in the 40-41 range. The Aerocycle was driven by a professional rally car driver, but had a poor rear tire with no traction; he really struggled to keep it in line and had a few spins; best time was 41, I think. None of the other three wheelers had any spins or mishaps.

I think I could have improved my lines through the chicane sections if I knew what I was doing. Better acceleration would have helped also. On the sweeping curves, the Trihawk was at the limit and experienced moderate understeer that pushed it wide, despite the ultra sticky Toyo Proxes R888 semi-slick tires. Overall the Trihawk performed extremely well. There was no body roll, and the understeer occurred progressively and predictably and was controllable by easing off the throttle; very safe ultimately. There were no rear tire grip issues whatsoever. I was running about 34 PSI in all tires which was too high. Temperatures were in the 90's and I had to sit out one of my laps to cool down the air-cooled TH. We each did about 10-12 laps over six hours.

Great fun! John

 

[AriLea]

From a racing perspective this 'shout-out' is interesting. I would like to have seen the TriHawk, TRex, BlackJack, Scorpion and some others included in the discussion.

 

[boppa1mimi]

If this thing becomes a hit, what are the odds of having Elio races around US tracks. Seems like fun using only original assembly line Elios. Would you consider it safe crashing these on the track at 100 mph. There are no hummers to worry about.

there is nothing safe about crashing anything at 100 mph.....just saying

 

[outsydthebox]

there is nothing safe about crashing anything at 100 mph.....just saying

Welcome boppa1mimi, from E. Tennessee

 

[AriLea]

This was a fun comment I saw today on a new article from January


derhoggzKat Callahan
1/10/15 11:48am
Will buy. Will autocross.