High Hopes For Elio - The Sport Edition

[skychief]

Wider tire is going to hydroplane and slip an sand or road film more. I think the narrow low profile tires are going to be the best bet.

If this is the case, then why did the Elio engineers put a wider tire in the back? Why not just use the same 80 series tire that is used for the front? That sure would make buying tires a heck of a lot easier.

 

[Coss]

If this is the case, then why did the Elio engineers put a wider tire in the back? Why not just use the same 80 series tire that is used for the front? That sure would make buying tires a heck of a lot easier.

Weight; there is only one point of support in the rear; this supports driver and passenger, body, fuel, payload capability (your gear).
In the front you have two wheels to share the weight load.

 

[Lil4X]

When you think about the tires on a superbike - especially the rear - they look wide, because they have to grip at even severe lean angles with the contact patch rolling up near the sidewall. In straight-ahead riding, the actual contact patch is considerably less than it would appear. Your Elio's wheels and tires contact the road at something more like 90°, so all of the superbike's tire width wouldn't be used.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Back on topic-
Just got an Email from Can-Am

BRP has just announced part of its 2017 Can-Am Spyder lineup, with more to follow in August. The most exciting news is a new Sport Mode for the Can-Am Spyder F3-S, which allows the rider to perform controlled rear-wheel drifts while maintaining vehicle stability. When Sport Mode is activated, the Traction Control System (TCS) is turned off but the Stability Control System (SCS) remains engaged. Previously Spyders allowed slow-speed, straight-line rolling burnouts even with TCS in its always-on mode, but now riders will be able to unleash more of the sporting potential of the liquid-cooled, 1,330cc Rotax ACE (Advanced Combustion Efficiency) in-line triple, which makes a claimed 115 horsepower and 96 lb-ft of torque.

Block letters mine

 

[Johnny Acree]

Did you see ford focus has drift mode?

 

[Ekh]

Jeff johnson, elio vp of engineering, said the car would come with a sport/rconomy switch.

I wonder if it really will?

 

[Maurtis]

Jeff johnson, elio vp of engineering, said the car would come with a sport/rconomy switch.

I wonder if it really will?

I would not be shocked if it does get a sport button. It very well could be like the cruise control, a feature already built into whatever ECU they are using and enabling it is just a matter of adding a button and wiring. I doubt it will make a huge difference, though. Unlike more expensive cars where a sport mode also affects suspension, on the Elio it would more likely only affect throttle response and automatic shift points. Possibly also affect the fuel map to trade some MPG for power, but not as much as a custom dyno tune.

So it would make the car feel sharper but overall not make a big impact. For example, one trick we did on the early model manual Hyundai Velosters was to unplug one of the clutch switches. It made the computer think the clutch was always pushed in so it disabled some of the ECU's fuctions that made the shifting smoother. The effect was to make the car behave more like a normal manual transmission, making the revs snappier between shifts. It turns out the ECU was programmed to make the revs "hang" between shifts to make the transition smoother without having to blip the throttle to rev match. While no difference in performance, it made the car *feel* a lot sportier. Some people then went on to wire a switch to that plug to enable "sport mode" since leaving the clutch switch unplugged also disabled cruise control.

 

[Jeff H]

Did you see ford focus has drift mode?

It makes parallel parking a lot more exciting!

 

[Jeff H]

Jeff johnson, elio vp of engineering, said the car would come with a sport/rconomy switch.

I wonder if it really will?

Every car does, the switch sits right between your ears

 

[W. WIllie]

Just "loosen up" the "nut" on the steering wheel. Works for me on the G1.