Nv, Ut, Az Roads, Aka Driving In The Mountains

[Jeff Miller]

I just spent a number of days base camping out of Las Vegas and driving around to the national parks and couldn't help but remember comments from folks in AZ about how nice the roads were around there. Yup, I'd have to agree that those long sweeping roads were an immense pleasure and will be great fun to drive on when our elios show up.

There was however one section of road on US 15 heading up to Kolob Canyons in Zion that made me wonder how well the elio will do. This section of road has a speed limit of 80 mph and climbs to 6000 feet by the time you make it to Kolob. I wasn't surprised when my anemic rental car struggled with this task but I was surprised to see large Cadillac SUVs also seemed to be slowing a bit on the ascent. This got me wondering how well will the elio do when it encounters such a road.

I do believe that the elio engine being matched specifically to the elio will allow it to do better than the anemic dodge avenger I was driving. That car did have a 6 speed transmission to help it along but I simply couldn't stand running the engine at more than 4500 rpm just to keep speed up. I'm hoping the elio with its low rpm grunt, lighter weight, and less wind drag will actually do much better.

I live in MN where elevation changes are measured in 100s of feet instead of 1000s of feet so I never expect to actually have any issues like this but for those of you that live in mountainous areas what is your opinion as to how well you think elio will handle the roads?

 

[ecdriver711]

No problem, downshift. Climbing a continuous steep grade at 70mph is a gas sucker. My mpg went up when I started slowing to about 60mph on long grades.

 

[Bert]

Yup, do what the vehicle is "comfortable" with. If it's a bit off the posted speed, but at least at the minimum posted speed, then take your time and enjoy the scenery.
Besides, driving in the mountains includes avoiding wildlife on the road. Giving yourself more time to react is just, logical..

 

[JEBar]

here are two Elio Tech bulletins that can provide good info on the engine

===> http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=4801365dc7

===> http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=545e7f615f

the variable valve lift they are using employes both a power and mileage modes .... it allows the motor to provide power for roads like you mention

 

[goofyone]

here are two Elio Tech bulletins that can provide good info on the engine

===> http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=4801365dc7

===> http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=545e7f615f

the variable valve lift they are using employes both a power and mileage modes .... it allows the motor to provide power for roads like you mention

I remember when you asked the very same question. You have come along way in this group.

 

[JEBar]

I remember when you asked the very same question. You have come along way in this group.

that's how I knew the answer was buried somewhere in some post in some thread .. .. it took a while to find it .. o_O

 

[Jeff Miller]

Thanks for the research and pointers. I understood the importance of EM building the motor to fit the elio, the specific low end torque, and the variable valve aspects but all of that is kind of nebulous to me until I can relate it to real world experience.

It seems the comments to shift down and/or slow down and enjoy the ride are perhaps the real world experiences I should take from this. Stated another way, we should have good confidence that the elio will do well on those roads but if there are roads that do tax the elios capabilities to just relax and enjoy the ride. I can do that :-)