Outrigger Steering And Brake Line Safety?

[Mike W]

If an ice storm was predicted, I'd put the car under cover, rather than attempt to drive any vehicle.

I agree, don't drive any vehicle in a situation like an ice storm that puts you or it at unreasonable risk. A lot of the other items, as was pointed out by Bert, can be seen as perceived risks or dangers. It seems you perceive them as a risk or danger, that's fine. It all comes down to what "risks" you can comfortably handle. If the exposed portions of the suspension/brake lines cause you undo apprehension you probably should avoid the Elio. As far as looking for details, dig into the history of cars and look at those cars that are built with exposed suspension. Or even about motorcycles, they have the same basic issues, components open to road hazards. What is the failure rate due to damage encountered on the open road (not operator failure). All in all it's about driving comfortably and with confidence. If the Elio doesn't fall within those perimeters for you, that's cool, it's not a car meant for everybody.

 

[Hotscoots]

With regard to the Outriggers , can anyone with experience post their thoughts on the driving/parking experience . I have never driven anything with open wheels and wonder if driving perspective is different than a typical car . Thanks in advance to those that reply with information.

 

[Jim H]

Done a lot of off road driving including quads and never experienced any suspension problems or failures. You must know your vehicle and check on it regularly, particularly after some unusual event. There are plenty of dirt tracks across America where you can see open wheeled cars driving to the limits and the only suspension failures I have seen are the results of contact with another vehicle. I'm very confident that Paul Elio and his team will give us a vehicle that will be road worthy and reliable.

 

[wheaters]

With regard to the Outriggers , can anyone with experience post their thoughts on the driving/parking experience . I have never driven anything with open wheels and wonder if driving perspective is different than a typical car . Thanks in advance to those that reply with information.

Yes, placing the front wheels precisely is much easier because you can see them, rather than the line of the bodywork.

 

[Edward]

Yes, placing the front wheels precisely is much easier because you can see them, rather than the line of the bodywork.

In road construction, there is a trick supervisors learn for standing cones back up. Hit the very edge of the downed cone with the driver's side steer tire (almost impossible to find the cone with any of the other tires!) and the tire will push it back up. Takes practice but fairly easy to accomplish with a pickup. Of course, a couple months ago, I received the special "honor" of getting one of the first new trucks our branch has had in 7 years, a Isuzu NPR cabover. Now I'm sitting on the tire and can't see it to hit the cone. I've missed every single one I've tried over the past 3 months.

 

[Folks]

Yes, placing the front wheels precisely is much easier because you can see them, rather than the line of the bodywork.

I also like the explanation of mass that Paul Elio made on one occasion: In short he posed a 1500 lb indy car bouncing back from an into the wall accident going 200 mph where as a similar occurrence at 60 mph would completely destroy the typical 3000 lb vehicle.

 

[wheaters]

We do off road car trials where hitting a course marker stick incurs a penalty; if you touch one you are deemed to have failed the hill at that point. But the sticks are placed very carefully to make the course difficult; you often need to use the full width of the course to get round the corners or to find grip. Having an outrigger suspension is very useful because you can get very close without hitting the stick.

Same on the road, with outriggers you can place the car right on the apex of a bend without hitting a curb edge.

 

[CheeseheadEarl]

if I can get a clear sound when listening to NASCAR or a ballgame, I'm good .... other than that, the radio in ours will be turned off

And thus the need for satellite radio. I'm in NASCAR radio coverage no-man's land up here, and frequently in "enemy territory" during ball games. I do like some late night AM talk radio on the way home from work, though.

 

[JEBar]

And thus the need for satellite radio. I'm in NASCAR radio coverage no-man's land up here, and frequently in "enemy territory" during ball games. I do like some late night AM talk radio on the way home from work, though.

I've never subscribed to satellite radio, guess I'm too cheap .... unless something major has come up unexpectedly, we no longer do much night driving .... no real reason, we just don't usually find a need to do so .... thinking back to all night drives in years past, having satellite radio would have been nice

 

[NSTG8R]

I'm going to mount satellite radio antenna's on both out-rigger wheel fairings.

[Not really...just a gentle nudge back towards the 'topic' ].