Lil4X
Elio Addict
Maybe hack the VSC system to lock a selected front brake, while the opposite wheel drives around it. 
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Turning Radius
- Thread starter Charlie G
- Start date
skygazer6033
Elio Addict
19' turn radius would provide basically 38' or so to turn curb to curb. This is probably about right. If you figure the tire diameter is 22" to 24" then the wheel pants are another 10" to 15" so the pants are 34"to 39". Since they turn with the wheels the steering would need to be restricted to keep the inside pant from contacting the door (or not door on the right). Bottom line, this configuration can't turn very sharp. The P3 open fenders could be made to turn a little more sharply but don't know if it would be worth the effort.
zelio
Elio Addict
Please translate that into the equivalent for the 19' Elio. I'm more than a little confused. Thank you because I really do want to know even though it may change once the production Elio is the one being driven. :-) Z
skygazer6033
Elio Addict
Z --- It boils down to how much room do you need to negotiate a 180° U-turn. Looks like about 38 feet. Which is a lot for a vehicle this size.
skygazer6033
Elio Addict
Not bad at all. The only place the large turn radius would be noticeable would be in a full lock turn, that is a U-turn. Not really a problem just not quite as handy as tighter turning vehicles. My Honda Odyssey turns on a dime, my old Caddy on the other hand has the turn radius of a B52. Not really bad just different.
skygazer6033
Elio Addict
Differential braking and a full castering rear wheel would definitely take care of any U-turn problems. It would turn in it's own length. Would take me back to my old Luscomb days.
Lil4X
Elio Addict
Now, if we can unlock the tailwheel . . .
in a thread that
here is a link to an extensive write-up that accompanied the above video ==> http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/08/exclusive-capsule-review-elio-motors-p4-prototype/ <== in that write-up the following quote can be found :
"As I said, it handles pretty much like you’d expect a small FWD vehicle to drive. If they didn’t know it had three wheels, most drivers probably couldn’t tell from the driver’s seat. I tried to hang the rear wheel out and get the trike to drift like a Morgan 3 Wheeler can but between the tired Suzuki 3 cyl and the fairly decent contact patch (much fatter tires than on the Morgan 3 wheeler) the back end stayed firmly in place. It understeers, but with a bit more power you might be able to get the vehicle to rotate quicker. Since the Elio trike has a classic double wishbone front suspension with coilover shock/spring units (and a trick pull rod to get the dampers out of the air flow) it can probably be adjusted for more aggressive handling. When cornering hard I didn’t notice much body roll – don’t worry about the inherent instability of three wheelers and their tendency to lift the inner wheel in a turn. Not gonna happen here."
Jim
here is a link to an extensive write-up that accompanied the above video ==> http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/08/exclusive-capsule-review-elio-motors-p4-prototype/ <== in that write-up the following quote can be found :
"As I said, it handles pretty much like you’d expect a small FWD vehicle to drive. If they didn’t know it had three wheels, most drivers probably couldn’t tell from the driver’s seat. I tried to hang the rear wheel out and get the trike to drift like a Morgan 3 Wheeler can but between the tired Suzuki 3 cyl and the fairly decent contact patch (much fatter tires than on the Morgan 3 wheeler) the back end stayed firmly in place. It understeers, but with a bit more power you might be able to get the vehicle to rotate quicker. Since the Elio trike has a classic double wishbone front suspension with coilover shock/spring units (and a trick pull rod to get the dampers out of the air flow) it can probably be adjusted for more aggressive handling. When cornering hard I didn’t notice much body roll – don’t worry about the inherent instability of three wheelers and their tendency to lift the inner wheel in a turn. Not gonna happen here."
Jim