randychase Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Does anyone have any head-to-head skidpad or road-course tests of a 3-wheeler and a performance 4-wheeler (like Seven type)? I think the best I have seen are Chris Harris's review and also UK Top Gear. The 3 wheel vehicles seem much more about fun than real performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Paul Van Valkenberg did an article in Road & Track about 30 years ago. The rear drive 2-1 set would start with mild understeer and progress to big understeer. The 1-2 was even worse. I don't recall if 2-1 FWD was discussed, but it would be better than RWD. Either 2-1 would require a STIFF anti-roll bar. I think 4 tires beats 3, as long as they are on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Paul Van Valkenberg did an article in Road & Track about 30 years ago. The rear drive 2-1 set would start with mild understeer and progress to big understeer. The 1-2 was even worse. I don't recall if 2-1 FWD was discussed, but it would be better than RWD. Either 2-1 would require a STIFF anti-roll bar. I think 4 tires beats 3, as long as they are on the ground. I think a big difference is that most (maybe all) states define 3 wheels as a motorcycle. This gets you into the carpool lane in CA, and it gets the manufacturer out of proving crashworthiness. Emissions requirements are a lot easier to meet with a motorcycle than a car. 3-wheelers are not about handling. A lot of Can-Ams are bought because the wife refuses to travel on the back of a 2-wheeler. The 1-2 trike configuration is really bad if you get on the brakes in a corner. 2-1 'tadpole' is a lot more stable there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanG Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 A Messerschmidt style trike with weather protection (and AC) with car pool lane and parking benefits would be enough to sway some people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 A Messerschmidt style trike with weather protection (and AC) with car pool lane and parking benefits would be enough to sway some people. We seem to be converging on a consensus. The Messerschmidt and Morgan were low cost low performance people movers when UK and Germany were coming out of the devastation of WWII. Elio (with 5000 reservations) is a modern low performance people mover with a closed canopy and AC priced far below the Fit/Yaris/Versa/Spark/Fiesta. Slingshot and T-Rex are going for the fun excitement market. Can-Am fits in between. 3 wheels may not as good for getting around a track, but that doesn't make the Slingshot any less fun on the road. Let the Robin jokes begin...:jester: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew... Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 From a Cycle World article "You don’t straddle the rear-drive Slingshot; you sit way back in it, side by side with your passenger in waterproof bucket seats, and your posteriors are only 11.9 inches off the pavement." "Only 11.9 inches"? That's 3 times higher than I sit in the Caterham with lowered floors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 How important would the back wheel(s) be if it's not powered? It's funny that a trike with one front wheel is the worst but that Nissan concept racer has a very narrow front end with 2 wheels close together... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyotus 7 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I agree with all of this, but I want to point out that Morgan trikes (established in 1910) actually predate WW I by several years and weren't just a notion cooked after after WW II dor cheap transport. They were a very well-established trike company prior to WW II, ceasing civilian production during the war. Four wheeled Morgans are a relatively late post-WW II "innovation" for that company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I agree with all of this, but I want to point out that Morgan trikes (established in 1910) actually predate WW I by several years and weren't just a notion cooked after after WW II dor cheap transport. They were a very well-established trike company prior to WW II, ceasing civilian production during the war. Four wheeled Morgans are a relatively late post-WW II "innovation" for that company. I stand corrected. Would you agree that the Messerschmitt (this time spelled correctly) and the Robin were post WWII cheap people movers? Then we can start the jokes about Messerschmitt having a large stock of airplane canopies left over and wondering what to do with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyotus 7 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Just got back from the Microcar Extravaganza in Tacoma. I have a soft spot for the little darlings. The weirder, the better and, yes, the Polaris slingshot is plenty weird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian 7 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Hey Toyotus 7, any Autozam AZ-1 at the microcar gathering? Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyotus 7 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Nope. Some really cool 60s Japanese cars, but most of them were European or oddball American stuff. There were several trikes there, but no Polaris, either. I can start another post in the off topic section and include photos if anyone is interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanG Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Yes please. I like microcars, especially Subaru 360s, Messerschmidt and all vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPG Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 There was an Autozam at the Gould's microcar event in Brookline MA this year. Awfully cute little thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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