Edmunds: LeMons Miata Test

[pdexta]

Saw this posted on another forum and thought it was pretty sweet. Edmunds did a full test of a LeMons Miata. Faster slalom than a 2009 Porsche Carrera S Cabriolet. :rofl1:

http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/assets_c/2009/05/lemons-lead-thumb-555x394.jpg

http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/assets_c/2009/05/lemons-det5-950-thumb-555x369.jpg



Test Results:
0 - 30 (sec): 2.6
0 - 45 (sec): 4.5
0 - 60 (sec): 6.8
0 - 75 (sec): 9.9
1/4 Mile (sec @ mph): 15.0 @ 90.7
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 6.5
30 - 0 (ft): 32
60 - 0 (ft): 135

Braking Rating: Frustrating
Slalom (mph): 70.4
Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): 0.89g
Handling Rating: Impressive




So how's she run? Well enough to impress our cynical scribes. Let's just say that the 6.8 seconds (6.5 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) the Miatallac required to hit 60 mph is 0.1 second quicker than the 2010 model MX-5 we tested recently. The quarter-mile arrived in 15.0 seconds at 90.7 mph - the same ET as the 2010 MX-5.
Handling was more impressive. Slithering through the slalom at 70.4 mph makes the Miata faster than a 2009 Porsche Carrera S Cabriolet (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=138126/pageId=156102). Road-holding, on heat-cycled, flat-spotted rubber, was better than other $500 cars we've driven, at 0.89g. Braking, at 135 feet from 60, is 14 feet shorter than a 2009 Honda Pilot (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=127749/pageId=141448) and that's without ABS and on those same crap tires.


Full article: http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2009/05/il-track-tested-93-94-mazda-miata-lemons-racer.html


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[Anthony]

:confused:

[frank]

I Love It.

[Jeepin']

http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/assets_c/2009/05/lemons-lead-thumb-555x394.jpg



looks like a rape victim

[Only_In_A_Domestic]

hahahahahaha

[pdexta]

The race was this weekend and the miata won! From another forum I'm on:

Over Memorial Day weekend, LeMons hit Reno-Fernley Raceway and our janky turbo Miata (I posted a build thread for it a while back; the Eyesore FrankenMiata) fought it out with some stiff competition. Something like 126 cars in the field (!).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3569944797_fbcc3c4eed.jpg?v=0http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3570754034_81700b5f15.jpg?v=0

Despite two penalties, we finished day one leading by about 5 laps. That was a healthy margin on a ~2.5-mile track but we knew there was a lot of racing left and anything can happen.

Then, on day two, anything indeed happened. The car inexplicably died on the main straight. Dead as Dillinger. Car is towed back to the pits. No electrical juice at all. Some probing with a jumpstart box and voltmeter reveals a dead battery but a very healthy alternator.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/3569981727_e7332d20d6.jpg?v=0http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3312/3569983013_5975ed18e8.jpg?v=0

The culprit lived in the place where those two circuits meet--in the killswitch. The freaking thing--a ~$50 Longacre switch with less than 25 hours of racing on it--conked out! Juryrigged the switch and sent 'er back out. Lost 4 laps of our lead in the pits.

We've got Blanco Basura's Prelude and an Alfetta nipping at our heels. Crap! Our last driver, Dave, goes in with a toughest job of all--he has to drive a long stint hard enough to maintain (or extend) our lead, and do it without incurring a penalty. Oh, and he has to be easy on the throttle to save gas so we don't need to splash up the tank. Good luck buddy!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2446/3569968021_daa7222942.jpg?v=0http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3630/3570773668_c2c7ac98d0.jpg?v=0

Then, with 30min left, Dave gets a penalty! A big orange truck has been waving him by but our driver plays it safe and stays back. Then, both guys change their mind at the same time and try to occupy the same apex simultaneously. Dave smartly decides to hit a cone instead of the truck and gets black flagged in the process.

By the time we're back on the track again, we have no idea what our standing is. All we can do is drive hard yet safe and hope for the best. And the tank is running lower than we can really live with. Fortunately a 10-min long standing yellow comes out. This was really fortunate--it helped us conserve enough fuel to avoid another stop.

Then at 3:30 the checker drops as Dave crosses the start/finish! Our car, on stock shocks, stock springs, stock 14" wheels, pieced together from three junked body shells, a stock longblock from four blown engines, a rusty Mexican turbo, a metal hot water heater shed, and running with wornout cylinders, its hood on the roof and a velvet Elvis in the trunk, just won the whole freaking race!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3570005361_7bd5628f17.jpg

A big shout out to Mark DiBella of MD Automotive. Couldn't have done it without him. Thanks also to all the mt.net members who helped out with hardware and/or support.

Jalopnik - The Top 102 Lemons Of The Goin' For Broken 24 Hours Of LeMons - 24 Hours Of Lemons Reno (http://jalopnik.com/5270894/the-top...hours-of-lemons)

Jalopnik - Eyesore Racing: Winner of the 24 Hours of LeMons Reno-Fernley - 24 Hours Of Lemons Reno (http://jalopnik.com/5268435/eyesore...ns-reno+fernley)

lots of pics: 2009 24 Hours of Lemons Reno - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/caroscuro/sets/72157618787737879/)
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