Show us your Cars

[Harmonie]

 

[Wes]

ok... Miata

 

[John Doe]

1999 VT SS Holden Commodore.

No longer standard, flicked the stock LS1 and built a stroked Whipple blown 6.6 L

 

[Sal1950]

ok... Miata

Too bad Carol Shelby isn't still around. Nice lightweight platform for a smallblock Ford V8.
Put a little US roar into it.

 

[Sal1950]

View attachment 101266
1999 VT SS Holden Commodore.

No longer standard, flicked the stock LS1 and built a stroked Whipple blown 6.6 L

Yee Ha. Probably a 383 stroker motor, that's a awesome configuration.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Too bad Carol Shelby isn't still around. Nice lightweight platform for a smallblock Ford V8.
Put a little US roar into it.

Actually quite a few people swap an LS1 Corvette engine into the NC generation Miatas. There are plenty of kits to help with the details. It will all fit. Even better the LS1 is 17 pounds lighter than the original engine, and lowers the CG by over an inch.

 

[Wes]

Of course, you could put the engine in the rear - where it belongs.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Of course, you could put the engine in the rear - where it belongs.

You mean messed up like a Porsche? I get mid-engine placement, but not rear. You have to work very hard to overcome the problems of rear engine cars. Of course with careful engineering and handling of weight distribution you can put an engine anywhere and make it work.

I guess the combo I've never seen is a rear engine car with front wheel drive. Why is that?

 

[John Doe]

Yee Ha. Probably a 383 stroker motor, that's a awesome configuration.

Ls2 block + stroker crank = 402 ci, 2.8 L Whipple, 4L80E, 3.7 Kazz centre.

 

[Sal1950]

Actually quite a few people swap an LS1 Corvette engine into the NC generation Miatas. There are plenty of kits to help with the details. It will all fit. Even better the LS1 is 17 pounds lighter than the original engine, and lowers the CG by over an inch.

I'm surprised, the LS blocks are wide engines. Sounds like a ball of fun though.

Of course, you could put the engine in the rear - where it belongs.

The only car that benefits from the engine in the rear is a dragster for max traction. Without careful design they tend to over-steer, a bunch!

Ls2 block + stroker crank = 402 ci, 2.8 L Whipple, 4L80E, 3.7 Kazz centre.

I'll take 2 please. The GM LS engines are an amazing design, the amount of HP the block can handle has shone an incredible amount of strength.

 

[Blumlein 88]

You mean like this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_car

Read the full article. I believe its history of accidents and slanted media coverage explain why the public would not ever again accept that style of car.

Well I was aware of that car. I discounted it because it was three wheeled and rear wheel steering. Had it been 4 wheels with front steering it would have been no issue. The engine placement wasn't really what caused the problems.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm surprised, the LS blocks are wide engines. Sounds like a ball of fun though.

The only car that benefits from the engine in the rear is a dragster for max traction. Without careful design they tend to over-steer, a bunch!

I'll take 2 please. The GM LS engines are an amazing design, the amount of HP the block can handle has shone an incredible amount of strength.

This is an article about a turn key conversion. 430 hp with 2821 lbs and 52:48 weight distribution.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a8196/flyin-miata-v8-nc-miata/

 

[Sal1950]

This is an article about a turn key conversion. 430 hp with 2821 lbs and 52:48 weight distribution.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a8196/flyin-miata-v8-nc-miata/

The gents from Flying Miata must be magicians! Not only did they get that LS3 in it but a Tremec T56 six-speed also, that trans is the size of a 55 gallon barrel. A neat bit of wrenchin went on there but they seemed to have stopped a bit short, a 430 HP LS3 is a stock factory crate motor. They probably did it for costs and warranty issues but it's easy peasy to build a reliable, street gas burner to 6-700 HP. Then it would finally be a real MANS car. LOL

 

[watchnerd]

This is an article about a turn key conversion. 430 hp with 2821 lbs and 52:48 weight distribution.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a8196/flyin-miata-v8-nc-miata/

It's really the cost that creates the major issue.

I drove an MX-5 in autocross, and loved it, but $43k opens up a lot of options.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Joking apart getting the weight distribution good for a powerful car is not easy.
Most mid engined cars are not as good as they should be or have the front wheels so far back they compromise the footbox width and pedal position.
Front engined cars are always average to poor for both handling and traction.
The two solutions which work best IME, are the "front mid engine" concept which puts the front engine way back as far as possible, but with all of it behind the front axle. The engine needs to be a nice light one, a pushrod V8 is good, but the footwells are narrow and cockpit gets a bit warm.
My TVR Griffith was like that and probably the best fun car I ever had. It is a cheap, compromised solution though.
The second is the front engine, rear transmission.
This is the expensive complex solution but is probably the best overall compromise IMO.
The sportscar I have now is mid-engined but to get the balance the front wheels are so far back the front overhang causes bottoming on even small ramps and the front tyres are much narrower than the front.

 

[Frank Dernie]

ok... Miata


View attachment 101265

The Elan is my favourite of all the cars I have driven.
The Miata (MX5 over here) isn't a big car but looks huge alongside it and weighs almost twice as much. I have only driven the first one which was great but it was no Elan. Mind you if I was going to be run into by somebody in an out of control SUV...

 

[Sal1950]

Worst part is I can't get in or out of anything really kool anymore.
If the numbers run right maybe a 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, Doing 4 wheel burnouts with that supercharged hemi would be great for my swansong ride.
"With its Supercharged 6.2L HEMI® SRT Hellcat V8 engine and a whopping 710 horsepower, the Dodge Durango SRT® is a statement of strength. Strap on 645 pound-feet of torque and a towing capacity of 8,700 pounds( Disclosure6) to this AWD SUV for maximized potential."

 

[Frank Dernie]

Worst part is I can't get in or out of anything really kool anymore.
If the numbers run right maybe a 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, Doing 4 wheel burnouts with that supercharged hemi would be great for my swansong ride.
"With its Supercharged 6.2L HEMI® SRT Hellcat V8 engine and a whopping 710 horsepower, the Dodge Durango SRT® is a statement of strength. Strap on 645 pound-feet of torque and a towing capacity of 8,700 pounds( Disclosure6) to this AWD SUV for maximized potential."

A mate of mine who used to work at Ferrari told me one of the biggest lessons they learned which helped sales was that they must be easy to get into and out of
Building the sort of road car that only a slim athletic test driver could get into easily was a mistake when the only people who could actually afford to buy them were usually neither slim nor athletic

We don't get many US cars available here. I don't think the potential sales numbers justify the extra design and testing costs, or, probably, interest the styling departments.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Joking apart getting the weight distribution good for a powerful car is not easy.
Most mid engined cars are not as good as they should be or have the front wheels so far back they compromise the footbox width and pedal position.
Front engined cars are always average to poor for both handling and traction.
The two solutions which work best IME, are the "front mid engine" concept which puts the front engine way back as far as possible, but with all of it behind the front axle. The engine needs to be a nice light one, a pushrod V8 is good, but the footwells are narrow and cockpit gets a bit warm.
My TVR Griffith was like that and probably the best fun car I ever had. It is a cheap, compromised solution though.
The second is the front engine, rear transmission.
This is the expensive complex solution but is probably the best overall compromise IMO.
The sportscar I have now is mid-engined but to get the balance the front wheels are so far back the front overhang causes bottoming on even small ramps and the front tyres are much narrower than the front.

Yes, the C5 and later Corvettes have the engine behind the front axle and a transaxle in the rear. That and mid-engines do seem the way to go.

The Dusengberg model J and SJ had the engine fully behind the front axle, but not the transmission in the rear. I've seen them, but never had the pleasure to drive them. Being a straight 8 and all led to a long car. The long hood short deck style I love. Of course weighing well over 5300 lbs (2400 kg) and a wheelbase of 142 inches (361 cm) I don't know how nifty the handling would be. Probably room under that hood to drop two LS motors in it.

 

[Harmonie]

The Elan is my favourite of all the cars I have driven.
The Miata (MX5 over here) isn't a big car but looks huge alongside it and weighs almost twice as much. I have only driven the first one which was great but it was no Elan. Mind you if I was going to be run into by somebody in an out of control SUV...

Can you compare a Lotus (Elan) and an MX-5 ?

I really like Lotus brand more discrete than Porsche, Ferrari, recent Aston's aso ....