IL Track Tested: '93-'94 Mazda Miata LeMons Racer

Cadillac fins.                                                 Whitewalls, baby!

Despite our insults, the team gave us an exclusive test of their pink beauty before its second outing. Clearly, this is no average Miatallac. The 1.6-liter Mazda engine is fed 3.5 pounds of boost via a hand-me-down turbocharger from a Mexican-market Dodge Stratus. The collective brain trust at Eyesore Racing realized that the crudest easiest turbo manifold in the world could be had simply by inverting the stock Mazda unit and building an adapter to the turbo.

Conveniently, this also solved any would-be packaging problems. With the turbo mounted 8 inches above the hood line, plumbing in a Ford Probe intercooler was as easy as it was ugly. The whole deranged mess is controlled by a rising-rate fuel pressure regulator and a magic mulletronics box that retards ignition timing once boost hits. The result is an additional 35 horsepower and 35 pound-feet of torque, bringing the total to 135 hp and 125 lb-ft. Not bad in a 2,020-pound package that costs less than a set of brake pads for an Evo.

Those of you familiar with turbo Miatas or, for that matter, physics, will appreciate Team Eyesore's next step. They put a huge-ass radiator where the passenger seat goes. Cooling air enters at the base of the windshield and where the door once resided and exits through holes in the rear shelf. The relocation serves a second purpose by keeping the radiator (we hear you need those in endurance races) out of the debris path common to LeMons racetracks. It is also, in combination with a clever coolant passage reroute, enough to keep the little stinker cool on the hottest days under the heaviest feet.

Keeping the budget: Note the cardboard-fiber ductwork feeding the oil cooler. Also, clever turbo packaging places intercooler directly in airflow.

No kidding.

Nothing goes to waste at Eyesore Racing.

See the radiator in there? It's been relocated to protect it from the errant bumpers, connecting rods and motorcycle chains that tend to litter LeMons racetracks.

Other brilliant details include a functional airbrake on the trailing edge of the hood roof, a Volvo oil cooler complete with cardboard-fiber duct work and Falken Azenis rubber sized 195/60R14 at all four corners. The big brains on Team Eyesore figured it was time for an oil cooler and a new set of rod bearings after the engine spent 20 hours beating its rod bearings into blingy oil-filter jewelry.

The flap at the rear of the hood roof moves into this upward position during braking and is actuated via a Miata headlight motor. Jim Hall, eat your heart out. Also note cleverly placed to-do list.

Here's how you create a $500 Miata LeMons racer: You weld two Miatas together (see white car in the background and blue car in the foreground).

See that ganked end link on the antiroll bar? They don't call it LeMons racing for nothing.

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. 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 and that's without ABS and on those same crap tires.

Flat spots.

Triple door bars protect the driver from intruding Buick Rivieras. Only many years of high-dollar education protects them from various rusting protuberances.

So what we're saying is this: Next time you replace the brake pads on your Evo, remember the big brains driving the pink Eyesore Racing Cadillac Miata. They'll be the ones whooping your ass through Turn 9 and laughing all the way to the junkyard. -- Josh Jacquot, Senior Road Test Editor

Vehicle: 1993-'94 Mazda Miata
Odometer: 164,678 miles
Date: May 12 2009
Driver: Josh Jacquot
Price: $500.00

Specifications:
Drive Type: Rear-wheel drive
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Engine type: Inline-4, turbocharged and intercooled
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 1,597/97
Redline: 7,000 rpm
Horsepower: 135 horsepower at the wheels
Torque: 125 pound-feet at the wheels
Brake Type (front): Ventilated disc
Brake Type (rear): Solid disc
Steering System: Hydraulic rack-and-pinion
Suspension Type (front): Double wishbone with antiroll bar
Suspension Type: (rear): Double wishbone with antiroll bar
Tire size: 195/60R14
Tire Model: Falken RT615 Azenis
Tire Type: Summer
Wheel size: 14-by-5.5 inches
Wheel Material: Aluminum alloy
As-tested Curb Weight (lb): 2,020

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

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