Randy Chase wrote...
> Car and Driver has a pretty nice layout of the new mid-engined roadster
> from Toyota. It is 140hp @6000rpm, 2200 lb weight, with a 0-60mph time
> of 7.9 sec. Sounds to me like a great BS car. Can't imagine it going
> anywhere else in stock.
I'll be surprised, but happy, if it does.
> Plus it looks like it sits very low, boxsterish styling cues, nice
> carbon fibre and alum touches, all for $25,000. To be released right
> after nationals.
C&D alternately said it would be available this fall, and spring of
2000.
> Now the question. I think this car would do well in BS, but it has what
> may be a small flaw. Small tires. It is supposed to have 185/55-15s on
> the front and 205/50-15s on the rear. According to C&D, the car would
> barely roll with 215 width tires on the rear, and from the pic of the
> side, it looks like almost no tire clearance.
The 'barely roll' comment was in reference to the 215/50/16 wheel and
tire combination. From I what I saw at the Chicago show, the diameter of
those tires was more a problem than the width.
> So, how big a handicap will this be to run this car on 205s all around
> vs the Miatas? Am I correct that the Miatas to beat are running 225s?
You can get, for example, 225/45/15 Hoosiers which will have a 1.5"
smaller diameter than the 215/50/16s on the show car, and I would be very
surprised if those would not fit, from what I saw, at least on the show
car. Not sure about 225/50/15s.
I don't think you'd need more than 205s on the front, with less than
500 pounds on each wheel.
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D a v i d H i l l m a n
nma, scca, scscc, imoc
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