So, leaving the Harbor Freight in Columbia, SC this afternoon I spot this Miata next to mine. Looks like its all jacked up and got rear ended, upon closer inspection I was baffled. Take a look.

 

Does anyone know who this one belongs to? I would love to know what the goal is for using 215/75/14 truck tires on a Miata. Soo big that you have to remove the rear bumper and cut the wheel openings to fit them, oh and make wheel covers out of 1/4" insulating foam. Look at the radiator opening that was brutally attacked by some sheetmetal and what appears to be a screw driver. The interior was held together with metal tape, hell even had a huge diagnostic vacuume boost gauge so I guess there might be a turbo under the hood. I guess it makes a lot of power too, thats why you need the huge truck tires to get a proper effective gear ratio. I wish I had a better camera.
I kinda felt bad because I know I was a highschool kid with a POS Ford EXP that I drove like it was a Ferrari, so I know how it can be. But even my first beloved POS wasn't this bad.
Here comes the best part. As I drove off I see a grown *** man get in the driver's seat.

I hate to be a dick, but this is too good not to share!
I hope its a LeMons car.

 

Let's see... blocked off radiator, rear wheel spats, and a vacuum gauge. Someone is trying to be the Miata high mileage champ.

See ecomododder.com for more (bizarre) examples on their forum

 

lol @ hypermile ------ry.

 

yup hypermile

 

BTW, Goodyear Marathons aren't truck tires. They are 6 ply trailer tires and are rated for 60 psi cold pressures. I have them on my boat trailer. Yep, trying to hyper-mile a Miata. Fail without a hard top. That's 2-3 mpg easy.

 

I'm guessing he doesn't have the budget for a hardtop, or he has something "better" in mind. I'm more interested in the results before I insult him. Kudos if he created a 40mpg miata for what looks like zero monies.

 

I just dont get why you would choose a miata which from the start isn't that aerodynamic, doesnt get fantastic millage, and doesnt have a modern engine with a decent flowing head.

But yeah...looks like it was a LOW BUDGET project, so who knows.

 

Yup, I am an @SS! It hit me this morning that that must be the goal. I wonder how much difference that makes, doubt you will get 40mpg, even out of a 1.6. Why the huge rear tires???

Doesn't make sense to have the whole rear bumper removed though, I know the factory one is a parachute, but I am sure no bumber cannot be any improvement.
I hope it's someone on the forum. It would be interesting to see if there are real world changes in mpg to be seen by all that.

What does it do to overall drag when you have a huge rake angle like that due to the massive rear tire diameter? Are the trailer tires supposed to have a lower rolling resistance?

 

I don't know about drag but the large diameter tires would be the same effect as changing the rear diff ratio.

Also, the trailer tires would have lower rolling resistance because you can air the **** out of them. They aren't cheap though. I put a set on my boat last year, same size or close anyway. They are $125 a piece for 14's.

 

Bigger tires mean less RPMs - though I think if he was smart, he would have put in the effort for something thinner than 215s.

 

yah i figured it out after i saw the gauge. i wonder what results are.

I get a crappy 22mpg in my 99. Is that normal. Fail.

 

It's not the car, Faefae. It's not the car.

 

My NB8A used to do 6.5 litres per 100kms which is 36 mpg US. So surely everyone driving a 1.6 can get 40mpg US with a bit of care?

 

My prelude does 30mpg.

 

Stupid 4.10 rear...

 

I managed right at 40 mpg coming back from the FM summer camp year ago (driving across eastern Colorado and western Kansas). I know Jeremy tweaked my tune for something while I was there, but not for lean cruise. Made it from Limon, CO to Junction City, KS on one tank...which included getting pulled over.

 

I get about 23 doing my 1.2 city mile commute to work. 28 when it was all highway top down. Cant wait for the new engine and the ecu, should be able to get it up to the 35mpg on the highway.

 

Best I ever did was 29mpg cruising at 65mph. I would usually get 16-17mpg in town, 23-24 highway.

Worst I ever did was 12mpg in town. That was fun.

 

For the record, I track my mileage almost every tank, and I saw no measurable difference between my soft top and my hard top.

It was a heck of a lot quieter, though, lol.

I also get 24-26 mpg consistently.