Smart car Autox

Has any one seen a Smart car at an autox? If so how did it do? Can you post the Event Results?

Yes, it was slow

Ran 64.272 raw (50.066 PAX) placed 14 of 22 in Novice class. FTD was 45.220 raw (38.527 PAX) in a Corvette.

Of course a novice driver puts a big variable into the equation.

Hmmm, does it even have a class yet? Also, that thing is so narrow and tall and has such a short wheelbase that I'm not sure I'd want to drive it that way.

OTOH, the roadster would probably do all right.

There is a diesel on ebay right now. They claim 80+ mpg..

"All unclassified cars will compete in Super Stock until classified by the SEB, unless covered by a 'catch-all' description"

I think they PAXed him as HS, but I agree with Jensenman, I'd probably cite 3.1 and discourage it.

+1. That's freaking scary...unless it's a rental. Then, replace "scary" with "awesome."

Am I the only one who notices how high the driver is off the ground relative to the axle centerlines? Wiki says it weighs 1600 pounds, figure 2 170 pound passengers and you now have 21% of the car's weight a good distance above the axles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJK3zRclN4

Last year I co/drove a Smart car in One Lap of America. They can run 92mph and you can get suspension upgrade that tightens it up. It being tall did not seem to matter as the body is alot of composite. If you get a good momentum driver [aka Miata} you should be able to do well in AutoX. It felt like a cross between a vintage Mini and a new. If you could imagine, that is most what it felt like. Just think 4000 miles in a Smart in 8 days!!! Oh ya .997 litre!!!

I will be cool when those get old and cheap enough for someone to try a chop and channel on one!

I once saw one tipped up on its taillights on the side of the A5 Autobahn outside of Frankfurt, Germany.

The owner of this car, and American NCP Car Parks employee - who used to work for NASA - managed to foregt that he had a 15ft retractable mast stuck to the roof of his car as he drove under a low barrier at a car park in Luton, Bedfordshire.

Des Carmody, who took a picture of the calamity, said: 'There was a loud bang and I turned to see the car rising up in the air to settle on its tailgate.'

The unhurt driver immediately phones his bosses to say, 'I've had a bit of an accident. I've done something stupid.'

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=39480&in_page_id=2

Wow. Didnt know the smart could go back in time ^

if they brought the smart roadster back.. I would be in line tomarrow to buy one

BobOfTheFuture wrote: Wow. Didnt know the smart could go back in time ^

If you're referring to the article date, you have to remember smart cars have been offered outside of the US for a few years now. Hence the license plates.

The dealership I work at has a 07 diesel smart car, I took it for a spin and it topped out at about 118kph. Some of the parts suppliers use them as delivery cars as well and their reports of top speeds are the same. It's ridiculously slow, and the "auto" trans takes forever to shift. Another stupid feature: there is no oil drain plug, you're supposed to suck the oil out from the top.

No drain plug? Dang, that's dumb.

IIRC, the Smart is a much updated version of the 'Swatch' car first conceived in the 1980s and produced in 1993. So yeah it's been around for a good while now.

Jensenman wrote: No drain plug? Dang, that's dumb. .

apparently its a mercedes thing...

http://mbca.cartama.net/showthread.php?t=2120

TSB S-58_00-118 010301 said: Mercedes-Benz engines are designed to allow the extraction of engine oil from under the hood via the dipstick tube.

found here http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-tech-talk/5711-mb-techs-oil-extractor-print.html

ignorant wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJK3zRclN4

Maybe not an accurate representation. I think I hear a blowoff valve on that one.

I use a top-side oil change on my BMW all the time. Filter is on top of the motor, so I don't have to get on my back for an oil change anymore. I see no problems here.

I put that Mercedes 'no drain plug' thing in the same category as the 'no dipstick' one. That's right, no engine oil dipstick. Some engines have an electronic oil level sensor which takes the place of the dipstick. So the unanointed have no way of knowing exactly how much oil is in the damn thing before firing it up. Typical German engineering hardheadedness.

Woody wrote:

ignorant wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJK3zRclN4

Maybe not an accurate representation. I think I hear a blowoff valve on that one.

The roadster was available in a 1.0 turbo version. I think.. I know they have a petrol turbo. A company that used to do turbine housings for us in Wisconsin also cast the exhaust manifold for the smart. To save space it is a combo design of a turbine housing and an exhaust manifold. All cast from stainless steel. The foundry said it was a total bitch to make.

I just thought it was a cool video of a car everyone hates so much.

I bet some coilovers and sway bars would turn a Smart into an awesome autocross car (once you learn to trick the robotized manual gearbox into shifting properly that is). It's mid-engined, RWD, super light, and has a small footprint. Also while it's a bit tall the center of gravity is quite low...all the heavy stuff is below seat level.

GameboyRMH wrote: I bet some coilovers and R-comps would turn a Smart into an awesome rollovermobile. It's mid-engined, RWD, super light, and has a small footprint.

ignorant wrote: I just thought it was a cool video of a car everyone hates so much.

Only it was a roadster... not sure those get the same kind of hate.

Super light and small foot print are two wonderful assets for an auto X car The Sonett turns many chicanes into straights