24 Hours of LeMons: LeMons South 2009 - Toyota Yaris Forums

Loren · 04-01-2009, 07:37 PM

It's that time again!

If you don't know about LeMons, read here:
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

This will be my third LeMons race, I did LeMons South at Carolina Motorsports Park last July, and LeMons Detroit(ish) in Toledo, Ohio a couple months after that. This race will be with the same team I ran with the first time, a Tampa area team started by one of the local BMW guys.

I've set up a Facebook page to put updates and photos and whatever on, give it a look:
Team Euro Trash on Facebook

We hit the road tomorrow!

PS: This has nothing to do with Yarii... but you wouldn't want to do this in your Yaris, anyway!

supmet · 04-01-2009, 07:45 PM

lol... sounds crazy... your photobucket link chopped itself up

Loren · 04-01-2009, 07:50 PM

Fixed.

Yeah, it's one of the craziest and funnest things I've ever done!

ChinoCharles · 04-01-2009, 07:50 PM

Woah, Loren, you do endurance races? Awesome! Subscribed.

supmet · 04-01-2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

Woah, Loren, you do endurance races? Awesome! Subscribed.

endurance racing meets junkyard wars

ChinoCharles · 04-01-2009, 07:58 PM

LOL. There is some statistic about the amount of wear an engine takes in one of these. One endurance race is equal to 3 years of normal driving or something like that.

Loren · 04-01-2009, 08:10 PM

Hard to say. Much depends on how you drive the car. If you drive conservatively in an effort to preserve the car and ensure that it finishes, it's not THAT hard on the car.

The last one I did was pretty rough on the engine, though. We were running a BMW 325es, which is factory rev-limited to about 4700. We had the ECU chipped to allow it to rev to 5200... then, 3 hours into the race, the shift linkage broke inside the transmission and left us stuck in 2nd gear! Now, LeMons races are typically fairly low speed, and this one was particularly slow. We might have gone 10-15 mph faster in 3rd gear, so it didn't cost us TOO much to stay in 2nd, but it was REALLY hard on the engine.

We drove that car for at least 16 hours at an almost constant 5000 rpm and it never missed a beat. BMW makes a stout engine!

SailDesign · 04-01-2009, 09:10 PM

Why did I just know you were a GRM kinda person?

Love the Lemons.

YarisSedan · 04-01-2009, 09:14 PM

My boss at my old job used to do this. He was telling me what there would be junkers at the end wher eyou would just sign over your pink slip and they would take the car for you. He also mentioned to be careful when cars are about to die they usually try to take out another car with them.

Loren · 04-01-2009, 09:27 PM

It's not uncommon for a team to prep a dirt cheap car with the intention of leaving it at the track when they're done with the race. If you've got the facilities to do things like all the roll cage work without incurring a lot of cost, it would be a heckuva way to go. (but for the rest of us, it cost $700-1000 to have the cage put into our "$500 car" and we're more reluctant to see them go!) Much less stressful to know that the car doesn't have to survive to fight another day. I've found LeMons to be pretty low-stress, anyway, though.

It's VERY liberating to be out racing with a bunch of other cars that nobody gives a shit about. I mean, yeah... you'll get a penalty if you hit another car, but it's not going to COST you anything, and nobody's really going to complain. It's unlike any other form of racing in that regard.

SilverBack · 04-01-2009, 10:24 PM

YES!!

Only seen clips on YouTube. Someday soon I'll go to one of these events (and if I can find my first car I just might enter)

Morgan · 04-01-2009, 10:34 PM

A friend of mine here in NW Florida was trying to start up a team for the Louisana race with a $250 1985 celica but I think he missed registration and there was some other date conflict... totally leaves the race in SC open but looks like you guys did fairly well, looks like you left with the bmw ;) good luck on friday!

Loren · 04-01-2009, 10:44 PM

I'm sure every team says this, but... we could have won the SC race last year. The car was plenty fast enough (as is almost every LeMons car), had we not lost over 2 hours for mechanical difficulties, we'd have had a good shot. Lesson learned: Reliability is paramount, this is an endurance race, you can't win if the car isn't on the track!

But, yeah, the car survived with just a few more dents and scrapes. The engine was pretty well toasted, though. Overheated several times, run low on oil once, and generally beat to death... it had some pretty nasty bearing noise going on when we put it back on the trailer.

New engine for this race, though. Hopefully, all of our reliability issues are behind us!

HTM Yaris · 04-01-2009, 11:06 PM

Nice , I might have to stop by and check it out

kngrsll · 04-01-2009, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HTM Yaris

Nice , I might have to stop by and check it out

Ben and James from HTM will be running a car, the Jewbaru

eTiMaGo · 04-02-2009, 11:38 AM

oh man these races look like so much fun, good luck out there

Thirty-Nine · 04-02-2009, 12:48 PM

Awesome. Some day I'll do the LeMons ...

Loren · 04-03-2009, 09:26 PM

Facebook page is updated, complete with some photos. Link in previous post.

04-01-2009, 07:37 PM	#1
Loren What? Drives: 2007 Yaris LB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 1,006	24 Hours of LeMons: LeMons South 2009 It's that time again! If you don't know about LeMons, read here: http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/ This will be my third LeMons race, I did LeMons South at Carolina Motorsports Park last July, and LeMons Detroit(ish) in Toledo, Ohio a couple months after that. This race will be with the same team I ran with the first time, a Tampa area team started by one of the local BMW guys. I've set up a Facebook page to put updates and photos and whatever on, give it a look: Team Euro Trash on Facebook We hit the road tomorrow! PS: This has nothing to do with Yarii... but you wouldn't want to do this in your Yaris, anyway! __________________ ----------------------- Loren@InvisibleSun.org ----------------------- Last edited by Loren; 04-01-2009 at 07:49 PM.

04-01-2009, 07:50 PM	#3
Loren What? Drives: 2007 Yaris LB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 1,006	Fixed. Yeah, it's one of the craziest and funnest things I've ever done! __________________ ----------------------- Loren@InvisibleSun.org -----------------------

04-01-2009, 08:10 PM	#7
Loren What? Drives: 2007 Yaris LB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 1,006	Hard to say. Much depends on how you drive the car. If you drive conservatively in an effort to preserve the car and ensure that it finishes, it's not THAT hard on the car. The last one I did was pretty rough on the engine, though. We were running a BMW 325es, which is factory rev-limited to about 4700. We had the ECU chipped to allow it to rev to 5200... then, 3 hours into the race, the shift linkage broke inside the transmission and left us stuck in 2nd gear! Now, LeMons races are typically fairly low speed, and this one was particularly slow. We might have gone 10-15 mph faster in 3rd gear, so it didn't cost us TOO much to stay in 2nd, but it was REALLY hard on the engine. We drove that car for at least 16 hours at an almost constant 5000 rpm and it never missed a beat. BMW makes a stout engine! __________________ ----------------------- Loren@InvisibleSun.org -----------------------

04-01-2009, 09:14 PM	#9
YarisSedan Drives: 08 Yaris Sedan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: California - Bay Area Posts: 2,773	My boss at my old job used to do this. He was telling me what there would be junkers at the end wher eyou would just sign over your pink slip and they would take the car for you. He also mentioned to be careful when cars are about to die they usually try to take out another car with them. __________________ http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3210549

04-01-2009, 09:27 PM	#10
Loren What? Drives: 2007 Yaris LB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 1,006	It's not uncommon for a team to prep a dirt cheap car with the intention of leaving it at the track when they're done with the race. If you've got the facilities to do things like all the roll cage work without incurring a lot of cost, it would be a heckuva way to go. (but for the rest of us, it cost $700-1000 to have the cage put into our "$500 car" and we're more reluctant to see them go!) Much less stressful to know that the car doesn't have to survive to fight another day. I've found LeMons to be pretty low-stress, anyway, though. It's VERY liberating to be out racing with a bunch of other cars that nobody gives a shit about. I mean, yeah... you'll get a penalty if you hit another car, but it's not going to COST you anything, and nobody's really going to complain. It's unlike any other form of racing in that regard. __________________ ----------------------- Loren@InvisibleSun.org -----------------------

04-01-2009, 07:45 PM	#2
supmet Banned View User's Garage Drives: 2007 4 Door Yaris Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,357	lol... sounds crazy... your photobucket link chopped itself up

04-01-2009, 07:50 PM	#4
ChinoCharles Banned Drives: LB Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: OH Posts: 7,787	Woah, Loren, you do endurance races? Awesome! Subscribed.

04-01-2009, 07:58 PM	#6
ChinoCharles Banned Drives: LB Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: OH Posts: 7,787	LOL. There is some statistic about the amount of wear an engine takes in one of these. One endurance race is equal to 3 years of normal driving or something like that.

04-01-2009, 09:10 PM	#8
SailDesign Drives: . Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: . Posts: 1,931	Why did I just know you were a GRM kinda person? Love the Lemons.

04-01-2009, 10:24 PM	#11
SilverBack Joey View User's Garage Drives: '14 Scion xD 5-speed Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: El Monte, Ca Posts: 3,529	YES!! Only seen clips on YouTube. Someday soon I'll go to one of these events (and if I can find my first car I just might enter) __________________ Formerly owned Met-Met. '07 Yaris LB 5-speed. A forum post should be like a skirt: Long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep things interesting. "I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem." -Hank Hill

04-01-2009, 10:34 PM	#12
Morgan View User's Garage Drives: 07 MM LB Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: PCB, FL Posts: 504	A friend of mine here in NW Florida was trying to start up a team for the Louisana race with a $250 1985 celica but I think he missed registration and there was some other date conflict... totally leaves the race in SC open but looks like you guys did fairly well, looks like you left with the bmw ;) good luck on friday! __________________

04-01-2009, 10:44 PM	#13
Loren What? Drives: 2007 Yaris LB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 1,006	I'm sure every team says this, but... we could have won the SC race last year. The car was plenty fast enough (as is almost every LeMons car), had we not lost over 2 hours for mechanical difficulties, we'd have had a good shot. Lesson learned: Reliability is paramount, this is an endurance race, you can't win if the car isn't on the track! But, yeah, the car survived with just a few more dents and scrapes. The engine was pretty well toasted, though. Overheated several times, run low on oil once, and generally beat to death... it had some pretty nasty bearing noise going on when we put it back on the trailer. New engine for this race, though. Hopefully, all of our reliability issues are behind us! __________________ ----------------------- Loren@InvisibleSun.org -----------------------

04-01-2009, 11:06 PM	#14
HTM Yaris resident senior View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: south Carolina Posts: 814	Nice , I might have to stop by and check it out __________________

04-02-2009, 11:38 AM	#16
eTiMaGo vroom vroom View User's Garage Drives: lil red 5-door Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 7,744	oh man these races look like so much fun, good luck out there __________________ The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish. - Robert Jackson Bye bye 1NZ...

04-02-2009, 12:48 PM	#17
Thirty-Nine Small cars are a big deal View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 3,144	Awesome. Some day I'll do the LeMons ... __________________ Subcompact Culture: The Small car blog

04-03-2009, 09:26 PM	#18
Loren What? Drives: 2007 Yaris LB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 1,006	Facebook page is updated, complete with some photos. Link in previous post. __________________ ----------------------- Loren@InvisibleSun.org -----------------------

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