The Turbo Blog

1991 Talon Turbo AWD: Snow Day!

There’s been far more snow here than we’ve had in previous years. This has made for some excellent sliding around and snow driving!  Here are a few pics from a recent mini-blizzard.

Continue reading 1991 Talon Turbo AWD: Snow Day!…

Pardon the dust!

Hello all and thanks for visiting.  I am upgrading to new blog software, so please hang in there.  Things may get weird for a couple days.  In the meantime here are the links to my other sites:

www.turbomirage.com/index2.html

http://talon.turbomirage.com

http://miata.turbomirage.com

DSM Magazine Article Archive

Hey everyone,

I just spent some time revamping my 1991 Eagle Talon website. I’ve added a new story on the homepage, a long overdue modifications list, links to the YouTube videos and a collection of DSM articles pulled from some of my old car magazines. These old articles feature the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser when they were busting on the scene and blowing everyone’s mind with their “go fast with class” credo.

Click here to visit the Diamond Star Motors magazine archive

Thanks for visiting everyone! I sure do appreciate it!

Taming the dragon

I finally made it to the world famous “Tail of the Dragon” in the turbo Miata! Click here to see the pictures and read the story

Turbo Miata Dyno Test

Well I finally made it to the dyno! It was hot as heck (92 degrees inside the shop) but the car made a peak of 222.7hp and 247.0 ft-lbs corrected on 10psi and 93 octane gas. For whatever reason, the dyno operator couldn’t get a great rpm connection, so the graph is pretty choppy.

Overall, I’m pretty darn pleased given how simple this setup is. I’ve been driving it every day and it idles and runs exactly like a stock Miata until you put your foot into it. The icing on the cake is the fuel economy. I’ve gotten no less than 33 mpg on my last four tanks of gas!

New Turbo Miata website

I’ve finished up the website for my turbocharged 1992 Mazda Miata. It includes a story about how this car and I crossed paths, a list of modifications, videos of the car in action, photos, project updates and “how-tos”. I’ll be adding much more to the site, so be sure to check back often.

Click here to check it out!

The Sleeper Files: 1929 Ford Model A (with video)

I’d like to introduce a new ongoing segment here on the TurboBlog, and it’s called “The Sleeper Files!” Anyone that knows me knows that I love nothing more than a car that looks unassuming, but packs a big performance punch. What’s more fun than blowing your competitor’s doors off after they completely underestimate you?

This week, we’re featuring what looks to be a stock, restored, antique 1929 Ford Model A. This one is for the true sleeper aficionados, as the owner has gone to extreme lengths to keep the stock looks while adding lots of serious modifications.

Click to view the full article on HotRod.com

Click here to visit the car builders website for photos galore.

Of course I must say, only one thing would make it better…a turbo!

Check out my videos on YouTube

I’ve posted some more of my videos on my YouTube channel.

Click here to watch!

Winter mods for the TurboBlog. First up: RSS Feeds!

There are a variety of mods and enhancements coming to the TurboBlog! Soon you’ll see many more posts coming from yours truly, better site organization and overall, lots of cool stuff to see. First up on the mod list is a little something I’ve invented called “RSS”, which will surely revolutionalize the interwebs. For those who haven’t used RSS, It’s this tool that allows you to get updates on this site in your Google Reader or iGoogle Homepage, MyYahoo Homepage, Bloglines or other RSS reader of your choice. How cool is that? Click the logo below to signup. It’s easy!

 

1991 Talon: 0-100mph in 7.43 seconds (with video)

So, what does my old 1991 Talon Tsi AWD Turbo have in common with the 2008 Corvette ZO6, 2008 Dodge Viper, 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2008 Audi R8 and the 2007 Mustang Shelby GT 500? It’s quicker than all of them from 0 to 100mph! For those that may think I’m smoking something, I’ve compiled all of the specs from those vehicles at the bottom of this post.

Last weekend I took the old girl back to the local 1/8 mile dragstrip to have a
little fun before winter sets in and to see if I could improve on my previous best 1/8 mile ET and MPH. I wasn’t expecting a great ET, as I’m still babying it off the line to preserve the stock 3 bolt rear differential and 100% stock transmission, but I did nail a 100mph trap speed! Also, with some basic math, my 0-60mph time is an estimated 2.66 seconds. Fun!

Here’s a picture of the timeslip, a few pictures from the track, and an in-car video of the run prior to the 7.43 run, which was a 7.50 at 100mph.

~~~~~~~0 to 100mph figures from the cars I mentioned above~~~~~~
All data compiled from Car and Driver Magazine

2008 Chevrolet Corvette Zo6
Price: $70,000
0-100mph: 7.7 seconds
Horsepower: 505
Curb Weight: 3198lbs

2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
Price: $86,000
0-100mph: 7.6 seconds
Horsepower: 600
Curb Weight: 3455lbs

2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Price: $143,995
0-100mph: 9.3 seconds
Horsepower: 415
Curb Weight: 3180 lbs

2008 Audi R8
Price: $125,000
0-100mph: 10.1 seconds
Horsepower: 420
Curb Weight: 3583 lbs

2007 Ford Shelby GT500
Price: $50,000
0-100mph: 10.3 seconds
Horsepower: 500
Curb Weight: 3896 lbs

1991 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD
Price: El cheapo
0-100mph: 7.43 seconds
Horsepower: 500-520 (estimate)
3150 lbs (estimated w/o driver)