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L6B
Features The L6B incorporates many extraordinary features normally found only in a car engineered by a large world-class manufacturer. Street legal The L6B is a two-seat, mid-engine, rear drive high-performance driving machine which can be assembled for either racing or street use (or for both). The street version has a nominal ground clearance of four inches but can be adjusted up to five inches or down to two inches for racing using the adjustable shocks. It is also easily tunable for camber, caster, toe, bump-steer, anti-squat and damping rate. States (US) and provinces (Canada) have different requirements for registration of specialty vehicles. Local car clubs can advise you of the regulations in your location. There are provisions for air conditioning and audio sound system for the luxury- minded. EPA emissions standards in most jurisdictions are expected to be met without needing catalytic converters by making use of the closed-loop feedback in the recommended EFI controller. Racing Version The L6B can be easily configured for racing. As a race car, it provides a highly enjoyable experience and is easily tuned for optimal performance on any individual track. The exceptionally long control arms allow a significant reduction in ground clearance without adversely affecting the suspension geometry. High Power to Weight Ratio The weight is expected to be less than 2000 lbs with the 440 HP small block V8 powerplant used in the street version. The power can be increased without increasing the weight by employing the same engine block but different power enhancing engine components. The weight can be reduced almost 100 pounds by using an aluminum block. If you compare the L6B to anything available today, you will find that the power to weight ratio is simply the best (barring the insanely priced McLaren F1). Simulations suggest that the L6B could achieve 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds (latest results show 3.35 seconds). In practice, this will be very difficult because the driver will be fighting wheel-spin the whole way. A unique traction advisory system will help the driver learn the wheelspin characteristics of the car and thus make this time more achievable with practice. Also, as a builder, you have the option of adding a traction control system. The basic kit includes the traction monitor system. World-Class Handling The low weight coupled with a 14.5" center of gravity height and a race car suspension system results in outstanding cornering capability. A design goal (which is believed to be achievable) is a lateral acceleration in excess of 1.0G. Many race cars can greatly exceed 1G, as can the L6B: by using low weight, wide track, aerodynamic downforce and slick tires (which cannot be legally used on the street, so we don't figure that into our calculations). The incredibly high lateral accelerations attributed to Formula 1 and Champ cars is achievable only at very high speeds where the wings and ground effects provide a downforce much greater than the weight of the car. The 2003 Dodge Viper (as reported in Car and Driver) achieved 1.05G lateral acceleration with the same tire width as L6B, nearly double the weight (3400 pounds) and a slightly narrower track, so we are optimistic about our prospects in surpassing 1.05G. Drivetrain The recommended engine, a 350 cid Chevrolet engine with all the latest in EFI, was chosen because, as the most popular high performance engine in the world, every component is readily available from a host of aftermarket suppliers. The engine is coupled to a Porsche G50-01 transaxle, one of the few choices that could handle the power and yet be installed in a mid-engine chassis. Simulations show that first gear is unnecessary during hard acceleration so we use a 2nd gear start for our 0-60mph run. The simulation uses a 427H.P. engine but we find very little performance difference as compared with the 412 HP or 440 HP configurations. With the standard Porsche gear set, top speed is limited by the engine redline. Interestingly, at the specified top speed, the car is still accelerating at 0.15G (3.3MPH per second!). For racing applications, higher gear ratios are available to more closely match the engine torque/speed characteristics and extend the top speed. The prototype street version will use a V8 with 405 pounds feet of torque at 4500 RPM and 412 horsepower at 6000RPM, assembled by Lawrence Technologies using off-the-shelf components including primarily Edelbrock components. The latest engine design has slightly higher power (440 HP). Seating and Foot-box Design The L6B has a relatively long wheelbase for two reasons: high-speed stability and seating comfort. Many high performance vehicles force you to sit with your feet angled towards the centre of the vehicle because there is insufficient length to place the foot box directly in front of your torso where it belongs. Not so in this design. Your feet are directly in front of you which we feel is vital, especially under the added physical stress of high performance driving. A six-point racing style safety harness is provided as standard equipment (although drivers may opt to omit the anti-submarining belt for street use). The seat has been custom designed for this vehicle, providing maximum headroom and outstanding ergonomics. The bucket is very effective at holding the torso in place. There is even relief in the contoured seat back for the spinal column! This truly represents a world-class, state of the art design. In fact, many inquiries have been received regarding the availability of the seat for other vehicles. Safety The L6B does not have to pass government safety tests because it is a kit, and as such, each one built is technically unique. Safety tests are only performed on production vehicles surpassing a specific production volume. Notwithstanding, L6B has been engineered to meet the safety standards for racing vehicles. In most significant areas, these standards exceed those of production street vehicles. You will notice from photographs that there is a support tube from the front of the chassis to the top of the roll cage. Combined with the rear supports, this provides several times the roll-over G protection of a typical production vehicle. The long foot-box design keeps your body straight and in optimal position if a sudden high-G event occurs. The five-point safety harness is the same as employed by race cars and is vastly superior to conventional passive restraint/air-bag systems in production vehicles. The custom seat places your body in the ideal ergonomic position. The side pods enclose large box beams to provide unmatched protection in the event of a side impact. Sophisticated Electronics The electronic controls included in the kit are also leading-edge in function yet much simpler in design than the distributed electronics used in production vehicles. For the builder/driver this translates into easier assembly and higher reliability. As an example of the advanced engineering and attention to detail employed in L6B, consider the windshield wiper control. Studies have shown that in heavy rain at night, and to a lesser degree during daylight, the driver can be lulled into a state of low-alertness due to the hypnotic regular operation of the wipers. The L6B electronics causes the wiper to "stall" and skip one beat once each half minute to help snap the driver back to alertness by breaking the regular pattern. The L6B electronics are loaded with unique, well-thought out features such as this. For the racer or technically-minded builder, the electronics package includes features such as data-logging and analysis capability. Data is stored on a USB flash drive. The USB drive is easily accessible and can be simply unplugged and inserted into your USB connector of any computer. The data logger allows you to gather a wealth of performance information from the operation of your L6B such as calculating the coefficients of rolling and aerodynamic drag (you can make aerodynamic changes and test the results, almost like having your own wind tunnel!), engine power (like having your own dynamometer!), acceleration, braking performance and wheel displacements in corners. Using this information, you can tune the L6B suspension and aerodynamics for maximum performance. This unprecedented set of features is a Lawrence Technology innovation. A recently added feature allows you to "map" the racetrack, further facilitating performance analysis. © 2001-2006, Lawrence Technologies, Inc. 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