BrokeAss

Sunday at a PCA driver's ed at Sebring I was able to get a "ride-along" in a Radical SR3! (hope to have photos to share with everyone soon)

Barry, the owner of the SR3, was to be my driving instructor on Sunday. Unfortunately, I was sidelined by a mechanical failure. (details & photos in the 964 forum) Barry graciously offered me the first ever passenger spot! An automotive wet-dream for me!

Here are my non-linear impressions of the ride.......

• It's low - waaaay low. You can't really appreciate how low to the ground you are until your in it.
• Getting in & out of the car is challenging. Basically I put a hand on each side rollbar and lowered myself in the car. (good thing I work out regularly!)
• It's a tight fit for two people. It's race car afterall - not an Escalade! I tried to keep my left should out of the drivers way so he could shift. I put my left hand between my legs and kept it there lest I hit anything. With my right hand I was able to grasp a piece of the frame tubing.
• It's much quieter than one would expect. It's got a Suzuki motorcycle engine and a single pipe.
• I've been in plenty of 5 point harnesses, but the sub strap in the Radical is just plain cruel. My nut-sack is aching just thinking about it!
• The sequential shifter is awesome. Banging up & down through the gear box was wonderful.
• Braking is incredible! ...but that's what you expect for a car that weighs only a 1,000lbs. It's amazing how quickly the gap between a 911 and the Radical is closed under braking. The driver really needs to be patient when on the track with other cars - they need time to realize your there, then they need time to get situated to let you by. From the Radical's point of view that would seem like an eternity. ...from the point of view of the car being passed it must seem like an instant.
• You need an aero helmet to drive this car! At speed the wind got under my helmet and I could feel it being 'lifted'. I quickly learned to tuck my chin down low in the straights. Barry has an F1 style helmet and suffered no such problems.
• Everything was so immediate in the car. Ever little steering and throttle input is instantly responded to. You need to be very accurate with your inputs. ...the car is going to do exactly what you tell it to do - RIGHT NOW.
• As a low horsepower vehicle (205hp I think) some of the big Turbo powered race cars were easily able to catch or keep up with us in the straights. ...but the straight line advantage is lost in turns. With their weight they need to brake much sooner than the lighter Radical.
• Barry left the intermediate gears in the car. Consequently top speed was limited to only 120mph or so - we ran out of gear about 3/4 of the way down the back straight.
• As this was the owners second event with the car, he wisely turned it down a notch or two. He drove fast, but by no means tried to push the envelope. His time at the track was devoted to becoming better aquainted with his new vehicle, not to set new land speed records.
• It is a brutal ride! My head was tossed around and my neck got quite a workout. I foolishly left my "horse collar" in my pit. I could have really used it! Don't ever ride in one of these cars without one!
• I'm completed spoiled now. I've been in some fast cars before, but this was by far the most incredible automotive experience I've ever had. .....especially the bang-for-buck! Yeah, you can go a hell of a lot faster in a GT3 but you're not going to get a whole new motor for $5k. To me it seems to be the most fun you can have for your money.

Unfortunately, our time in the car was cut short to only 5 or 6 laps. Oil pressure plummeted and we were done! Back in the pits, the source of the leak wasn't readily apparent. After a lot of hunting Barry discovered that an oil line from the crankcase to the oil pressure sensor had backed out leaving something like only three threads in the case. Is it terminal? unknown yet, but it can't be good.

Greg Fishman

I rode in Mark Dalen's car (Radical Racer on the board) and I agree with you on almost everything except that a GT3 is faster. If driven to 9/10ths there is no way a GT3 will be close.

Mark has a lot of experience as a racer and drove his car very close to the limits considering he had a passenger and it is a bunch faster than even a 996 Cup car. These cars aren't easy to learn but once you get that aero downforce of over 1000lbs you can easily corner at 2g's. It was the highlight of my trip to Laguna Seca last year.

motion

1000lbs with 205 HP.... not much should be able to keep up with that. My Formula Atlantic was 1050 pounds with 240 HP. It could easily blow *anything* away, save for a modern CHAMP car.

SundayDriver

Both the weight and HP estimates are a bit 'inflated'. For reference, the SR-3 is generally ~8-10 seconds slower than an Atlantic at most tracks.

Suwipin

I also had the ride of my life when DJ gave a ride to me in his Radical at Laguna Seca earlier this year (thanks DJ ).

On the front straight, at the top of the hill (turn 1), I got a little bit airbone (especially my legs) inside the car... that was quite an experience

Yes my car felt like a "turtle" afterward

BrokeAss

I'm such a dolt - I forgot to mention the most lasting impression of my ride in the Radical! When I hopped out of the car, I stood up and shouted ....just like Will Smith in Independence Day!

viperbob

I want to see the new Radical later this year with a turbo charged engine putting out 300+ HP that is NOT supposed to be inflated HP...