schaibaa

Hi Guys,

For a DE car - and something I might want to race in the next couple years, what would you guys suggest? What's faster around most tracks?

Thanks!!

CharleyH

I have no information about the Ariel, but I can tell you about the Radical. I have owned my SR3 for about four years and have used it only for DE's. It has been an amazing car! Once you spend some time in a light weight downforce race car it is hard to even consider anything else. The SR3 with the 1500 engine does zero to 60 in about 3 seconds, corners at 2.5G and brakes at 2 G's. The car has been very reliable and because the car is so light consumables last a long time. However, the one high cost area is the engine overhauls which are recommended every 40 hours. Let me know what questions you have and I would be happy to help you out.

Charley

CharleyH

Here are a few of my favorite shots of the car on track.

ShakeNBake

At one point I was exploring a the SR3, Wolf and Caterham SP. There is amazingly such a thing as too fast to be fun at your average DE. You'll spend your time waiting to pass in the corners, and then finding it challenging to pass because you don't have the 500hp the street cars have. Just food for thought. Of the 3 brands, the wolf was the most compelling IMO.

CharleyH

I haven't found this to be much of an issue. There are some drivers with big egos that are going to make you force a pass, but most people get out of the way and let you go by. There are very few street based cars that can keep you from passing them in the corners.

I agree with your comment on the Wolfs. They are amazing cars if you have an extra $50k or more (comparing new car prices). Also there are some amazing deals out there on used radicals in the $50k range (one great one listed on this forum) and the wolfs are still pretty new and tend to be in the $150 to 175k range.

Charley

gbuff

I've pointed both by on track and, while the Atoms are really fast, the Rads are other-worldly.....hardest part is picking them up in your mirrors.

Gary

schaibaa

Thanks for the comments so far. I would probably go for the 1340 radical which has a claimed 100hr rebuild interval. I only get 25 hours on track each year so that should go for 3-4 years.

Would love to have a wolf but the prices are much higher. Also considering a Stohr WF1 but not sure about the long term availability of parts/etc.

Rick

Agreed...for that reason, I put LED light bars on the hoop right above my helmet on both cars. I highly recommend it.

ProCoach

The Stohr is potentially quickest of all but the least durable.

The 1340 Radical is the best choice, in my experience. Have driven quite a few SRA (Spec Race Atoms).

schaibaa

Thanks for weighing in - your experience and opinion has a lot of credibility. If it was the SRA with a turbo motor (365 bhp) - would that tip the scales or would you still suggest the 1340 Radical?

ProCoach

I think the crowd at TMI are a good group, and I think the car is certainly an exotic. But no, it would not tip the scales towards that choice even with the turbo.

Full disclosure. I really like purpose-built sports racing cars!

The Radical is stout, reliable (for a track day car) and really fun to drive. Two good folks to talk to (depending on where you are) are Team Stradale and Wisko.

schaibaa

OK Thanks.. I've been talking to Francesco at Team Stradale and he has been very easy to work with so far.

Coochas

I've owned a Spec Atom since 2012 and have driven an SR3 and consider going that direction one day.

They are very different cars. The SR3 is a true aero race car and will out corner and out brake an Atom by miles.

The biggest advantage of the Atom is the drivetrain. The Honda motors are reliable and even if they blow are cheap. Our Atom needs gas, tires and brake pads. That's about it. I will also caution that our Atom has had its frame break twice for no apparent reason. For this reason we are only going to use our Atom as a back up car for future driving. Admittedly, we probably have put more miles on our Spec Atom than anybody else anywhere. I think even with the front/rear wings the Atom 3 offers, it is still not a huge downforce car. It's more like a sports car with its relatively high COG. I will say that the Atom is fun to drive when it's not trying to kill you.

The Radicals require significantly more maintenance. They run on true slick tires (so shorter tire life). If you go off the track there is going to be body work damage.

We will not be buying another Atom but there is a good chance we would buy an SR3 one day.

seanseidman

I have bought and raced a 2013 1340 Radical SR3 this summer. The Dunlop slicks provide consistent performance for 20-30 heat cycles. I have found the car easy to maintain, and I have no talent in this space!
I had raced a spec boxster, and DE'd a 996, but once you drive a light race car with downforce- WOW!

CharleyH

The recommended hours between overhaul can really be affected by how you drive the car. The 40 hour recommendation is for racing. Radical says that in non race conditions 65 or more is acceptable. I changed my pistons in my last overhaul (because there was a design flaw in the pistons I had) and the pistons that came out at 40 hours looked absolutely brand new. One of the Radical drivers that I track with told me that he has 125 hours on his 1500 and it is starting to need an overhaul. I don't know that I would go that long between overhauls, but 40 hours is conservitive.

Charley