Raider89

I was ready for something faster than my Cayman race car. So, kept asking myself, what is next step up for faster lap times at Cota (also my home track). I was very close to getting a Clubsport, but that may improve my personal best by ~10 seconds/lap and cost ~$160k. I had always been intrigued by open cockpit cars, so started investigating Radicals for about 3 months, gathering feedback from others until I did the ride & drive. I was sold, loved the experience. So, for ~$125k, hope to lower same reference lap time by ~15 sec/lap. Then, I started searching far and wide for almost new, low hour, SR3 RSX, but could not find anything, so ordered a new SR3XX from Wisko. It is on boat shipping over now, expect to pickup in a few weeks. I have, and will use Esses for ongoing service work going forward, they are a great shop and also worked on my Porsche.

ProCoach

GREAT plan! Great dealer and a very good team to look after it, once it’s here. Fantastic. Can’t wait to see the videos!

daylorb

Thanks - great info. I'm planning on fall of 21 to get more serious about it. I've looked at/considered some of the used options. Curious what the pros/cons are going new, vs. something like this... https://www.racingjunk.com/Sports-Ra...89&np_offset=8

Did you consider Rush? Certainly is appealing on the cost/benefit scale. I'd expect it to be slightly slower around COTA but not by much.

Raider89

I must admit, never heard of or seen a RUSH car before. There are some really good used cars that come along, just have to be ready to act quickly. Also, seems like lots of good value used cars never hit internet ads. I reached out to all Radical dealers, racers, and some shops looking for those that had not been listed yet. Like so many others cars, just depends how much money you want to spend to go fast and be reliable. Lots of pros/cons for used versus new, am willing to share my opinion if you want to PM me.

MaxLTV

Not an expert by any means, but this looks like an interesting option with all the good things and low hours and pretty good value vs. new. I was aiming for something like this and bought a new one instead purely by accident - it was just super convenient (a car I wanted in the place I wanted, instantaneously, with just one email).

Raider89

Engine rebuilds are fairly expensive, watch for number of hours, may be good depending on the price and budget. Here is an amazing car in 1500cc, with only ~10 hrs on engine/chassis, saving over $20k in options for almost brand new car.

https://www.racingjunk.com/Sports-Ra...12&from=search

CharleyH

SR3’s are a great performance values! I have run SR3’s in HDPE events for many years and have never had any issues. In the drivers meeting I always remind people that there will be a Radical out there and that I can be hard to see. People like to see how they compete with the Radical so they are looking for you to come around. If you are considering an SR3 you should check check out the SR3 Buyers Guide. It should be helpful.

https://radicalsportscarregistry.com...-buyers-guide/.


Charley

ProCoach

While the Rush is interesting, it’s one of many pseudo-prototypes (KTM X-Bow lookalikes) introduced recently and so far, no quicker than my 150 bhp, forty year old Sports 2000.

I’ve seen so many like the Rush come and go, some really good cars, too. Wolf, Norma, Ligier JS49’s are MUCH better cars, IMO. To get much better, you’d need to go to the Elan DP-02, a remarkable car, for sure.

The Radical, however, with the history, capitalization and dealer network of the company, not to
mention the race series, is the 1000-pound gorilla in the category, as it should be. I think very highly of Team Stradale and Wisko, for sure.

okie981

Looking forward to seeing your car Dan, sounds like a fun piece of kit. You'll have to come over towards Tennessee way this summer and try Barber and NCM in Bowling Green. I'm moving to Nashville area in about a month, will have my dedicated ND Miata track car set up by early June. That's the plan anyway.

MaxLTV

That was a big part of the motivation for me - a good field of same class cars to race with, and I can also relatively easily rent a car identical to mine anywhere in the world if it's too far to ship, or even if mine breaks and I do not want to miss a race.

FLM911

Congratulations on the new Radical, they are terrific race cars with plenty of runway for more speed as seat time increases. Hope to see you on track,

924RACR

Well hell, if you're gonna go Norma, Ligier or Elan, might as well just get a race license and come play with us in SCCA P1/P2!!! <poke>

ProCoach

I think you can run some Radicals in P2, maybe the SR8 in P1, but they’re not quite quick enough for the flat floor WF1’s in P2 and the DP-02’s or converted Formula Atlantics in P1, these days.

I’ve run my “vintage” car in P2, after SCCA killed the Sports 2000 class in 2012 after thirty-two years, ten of which where Sports 2000 was the third most popular RunOffs class. But, because I still want to tun vintage and historic races, I don’t want to update it. Thankfully, have had my race license for thirty-six years!

I may go more unrestricted in my car for the RunOffs at VIR for the next two years. Would be fun.

NOTHING is as gratifying to drive as a sports racing car on the limit!

MaxLTV

I wonder what the best way to prepare before I can drive the actual car. I have a sim rig that was helpful before, and it's set up with iRacing, but I'm not sure how to best use it for SR3 practice. I'm comfortable with non-ABS, no-nannies cars but have never driven a prototype or another high aero car in real life.

Some thoughts:

1. Drive Radical SR8 in iRacing - not the same car but probably similar and there is some field to race with to make it interesting, plus I have iRacing set up, with data logging, analysis software, and it would be possible to get data and videos to see what I'm doing differently from those who know how to do it.
2. Drive Dallara LMP2 in iRacing - same as above but the car is even more different. On the flip side, the racing is more interesting, so more motivation, and even easier to get data and advice from people at the top of the field.
3. Drive Radical SR3 in Rfactor 2 - pro is that it's the same car, con are that I have no idea how to set up Rfactor for data logging (probably solvable but takes time), if there is any racing there, and online reviews suggest that SR3 model there is not done well and differs from the real car. I also do not know anyone who driver Rfactor and how to get good example data.
4. A combination of the above or something else entirely?

Of course, this is all in addition to reviewing videos and data from SR3 driven at the same track in real life.

CharleyH

The best way I know of to learn the car is track time. Radicals are very sensitive to front / rear balance and spin quickly when you don’t get it right. When getting used to the car build your speed slowly and use the Aim data to recalibrate your brain. It is very common to spin these cars while you are learning them. When you spin it is essential to get both feet to the floor IMMEDIATELY. The car comes around quickly and if the rear tires spin backwards for even a fraction of a second, the starter will engage the flywheel and over speed (self destruct). Once you learn the front/rear balance you can make the car do amazing things in the corners. As you start to build cornering speed it is helpful to use Aim color maps showing how many G’s you are pulling through the corners. This is very helpful for recall rating your brain to the cornering capabilities the downforce allows.

I hope this is helpful