"Ask Phil"
Phil Abbott Co-founded Radical in 1997 and was instrumental in the design and production of the Radical model range. Phil’s latest focus has been Developing a new race car company called Revolution Race cars that is now producing the A-One model. Phil has a tremendous passion about Race cars and the Racing community, and he has agreed to share his 40+ years of experience with the Radical Sportscar Registry members.
Ask Phil #13 – Phil I have a 2019 RXC 600R with 3.5L eco boost and have been using non leaded non ethanol 97 octane renegade racing fuel that was approved by the factory. My supplier only orders this fuel twice a year and I am about to exhaust my present supply. Is it reasonable to use a premium fuel 92 octane unleaded with Boostane Pro to bring octane to at least 97 octane? Boostane Pro does have some ethanol in it from my research and to this point I have not used ethanol or leaded fuels. Thanks for your advice. Gary H. (@ghaas)
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Ask Phil #12 – Hi Phil, my car is an early Radical SR8 (2005) which runs the “closed” MBE ECU that can’t be programmed. Is it possible to buy a similar “Open” MBE ECU. I want to do a few performance upgrades to the cylinder heads and was worried about the effects since the ECU can’t be programmed Could you also recommend the best options for an upgrades and power gains? Regards Josh Broome (@jwb)
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Ask Phil #11 – Hi Phil! I’m curious as to the background of the SR5. The car seems like a great idea to me. A lower stressed engine that would be great for track days where the owner isn’t as concerned about getting every last bit out of power to weight. However, it seems it never really took off. I’d like to know what were the thoughts behind the SR5 and why you think it never caught on? The car was also available as a roller and able to accommodate a Sadev which I found to be something Radical doesn’t typically do and was wondering if they were trying to tap a new market with this approach? My interest comes from owning SR8 Chassis 42 as a roller and looking to swap in a Honda K24 and a Sadev transaxle. Thanks! Joe (@JoeP)
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Ask Phil Question # 9 – Hi Phil, I have bought a Prosport 1300 rms 215(one of the last ones?). I believe it was one of several cars sold to Mantorp park driving school in Sweden. I will drive it for the first time this year. Would it be advisable to test it with neutral wing and the front canards off to learn the cars balance with less downforce? I have never driven anything this fast, or mid engined on track before. Regards, Jonas Maurstad (@maurstad) from Norway
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Question 8: Hi Phil! Whatever happened to that SR3 turbo project you guys had going on in early 2000’s? I know one of these cars was used the first time a Radical broke the Nürburgring track record, but there is very little information currently available about these cars. Thanks, Robert L. (@lunatic)
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Question 7: Hi Phil, I own the prototype SR3 SL ‘Daisy’ as it was known. It is now black rather than the white with the multi coloured stripes. There must be a few tales about this car….one pic I have noticed, is the registration plate looks to have been swapped for a photo shoot / test. The first white SL has the reg AE60 BFA in some shots, which is the reg of my car. Cheers Gareth (@gareth747474)
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Question 6: Hi Phil, recently one of the Registry members purchase an RXC body off of Racecars direct and I was wondering if you remember anything about this car? According to the chassis number it appears to be the third RXC built. Also, there are two unique rectangular inlets on the front of the car. Do you remember this car?
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Question 5: Hi Phil! Thanks for creating such amazing and affordable race cars! I have an early 2004 SR3 Chassis 165. It has the 1500 long stroke with the Keihin Carburetors and MBE ignition. I’ve wondered why Radical chose Carburetion for the early cars since the original Hayabusa engine came fuel injected. I did see an option for fuel injection on the Radical promo brochure for SR3’s of that era but I believe that it was a Jenvey system and not a modified Suzuki F.I. System. Most of the Gen 1 SR3’s I see have the carbs and not the Jenvey system. Crit
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Question 4 – “I’m interested in how the SR8 was developed. I’ve got a couple of them (#42 and #87) and they came with such different equipment! #42 came with an AiM dash and a Quaife QBE58G gearbox, and the #87 came with a Stack dash and a Hewland JFR200 gearbox. Later came the QBE72G gearbox. Can you share any stories or history about how you worked with those different suppliers as the SR8 evolved from 2005 to 2012 (when it all seemed to come together to a single supplier set). Thanks! John (@parsonsj)
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