Contemplating selling my current track car, a GT350 built for HPDE days. I’m a bit frustrated with it as when I do finally get to a member day at VIR it seems to always be something, sensor, clutch blah blah blah.
Anywho, I didn’t realize how attainable (relative) the Radical SR3’s are and I’m thinking of making the jump. I have about 3 years of HPDE experience, currently running in advance/high speed and know my way around mechanically so working on it doesn’t bother me if I can get a day or two a month out of it. The VIR club has a dedicated open wheel/car run group.
I’ve read a bit about what to look for and maintenance intervals but can’t seem to find to much about safety. This is my wife’s main concern, she doesn’t b$&ch much about my bad financial decisions but does anyone have some first hand experience or knowledge on the safety aspect and would I be silly for making the jump. I’m afraid of regretting selling my Stang after all the sweat and tears I have in it and although I can only answer my own question some input is always welcome, including a push! I already have an enclosed trailer so it would save me money switching platforms.
Thanks,
Dave
Hi Dave. I am a VIRClub member also -- it is not a nearby track for me (about 9 hours drive) but I love VIR and it is one of the few clubs or HPDE providers that has an open wheel class.
For safety, I personally do not like to be on track with door-cars which are heavy and could roll up on you with your head exposed. With the crash box, it is a fairly safe car, but if you hit the wall hard enough (with any car) you can be hurt badly. My friend hit the only section of concrete in turn one at Road America in his SR3 last year at 85 mph and he survived, but he shattered two lower lumbar vertebrae and it was a bad crash. If he would have hit the tire wall, it would have been much less, but hitting anything at 85 mph is a big crash. Any other crash where you do not stop suddenly you will most likely walk away without any injury. I have been airborne several times in Spec Racer and Formula Enterprise and no problem. Another friend in an F3 hit the barrier at turn 17 in Sebring last year and he says the halo saved his life (similar to Romain Grosjean's crash). The safest open cockpit cars are full carbon fiber tubs with FIA halo.
You can still get hurt in full cage cars if you get T-boned hard enough or if you hit the wall from the side hard enough. A couple of friends hit the tire wall in turn 16 at VIR in Spec Miatas last year and they were pretty rattled and possibly concussed. I think someone also got severely hurt in a Spec Miata this year with a front end high speed crash that crushed his legs. I never would expect to be hurt in a Spec Miata because these cars are not that high speed, and there is a full cage and good seats and harnesses, but you absolutely can get hurt on the race track. Crashes during racing and even HPDEs is not rare, but not being able to walk away is pretty rare. It usually involves a sudden stop.
Fire should also not be overlooked. This year I saw an SR3 completely destroyed in a fire. I believe that the fuel rail or something was leaking and it tripped the engine to stop. The driver cycled the main switch which sparked and caused a massive fire. Very unusual but anything can happen. A leaking fuel cell could be disastrous and burned another friend of mine several years back when the fuel ignited from hot brakes. Anything can happen out there.
Bottom line -- always wear a fire suit and full racing protection in an SR3 with arm restraints and Hans. Best to have an 8860-2018 helmet.
Another thing to remember is to let go of the steering wheel if a front wheel is is about to hit something like the tire wall. I broke a thumb this year. I went off South Bend corner at 110 mph and it was a very rough off, but by the time I hit the tire wall I was only going about 10mph. Forgot to let go and the steering wheel was ripped from my hands. I knew better, but still forgot. This even happens to pro drivers like Jimmy Johnson this year in IndyCar.
If maintenance and operating cost is your headache, SR3 is good in terms of performance:cost ratio. Very high performance (1:51 at VIR) for the money, but there are other cars that are better ratio such as the SCCA FE2. This is an open wheel car with equal performance (1:50 at VIR) as SR3 1500cc and less expensive ($90k new, $50k used), less operating cost (engine lasts 10000 miles between refresh), and much lower cost for parts. Probably similar in terms of safety, but less down force and little more difficult to drive than an SR3.
Edit:
No such thing as a perfect track day car. If cost and reliability are top priority and speed does not matter, get a Honda Civic Type R or Spec Racer Ford. If performance and cost are biggest considerations, then SR3 is a good choice. If performance is top priority and cost is not such an issue, then perhaps and Formula 3, or LMP3, or Elan DP02 (each with a race team and engineer during prep and at the track).
I will say that once you drive a light weight high downforce car, it is difficult to go back to other types of race cars. I think the car that I want most is either an F3 or USF2000, however these cars require too much setup and team support to run at their optimum. SR3 is much less fussy and work well at just about any track with the factory default chassis setup.
@davidf thank you! This hobby is not for the risk adverse and like you mentioned, it does come with its inherent dangers.
@l8trdave Hi Dave, I am a member of VIR and just made the switch to a Radical and couldn't be happier. I have a 2016 Viper ACR that I would bring and although I never really had any mechanical issues with it I began to worry about availability of replacement parts for it.
I jumped into an SR10 and still have A LOT to learn about driving and working on the car. With my Viper, there was less routine maintenance but I actually enjoy working on the car and learning about it. One of the reasons I went with the Radical is because of the available support. Wisko has a great team that is located at VIR so it's relatively convenient and the people on this forum are extremely knowledgeable and helpful and can probably get you through almost any issue you encounter.
I think David covered the safety aspect pretty comprehensively. My wife was concerned about the safety aspect of the Radical vs the Viper as well and I just told her that it has a full crash box so it's definitely safer than the Viper... I actually think running in the Open Wheel group at VIR IS safer because there are a lot fewer cars compared to the other groups. I'm only driving my car at about 7/10's so I need to keep my eyes out for the other guys who are better drivers and much faster but once they pass it's generally an open track for a few laps.
I'll echo what David said above and what I've read in pretty much every other forum that once you drive a purpose built, lightweight, high downforce race car it will be hard to be satisfied with anything else. I didn't realize how true that was until I drove the Radical for the first time and was absolutely floored by the experience.
@clark-darrah awesome man! Thanks for sharing. My buddy tracks his Viper and speaks of the same concerns. Were you able to drive one before purchasing? Kaizen or other?
@l8trdave No, I did not drive one. I'm 6'4 and likely wouldn't have fit in one anyways. I've had to do some adjustments to my car to squeeze in there somewhat comfortably.
I'll be at VIR at the end of the month for the 3-day weekend and you're welcome to come over and check out the car. I'm going to have support from Wisko on Sat and Sun and I'm sure they can answer any questions you have about the SR3.
