I was able to get in some tag-team laps with an SR10 this past weekend at Sebring. The owner has a new one on order, so he was running a loaner until his arrived. The SR10 had some starter and idle issues, but we did manage to hang some laps together late Saturday afternoon. Neither of us is a pro driver, and we were doing comfortable 2:12s / 2:13s. (his PB is a 2:09, mine is a 2:10) The SR10 definitely has more power than my RPX SR8, but it seems that the SR8 is a bit more nimble and I was able to catch back up in the tighter turns, and maybe just a bit more oomph coming out of turns, but that's all pretty subjective.
It was a good time, and I finally got a good look at the new gearbox in the SR10, the Hewland TMT. It's MASSIVE compared to my dinky JFR. I wonder if the TMT is the answer to all gearbox issues with my SR8, but it does seem as if it would soak up a decent bit of power.
The build quality of the car was very nice. All the connectors, loom, hoses, and fitment looked great. That 100 hr rebuild cycle on the engine seems like a great deal too.
Anyway, loved the SR10, and I think it is definitely the right car for track day fun!
Thanks for the recap. I have never been on the track with an SR8 but can tell you my SR10 was a handful in the corners right out of the factory. I did some work at Spring Mountain to improve the handling. We softened the Nik Link bars and increased the rake. Handling is better but still not close to my SR3. I understand the diff is causing a lot of the push. This could explain the cornering speeds.
Brian (the owner of the SR10) was also complaining about the handling -- that it wasn't nearly as good as HIS SR3. In fact, he seriously tried to buy my SR8. But I'd say the SR10 was about (between driver and car) a second faster at Sebring than me in my SR8.
It was great fun being on track with an equally capable car.
John, you need to drive the SR10 and write up a real world comparison!
