Hello fellow Radical owners. I purchased and received a Radical SR3 RSX 1500, chassis 988 a couple of weeks ago. I am very excited and proud to own such a nice car which for now I intend to use solely for HDPE track days. My first event is VIR on Nov 5-6, and I have contacted Danyel Delgado at Wisko Racing for a thorough inspection, tires, and possibly some mechanical help as needed.
I purchased this car from Radical Northwest in Sonoma. This is a picture of my car being delivered and unloaded outside my subdivision. From there I towed the car up to my home with my wife in the driver's seat, then made a ramp with plywood between the road and my driveway, and gently pushed it onto the driveway and into the garage.
Some additional info on this car. It was made in 2015 or 2016, and has just 21 hours on the chassis and engine. It is surprising that a car this old was used so little. I would love to know why in case anyone on the forum knows. The car is very clean. I had Radical Northwest install a spin-safe clutch before shipping. It has a smarty cam with gps. More info is in the registry (988).
It came with Dunlop slicks, and I have an extra set of wheels with Pirelli slicks but I will use these for wet tires.
@davidf, Congratulations on getting your new car! It looks amazing! My understanding is that this car was originally owned by someone at Monticello Motor Park in New York. That owner apparently didn’t put many hours on the car since purchasing it.
I am looking forward to hearing more about your adventures with the car 🙂
Charley
Report on this Radical SR3:
Fast and fun. I took it to VIR two weeks ago at a TrackDaze HPDE. There are several other tracks nearer to me, but I wanted to start with a track that I know well because I was unfamiliar with the car and because it has been about 8 years since I have done any road racing.
I was very nervous for the first session because there were 66 drivers in Advanced class and I was very out of practice. It was also the first time with a HANS device, six point harness, new helmet, no ability to turn my head, etc., which all felt very confining. I was scared of the speed, and I did not want to go fast for the first two sessions, but by the third session I began to establish a relationship with the car and I re-learned VIR sufficiently to begin running faster laps, braking deeper and deeper, and gradually increasing speed in the upper esses.
What a thrill! The braking power of this car is incredible as many familiar with high down force cars know. I last drove a Porsche on the track which I felt had outstanding brakes, but the Radical is in a different league. It was not difficult for me to adapt to the decreasing down force with decreasing speed and I not locked the brakes yet. Once I gained confidence and more speed, I began to put down faster laps.
The car went through an extensive tech inspection and setup the day before by Wisko racing, and I have had no mechanical issues after five track days.
Last week I attended the 3-day SCCA competition license school at MSR Houston and I used the Radical for this. This is a great school with excellent instructors. The car was wonderful and fast. I used left foot braking throughout the three days and now I feel completely comfortable with the car and my gear. I have a Stilo SA2020 ST5 GT composite helmet which works really well in the radical. It is quite snug, but comfortable; I do not have any issues with the helmet lifting at any speed. Wisko installed one of those low windshields so that probably helps also.
I have zero regrets, however owning a used Radical has been an eye opener in terms of initial expense. I have replaced the axles with a newer/stronger set, and at the end of the year I plan to: 1) rebuild engine with conversion from short stroke to long, 2) rebuild GDU, 3) send in ECU to Radical for repair (it is dead), 4) new harnesses, 5) new fuel cell, and 6) probably some suspension work/maintenance if needed.
This repair/upgrade list is going to be expensive but I want to stay on top of everything rather than waiting for something to break. I really like the SR3 platform. I am entrigued by other Radical models with more power, but I don't think I will ever own one of those because I really like the balance and layout of the SR3.
@davidf, I to great to hear how much you are enjoying the car! These really are amazing to drive. The more you drive them the more you love them!
You are on the right path when it comes to staying in front of the maintenance. When you have the engine work I strongly recommend sending it to Spring Mountain. They have more experience doing overhauls on Radical engines than anyone in the US and their work is second to none. When you are ready to do the fuel cell let me know and I can get you a good deal on a fuel cell.
Charley
@davidf I stopped by your paddock spot to talk to Wisko/Danyel about purchase - was going to say hi to you but didn't want to disturb (you were talking car setup).
By Friday afternoon you looked pretty comfortable out there playing with the other cars. Hope to see you out there next season!
David
I hope to see you at VIR or at a track in Southeast next year. Please drop by and say hello.
I dropped my car off at WISKO yesterday for 40 hour and various other updates like new Harmon fuel cell and harnesses, so I plan to be ready for next year by mid to late January. See you at the track!
Getting end of season work done:
- Engine refresh and conversion from short to long stroke
- GDU refresh
- New uprights 4 corners
- ECU battery replacement
- replace front rotors
- replace fuel cell with Harmon fuel cell
- replace harnesses
That's not supposed to be there:
Will be race ready and perhaps better than new in several weeks.
