After Starting our HPDE day rental car business a few years ago we are jumping ship and changing the brand of cars we will be renting.
We stopped over to Group A and talked with Jonathan and both my wife and I really liked him and he took his time out of his day to answer lots of questions we had about the radical cars. We are still on the fence about ordering the SR1's or the SR3 with the 1340 engines. I made a very big mistake a few years ago with the cars I picked to rent and don't want to make another mistake so I have lots to think over before we decide on the SR1 or SR3's.
the problem I'm looking at with the SR1's is the parts availability for us in the states. we do like the lower cost of the SR1's and they maybe better for a wider verity of the skill level of drivers. our goal is to have 6 to 8 rental cars to offer cars for just about every HPDE club in the north east of the States.
I really like the SR3's with the 1340 engines. the problem comes down to cost. you do get lots more for not much more money so there is a good bang for the buck. so I just don't know yet? we plan to start offering the Radicals for rent in the spring of 2025.
Hi David (@rush-rentals), welcome to the Registry. Johnathan is a great guy to work with and you can trust what he tells you. He will help you get the set up that best fits your needs. Most of the schools in the U.S. use the SR3’s with 1340’s for their schools with the one exception being Primal in Georgia. Team Stradale near Chicago had SR1 school cars in the past but switched to the SR3. Aside from the purchase price, I believe the operating cost should be similar between the two, however, the SR3 has the added benefits of considerably more downforce and the cockpit is large enough to fit a coach in the car if you choose to. The SR1 can be ordered with two seats, but it is much tighter.
I have 100% confidence that Johnathan will help you get to the best solution for you. Also, feel free to reach out to me directly through PM or email and I can give you my phone number if you would like to talk and get another perspective.
Agree with everything Charley says. It is your business of course but requiring a coach ride along for someone's first experience might be a good idea 😀
Hi David and welcome!
As already mentioned, you are in good hands with Johnathan & Group A who are an excellent dealer.
The choice between the two will come down to the obvious comparative strengths as well as storage & transportation, maintenance, purchase and hard part costs etc. Seeing how you have previous experience with chain final drive, that gives you an edge in that part of the decision. Don't be too concerned with parts availability for either model, as parts come very rapid from the UK to the dealer network.
All the best with your Radical direction!
Rich Kenworthy
my wife and I have been talking and researching the two cars we are looking at ( SR1 OR SR3) and we are going to go with the SR1's.
we had worried about getting parts for the SR1's like the two cars we are renting now we will personally have the common spares in stock.
finding out getting parts from radical will only take a few days is an other big plus for us to switch to radicals. Jonathan @ Group A send us a link to the parts list so I'm putting together a parts list of the parts we would want to have on hand. when we order our 1st new cars we will also order a complete extra full body with splitter and diffuser.
with the SR1's being a chain drive this doesn't bother me I have a motorcycle background from a very young age and we have and have had a few other chain driven cars.
I think you'll be happy with the SR1's. I've been racing one for most of this season and I'm quite happy with it. I've had no mechanical issues whatsoever, and the cars hold up to a lot of abuse. I've had no issues with parts availability for things that I've broken. They're easy on consumables; I've never replaced my brake pads and they still look like they're brand new. The tires hold up pretty well in cooler weather, though the degrade more quickly when it's very hot. Primal has a whole fleet of them and they've been consistently getting over 100 run hours on the motors.
I think you'll be happy with the SR1's. I've been racing one for most of this season and I'm quite happy with it. I've had no mechanical issues whatsoever, and the cars hold up to a lot of abuse. I've had no issues with parts availability for things that I've broken. They're easy on consumables; I've never replaced my brake pads and they still look like they're brand new. The tires hold up pretty well in cooler weather, though the degrade more quickly when it's very hot. Primal has a whole fleet of them and they've been consistently getting over 100 run hours on the motors.
we are really looking forward to switching to the SR1's the things your saying is the same as I have been finding other are also saying.
what tires are you running on your car?
@rush-rentals I run the stock Hankooks, as I race in a spec series. They've been fine; fairly forgiving to drive, and definitely take longer to age out than slicks.
from what I'm finding out the stock hankooks come in different compounds so they should work for our renters.
I was also looking at the Yokohama A048's I think they are a 60 tread wear tire. oh wait its English so tyre 🙂 down side is they are limited in sizes in the States. I would have to order them from England.
the cars we are renting now are using the nankang AR1's 100 TW tire. they are kind of ok at best. in the wet they just suck! and they never come up to temps because they are made for a heaver car.
we just bought few setoff the Toyo r888r's for our cars. they too are a 100 TW tire. we will see how they are in a few days.
we have gone through a number of tires so far this season with customers flat spotting them and over driving. one problem I'm having with our cars is I can't get more than 1.2 degrees neg camber so they wear the fronts like crazy.
