hello one of my Gearhead dreams has just come true I now on and have tracked a Radical! The downforce is strong with this one😃😂
Can’t wait to start terrorassing the tracks with yet another great car😃
Welcome Tom! Congratulations on getting the Rapture! I believe your car is chassis number 2 and the only Rapture that I am aware of in the U.S.. I am looking forward to hearing how you like it.
Charley
@charleyhradicalsportscarregistry-com
thanks Charlie! Really like the car a lot! I’m quite sure I’ll be slashing all time fastest lap time records at a few tracks.
i’m pretty good at driving new cars but this one is going to take a while😂
I feel like I need to get my pilots license. Especially because the exhaust is so quiet all I hear is the air moving around my car.
it was a demo car I bought from Radical but it’s been to around the country to different shows. Apparently it even has a bad boy reputation in Vegas😂
Las Vegas Video
Nice!! Can you do a track report once you had a chance to attend an event? Would really like to hear what it was like!
@tommymills I am build number 3 according to my owners manual
i’m running out of track days this year I think I might get another two or three in.
my car was a demo and the clutch was worn out. I found that out after my second track day. I thought it was buzzing through very short ratio gears but it was actually spinning the clutch disc in the higher gears!
it got quite bad my second day and it was really hard to drive it without spinning the clutch but I still managed another fast 1:52 laptime going counterclockwise this time. And I was also able to try it for the first time with slicks on. Wow that was fun! But I could really only give it between a third and half of the gas otherwise the clutch just spun. Ended the day early and now I’m putting a new clutch in. Hopefully get it all finished within a week. But considering how I had to feather the gas pedal a lot but still went fast I just can’t imagine punching down this car’s gas pedal and having all the power! It’s really going to be something!!!
So here’s another video this one with me going CCW. I just love ORP, such a great track! I’ve got to get the aims device working this is with the shaky mount on my hood
Thanks for sharing the video. Looks like a really fun track and a good day to be out there. The shaky camera actually adds a little drama. 🙂
Looks like it's really going to be a blast when your clutch is fixed!
Contratulations! I could hear the engine revving more quickly than it should. I'll bet you'll find a bit more oversteer with a non-slipping clutch. :).
Keep those videos coming!
Well here’s a couple other videos from the week before I tracked it at the road course. It had the OEM street wheels and tires:
WHEEL SIZE FRONT7½J x 16
WHEEL SIZE REAR8½J x 17
TYRES FRONT195/45 R 16
TYRES REAR245/40 R 17
which handles much different than the race slick tire set up I put on for the video at ORP:
Race slick set up the same as SR3 SR8
15x8” Graphite” front 225/580-15 DM Pirelli 2793200
16x10.5” Graphite rear 285/605-16 DM Pirelli 2793400
The street set up had a lot of understeer and I was a bit worried about it but I was still able to go super fast at this big Autocross that was set up on a road course.
And these AutoX videos are actually my first time driving the car. How sketchy is that a brand new car and then the first thing you do is have to blast through a 60 second run With no warm-ups! And I only got six runs each day over the weekend so really only a little over 6 minutes of total driving!
racing slicks really make it much more proper. But the first day I put them on my clutch was almost gone so I really don’t have the full effect.
I just bought a corner balancer for both this car and my Lotus Elise. I’m going to take a look at the weight distribution and maybe put some ballast in the front.
The crazy thing is the specs say it supposed to weigh 765 kg but when I looked in the owners manual when they set this car up up it looks like it’s quite a bit less. According to the initial set up the car only weighs
From owners manual:
Front 268 kilo
Rears 426 kilo
Total weight 694 (1526 lbs)
Weight distribution 39% front 61% rear
So if this Rapture is actually that much lighter than what is stated it’s going to be even more stupid fast!
I may end up putting like 60 pounds in the front ballast area. I hate to add weight but I really like a better weight distribution. I did the same thing with an Alfa Romeo 4C that I really modded heavily but I did that mostly by putting bigger square tires in the front.
And I just did that with a Lotus Elise I currently have too.
I can’t really fit bigger tires with square set up by the Radical but that’s OK. With some slight corner balancing adjustment and some small front ballast I’ll get it just where I want it.
With all my car’s I like to drive right on the ragged edge and a more evenly balanced car gives you a lot more ability to make the car dance and applying understeer or oversteer whenever you want. Probably something to do with my driving style.
So anyway here’s a couple auto X videos it’s funny the girl did a lot better than the guy! at the beginning I thought I was going to lose him or he was going to pop!
And and other video from earlier the first day obviously I was getting used to the car and did a spin but goddamn it was a clean fast run and I ended up right on the finish line FF3 freaking amazing. If I wouldn’t have spun on this run then this run would’ve been close to fast time of day!
Hi Tom:
I am also a new Radical owner living in Kirkland, WA. In September I got a 2012 Radical SR8 RX. I am looking for a mechanic in our area with expertise on the Radical race cars. Have you found any?
Hi Tom, next week I have a Radical mechanic coming to Washington State to work on my SR8. If you need any specialty mechanical work done, please reach out.
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Hey all - I just got a 2014 Radical SR8 with a fresh 2017 drivetrain. Just got back from some orientation/training and seat time in an SR3 on VIR - what a blast. Feeling ready...
Hoping to do my break-in and first laps at ORP soon. See ya there!
Welcome Dave! Us SR8 owners have to stick together... we're a dying a breed!
