reputation of SR4

[canhg]

considering purchase - is there any information out there that a new owner should hear about first?

thanks in advance

[TonyF]

What are you going to use it for ? Trackdays or racing ?

[canhg]

racing!
How does it compare to other radicals for handling etc

[nildram]

Most comparable to a Clubsport. Slower in a straight line, but faster round the corners. If you're not racing it in the Radical series, you can bolt on Prosport wheels & tyres and go a lot quicker round the corners, or a bigger engine for more straight line speed. All depends what you want...

[KINETIC]

Can someone tell me roughly what a seasons Radical racing should cost?

Are these machines pretty reliable under the stresses of racing? Are maintenenace costs high? I'm assuming the stock factory machines are the race cars pretty much with not to much aftermarket fettling required to be competitive?

Any advice on getting into Radical racing would be welocome.

[nildram]

Take a deep breath, and open your wallet wide. Somewhere from £20k to £100k per season plus cost of car, depending on whether you privateer or run with a team, how much damage, how many new sets of tyres you're prepared to throw at the car etc.

[kinetic]

I thought maybe 20k but 100k!!

Can you be in any way competitive as a privateer spending 20k per annum if some of the entrants are spending 100k?

[nildram]

Yes, cos those spending 100k are crashing a lot :-)

[alec dudfield]

Seriously if you have technical skill you can access, some driving talent, bags of commitment and a very understanding family you can race for £20k, and do so well. If you want to arrive, drive and pay no part in the organisation or maintenance of your machine you will inevitably pay more.

Technical support is always accessible, Radical Racing is a fairly friendly place. Give it a try!

Alec

[nildram]

Here's some raw costs of running a Clubsport last year (an SR4 will be slightly more expensive, and an SR3 significantly more). Don't forget to add Hotel costs, transport, team costs etc (if you're not doing it yourself).

Testing fees: £4k
Race entry fees: £5k
Fuel: £1.8k
Servicing (oil, parts etc): £6k
Tyres: £7k
Repairs: £7.5k

As you can see, it adds up quite quickly. I don't think you can be really competitive for less than about £40k a year all in.

[kinetic]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll start doing some sums and see if I can give it a go!

[Kickstart]

Don't forget that for £40k per year you can race nearly anything. Helped a friend race an old Chevron F2 in Europe a couple of years ago competively who ran with a decent team and he spent a lot less than £40k and even got start money at some races and a free set of tyres for entering the championship.
If you want to see if you would be competitive then I would arrange a day with Nigel Greensall (current Radical enduro champion and multiple other champion) great bloke - you can find his website via google.
Have fun