As part of last week’s adventures testing BF Goodrich’s new performance all-season tire, we were treated to some on-track mega-speed action through a series of ridealongs in some truly wicked machinery. Through three different cars, we were able to feel the difference in speed between the g-force Comp 2 A/S we’d been testing all day, the standard Comp 2, their more aggressive Rival, and the out and out race-only BFG R1. After a ‘hard’ day of testing tires, it was good to let someone else do the driving and see just what these tires had in hand.

The first car to hit the track was a vast improvement over those basic Mustang V6 cars we’d been driving earlier. The Mighty Shelby GT. In the past, Shelby has made out-and-out power monsters that aren’t exactly useable. Well, perhaps because the old man doesn’t call the shots anymore (RIP), the team at Shelby has certainly built something that is capable of tackling a race track without killing itself, or any passengers. This car was fitted with the g-force sport Comp 2, and felt pretty good. The car’s 625 emissions legal horsepower were more than enough to vaporize this tire if desired, but a fleet throttle foot was able to keep the rears gripping and turned out a lap that had me laughing. Yeah, there might have been a little bit of drifting coming out of some of the corners. Yeah, it was fun.

The second car we were treated to was this 1970 Camaro (Camero) by Detroit Speed. It’s got crazy power from a built up LS engine, and competes in a lot of vintage muscle track competitions. I grew up a Ford guy, so it’s not quite my cup of tea, but I do like going fast. And brother, this was fast. This car was equipped with a set of BF Goodrich Rival tires, probably about as sticky a tire as you can get while still being ‘technically’ street legal. This car felt like it was stuck to the ground. Where the Mustang could have a bit of slip angle if needed, the Camaro just gripped around the corners and went where it was pointed. I had a difficult time paying attention, though, as it was still equipped with most of its original interior, so I was sliding all over the seat, and I had nowhere to brace my feet against. Some better buckets and a passenger’s side foot plate would make a world of difference in the ride-ability of this car. The grip was wicked, though.

The third car, no matter how hard I try, I could never be mentally prepared to ride in. While the other two cars were ‘fast’, they were street fast. This Radical SR3 RS is race fast. It’s throw-your-brain-in-a-blender fast. It’s about 1200 pounds, and has a 210 horsepower motorcycle engine out back. It’ll get to sixty in 3.1 seconds. Your butt sits about a millimeter from the road below. It was loud, it was WAY too small for my 6’1″ frame to bend into (you can see how much my head sits above that of the diminutive driver…), and it was among the most fun 3 minutes of my entire life. The car is super lightweight, has aero downforce for days, and the BFG R1 tires allowed insane lateral acceleration. My brain could not maintain any semblance of composure as we had to have been in the 2-3 lateral G through some of those corners. The driver only used the brakes a handful of times, and flat-footed most corners, and slightly lifted off for others. Wherever his hands pointed, the wheels went. There had to have been some kind of telepathic connection between the driver and car.
Hey Radical, do you make one of these things for a tall overweight guy? Wanna let me have a go?

[Photo of me in the Radical provided by BF Goodrich. All others ©2015 Hooniverse/Bradley C. Brownell, All Rights Reserved.]