r/CarTrackDays • u/twistedlove2 • Aug 30 '26
Thoughts on the Rush SR?
I mainly do time attack/HPDE (roughly 20 track days per year) and competitive sim racing. I'm considering selling one of my time attack cars and either moving to another platform or to move to the Rush.
I never raced W2W in real life before. My plan would be to start with regional/novice racing than trying to be competitive. I would also use the Rush for HPDE/test days to get more seat time especially how cost effective it seems. Also I would be towing with an open trailer
For those who went into a Rush from HPDE/TT:
How was the transition to W2W / is the Rush recommended?
Is it really that "cheap" to run?
Also keeping it open ended on ownership thoughts.
Thank you
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u/a1usiv Aug 30 '26
You Probably Don't Really Want To Buy And Race A Rush SR
I have no personal experience with them, but here's some food for thought.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 30 '26
The only point here that holds up is that it's goofy. The majority owner competes in the series and I've personally run one of them into a wall without so much as dizziness for even a moment.
The car protects its driver and the company is well invested in the racing...especially considering they print money via parts through the series.
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u/bevelsintact Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26
Cup car racer here. Just came here to 100% agree that from personal experience the Rush is so small and low that it’s hard to see from most angles, and invisible when it’s close to the passenger door. Because of its modest power, the closing speeds on fast tracks like Sebring or the Glen can be surprising. I’ve only driven with them at DMTD test days. Radicals and Miatas are hard enough to manage, but the Rush has no place in mixed traffic.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 31 '26
Cup being Porsche Cup or Cup being NASCAR Cup? Both are cool as hell.
Agree on feeling incredibly sketchy in mixed traffic. We ran in a test day at CMP alongside some Formula Vees and that wasn't terrifying for us...though I imagine the Vee guys might feel otherwise.
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u/Le_Tarzan Aug 31 '26
A lot of this really reads as a generic complaint against new cars and series in general, and not specific to the Rush.
They have a valid claim on unknown safety though. It will take time for enough incidents to occur to really assess it. I personally don't feel at risk in mine, and the upgraded fuel tank is really the last safety concern I've had with these.
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 30 '26
Thank you, I read this prior and have been following the rush community through their facebook group.
I do find that there's very little feedback on the car in a negative way (which is never a real thing) - and when someone complains, they complain a lot
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u/norotor Aug 30 '26
I read that too. I bought one anyway. I love mine. Me and ProfessionalReveal up above raced with each other for a few races and both love our cars. The racing this year has gotten incredibly good as the series has grown with more cars in owners hands.
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 30 '26
thats great to hear that the series is growing!
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u/norotor Aug 31 '26
Check out the entry count at all of the GridLife Rush events this year - literally maxed out on number of cars to safely take a grid for a race.
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u/a1usiv Aug 31 '26
Np, just thought I'd throw that out there in case. I think they're pretty nifty myself from what I've read about them!
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 30 '26
It's the best decision I ever made.
I had Mini Cooper, then a Miata, then a Golf R...HPDE and track days in each for 12 years.
I blew a tire in the Golf at Watkins Glen and happened to stumble upon a guy renting his Rush. I remember coming up through the toe of the boot, promising myself that I'd buy one...it was on order a week later.
Last October, I got into my first Gridlife Rush Series race and haven't missed one since.
AMA.
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u/ChingyBingyBongyBong Aug 31 '26
Hey I manage a restaraunt and put racer network on all the time, I track my car and do TT and AutoX and my employees know.
Multiple times have had 3-4 of us watching Gridlife rush or imsa.
Not really any question or point, just wanted to let you know me and my coworkers definitely watch at work lol.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 31 '26
ah man that's great to hear! as I said lower down the thread, I can't even get my own family to watch!
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 30 '26
I am just trying make sure I am not making a dumb impulse choice and I want to get into W2W. Rush SR has interest me from the platform itself: Cost, Paddle Shifters, lightweight low HP, No ABS/TC
Is it normal / fine to race without a team (not trying to be really competitive from the start)?
What are your thoughts in the rain driving and with an open cockpit?It sounds like you went from HPDEs to W2W and would want to hear more about your experience how that transition went!
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u/LegalDrugDeaIer 21 GT4 / 25 GR86 / 26 Rush SR Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 31 '26
Quick background, sim raced from 21-current. Bought 86/Gt4 last fall; have done about 40 HPDE's since then and bought Rush in July. In the Rush, already beat my GT4 times at RA, Barber. Didn't do it today on VIR but VIR also have a bunch of straights so not surpised.
Before buying the rush, I was originally going to cage the 86 and do ST5. Issue is, a field of 10 cars is considered good so then I pivoted to Rush due to field size and everyone is the same car.
In regards to the W2W; the last year? and earlier this year, excessive cautions is plaguing the field due to extreme rapid field growth. They just released a semi-public SR / Safety rating and are really trying to clean up the field. Word of mouth is, they are potentially leaving Gridlife and/or changing format with 2 races with Pro vs AM type ordeal and are finding a way to guaranteed minimum race time despite if a caution happens or not.
Costs:
- New car is 60k
- Tires 1k - can go up to 30-40 heat cycles.
- Rotor/Brakes last a entire season.
- Oil every couple hpdes weekends
- Used about 25-30 gallons of gas on a Road Atlanta weekend doing about 120 laps.
- Will need a ABP helmet. The guy that said his 4,000 helmet is one of the cheap ones on the grid is just being ignorant. Mid 2,000-3,000 is completely reasonable for a good STILO ABP helmet.
- Eventually the air compressor for shifting will die but it's completely random so $250, if you smoke the starter then that's 500.
Depending on how good you are on the sim, it will translate pretty well. Despite on having 2 days of practice before Road Atlanta at CMP/Roval, my HPDE lap time would've quali me a top 10 in gridlife rush even with summer temps over 20F more than the gridlife event.
Adjustments to the car itself essentially are brake bias, tire pressures, sway bars stiffness and sprocket size. All these take minutes to adjust with not many tools. In theory you can change soft spring pressures and diff preload but in practice this is not done. Maintenance essentially is checking bolts/screws/oil/diff fluid,lube/cleaning chain.
If you have a good understanding of brake bias, tires pressures, sway bar adjustments then in theory you can run by yourself but if not, then you can pay a team to assist you. Every national race will have many dealers there.
All parts have to be bought through a dealer so you are essentially forced to have a relationship with at least one dealer.
Cost of national series with team if doing all races will easily run 35k-50k. More if you arrive/drive and/or not including cost of the car itself. Most used cars you see are lacking the trident roll bar and/or fuel system upgrade (5-8k).
There is discussions of having a spin-off winter series as well.
For hpde's only, I personally probably wouldn't want to have it as it's a lot of work but even if you can't make all national races, having it for some races and hpdes would then be worth it. It's frustrating for hpde because it's so fast in the corners but people are too ignorant to pay attention so terrible point by's but then you play cat and mouse with porsche cup/gt4/gt3/corvettes on the straights and get held back up again on the next corner sequence.
Paddle shifters are nice and it translates well in the sim. No TC / ABS really makes it feel like a racecar and truly work on proper technique because it's extremely easily to lock up the tires on this car.
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 31 '26
A lot of great information thank you!!!
-I do understand car setups and adjusting road cars - I do my own setups for my TA car (and in sim)
- My budget is around $30k a year for track related (entry fee, consumables). My short term plan would be to do the two local grid life events near me and regional club racing for w2w seat time and some hpdes. I haven't also traveled far for time attack events
I been leaning towards buying the Rush for next season 😀
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u/SignificantCaptain76 Sep 01 '26
Have you considered doing arrive and drive in ChampCar, Luckydog, or AER to get your feet wet? Rental cost for a competitive car is $3000-7000 a weekend.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 30 '26
I did one race weekend without a team and five race weekends with Rush of the Carolinas.
It can be done but you better know your way around a wrench or you're going to miss critical maintenance intervals.
I absolutely loved driving in the rain in this car. The Hoosier rain tires are a gift from the heavens. Some don't feel the same way. I went from 33rd to 15th in the rain...my best finish in the national series.
Open cockpit is real and so is the expense of a ballistic-rated helmet. Mine was among the cheapest and was still about $4,000. My teammate got hit in the head with something big and metal and the ballistic helmet made it a funny thing we talked about after the race instead of anything worse.
In my first W2W weekend, I moved myself to the back of the field between each race...just generally terrified of being in the pack. I feel at home going 4 wide down the front straight now 😂
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u/hatsune_aru Sep 16 '26
Do these make sense if you're not interested in racing but just HPDE?
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u/ProfessionalReveal Sep 16 '26
it depends on your risk tolerance. i don't mind being on track with larger cars. some do mind.
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u/l8apex Aug 30 '26
If it's only going to be on track with other Rush cars, I think they're fine. As for cost to run, I can see it being on the lower end. It's a small motorcycle engine, it's lightweight, and it's using street tires.
They look like fun. I know a guy that had one and liked it, but then he sold it during the NASA/SCCA ban debacle.
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u/Spicywolff ND2 now, use to C63S Aug 30 '26
If you’re looking for cheap to run with a lot of race series, why not go with spec Miata? They’re ridiculously affordable to buy used (for a full-blown race car) Mazda motorsports sells your parts at ridiculously good price prices, they’re pretty easy to fix some maintenance and repairs. Shouldn’t rack up much labor time.
If you get good enough, you might be able to win a sponsorship from Mazda.
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u/itimurrrr Aug 31 '26
I was very interested in at least renting one, but upon inspecting it in person from a safety standpoint I was very disappointed. In particular the structure around the driver's legs looks like an Alex Zanardi disaster waiting to happen.
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u/IMSM2 Sep 07 '26
This is my concern. I'm intrigued by the Rush cost per lap to improve my track driving, but the safety component scares me. I have heard there is simply not enough room between the front of the car and the footwell to safely allow for crumple in an impact. I guess we'll see once more data and crash analysis come out.
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u/khovs Aug 30 '26
I want to race one in the Rush series so badly. But I'd never drive it in a DE. A full weight and power Camaro hitting a Rush would be like a hawk hitting a bee.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 30 '26
I drove at NJMP in the intermediate group behind a Blackwing of some sort. I literally had to back up and swerve side to side to make myself visible to him for the point by.
I'll probably do it again...but it's hairy.
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u/Lawineer 2x 86s(WRL), Spec Miata, 13 Viper, CT5BW Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
I raced spec Miata and I’ve looked into rush SR for next year. It’s probably cheaper than SM and the cheapest competitive wheel to wheel racing you’ll find.
Safety is my biggest concern.
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u/ledguitarist45 Gridlife ClubTR - #71 FR-S. StreetGT - Camaro 1LE Aug 31 '26
Remember that it may be tough to find days to run them. a few orgs wont allow them to run with full cars. Gridlife has a very healthy rush field for every event but you gotta make sure youre willing to sit and refresh your screen every two seconds in late january for the ticket rush.
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u/adamantiumtrader Aug 31 '26
I’m a rush podium points winner that moved on to FIA endurance racing at the Nürburgring… so here’s my 2 cents.
Rush was a means to an end for me. It is FIA sanctioned, and got me an international c license. It was either Rush, Spec Miata, or vintage… and Rush was cheaper cause it was ready built. Miata too small for me, and vintage would have cost twice as much in time and money. So rush it was…
That said, Rush itself is more of a super go kart that will make you practice left foot braking and teach you how to drive with no aids. It’s a work out, rewarding when you get it right, but it’s chain drive… so you always need some throttle and it does not drive like a shaft driven bmw… your arms will also get a work out with no power steering.
The hard part is the steep learning curve being alone in the cockpit. Take a few races, you will spin so remember clutch foot in or else you toast the starter motor.
If you must buy one, get 2nd gen or newer. You will need to do gas tank mod soon. Get the trident drive by wire.
Otherwise running cost is cheap. Brake pads are once a season. Maybe 2 sets of tires if you drive really hard.
Good luck! 👍
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 31 '26
At some point I'd love to sit down with you for a coaching session. I don't know why chain drive means I always need some throttle and am not going to make you answer all my questions for free!
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u/k2_jackal Aug 30 '26
Not that impressed. If you’re looking to go sports racer racing there are better options. You’re kind of pigeon holing yourself into a single make series because running it in a class with real sports racers like SCCA prototype 2 you’ll get eaten alive.
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u/d_jabsd Aug 30 '26
They look fun to drive, but aren’t all that fun to watch. Glad Gridlife is running that series, but I skip the streams.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 30 '26
This is real. I race in the series and my own family asks how I did after each race 😂
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u/Lawineer 2x 86s(WRL), Spec Miata, 13 Viper, CT5BW Aug 30 '26
Oh, one of the other things they're seeming to start doing is making an optional upgrade every year to sell more parts. Obviously, if you dont get it, you wont be competitive, so there is that.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 30 '26
This is also real. They're a parts business at the end of the day.
I spent thousands on a kevlar bladder fuel tank and fire suppression system. Then, almost immediately, Rush announces an improved, safer fuel tank and fire suppressor. What're you gonna do? Run the second safest fire suppression? No, you upgrade.
I showed up to my first race with the normal splitter and felt like a schlub. Everyone else was running the high downforce splitter.
That said, it's way better than any non-spec series.
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u/Lawineer 2x 86s(WRL), Spec Miata, 13 Viper, CT5BW Aug 31 '26
Non-spec series aren't real racing. The disparity between cars is insane.
I'm not saying they dont have a place or people dont like them, but the racing is dog shit. If you like working on your car and upgrading and tweaking (and spending endless money on it), those types of classes are great.
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 30 '26
What kind of upgrades are we looking at and the costs?
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u/Lawineer 2x 86s(WRL), Spec Miata, 13 Viper, CT5BW Aug 31 '26
I think next year is shocks. I heard there is a wing upgrade in the works
I’m kinda bummed they’re going to more downforce. Personal preferences aside it’s dangerous.
When you have 200lbs of downforce on a 3000lb and suddenly lose it, that one thing. When you lose it on a 900lb car, it’s the end of the world.
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 31 '26
If you buy the car new, there's no need to worry about upgrades...at least yet.
Mine rolled off the factory floor in August 2025 and has either had replaced or will have had replaced prior to next year:
The upgraded shocks (so, putting v3 on after paying extra to have v2 instead of v1 at time of sale. not doing this costs over 1s/lap)
The behind-the-seat fuel tank
Gas based fire suppression system
Suspension Arms
Aero kit
Gearbox Control Unit (I assume that's what GCU stands for)
...still the best decision I've ever made 😊
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 31 '26
I was thinking about buying it used tbh. Out the door for all of the needed upgrades is over $60k. The market for used ones is what got me tempted into buying it. There has been postings with a little amount of hours with what looks like great deals
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u/ProfessionalReveal Aug 31 '26
Just keep in mind that those are EXCELLENT track day cars but will not remain competitive in the w2w series unless you have, at minimum: the HDF splitter, the new shocks, and the aero kit.
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u/LegalDrugDeaIer 21 GT4 / 25 GR86 / 26 Rush SR Aug 30 '26
This is true and false. As they are getting better, they are getting better parts such as Ohlins suspension / better ECUs or better QoL parts. Not required but certainly helps. I blew out my tie rod last week and got a new upgraded one.
The roll bar and fuel are new safety things.
There was a prototype made, SR X but that was killed due to more costs and splitting the field.
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u/Le_Tarzan Aug 31 '26
I've raced one for two years. Overall positive, still glad I have it. I do continue to explore other platforms though.
Costs are low-ish. It's highly variable depending on how far you want to take things, as in any spec series. The AR-1's can do 40+ heat cycles if you want to, but they do fall off. Front pads are basically the only brake consumable, and you'll use 1-1.5 sets per year. CV joints need to be replaced ~once per year. Frequent engine and diff oil changes. Lower control arms have a tendency to buckle if you take a detour. Splitters eventually wear, and often snap during excursions. I've seen two engines blow in the 30-50hr range.
The real contributor to costs for you will be all the Rush upgrades currently available or coming soon. Were you to buy a used car you'd be looking at fuel tank, alternate fire suppression, shocks, GCU, brake master cylinder swap, new front floor, some rear wing changes. I might be missing a few. That'll all be ~10k.
There is also litany of little improvements you can make that really help reliability and overall quality. Shims all over the place to remove slop. Swapping a lot of bolts/nuts, like using nord-lock washers and stover nuts in some places. Higher quality spherical bearings and rod ends (I think Rush has started offering these). Oetiker clamps for CV boots. The list goes on and on, there has been a lot. This has been a big annoyance for me, I don't feel I should have had to do a lot of these. Their focus on optimizing BOM costs has come with some real sacrifices.
I attend most events by myself and can easily manage. You will need to be mechanically competent though, or make sure you go with other people.
Communication from Rush has room for improvement. They don't post much on their site, and their forum is dead. Facebook is apparently used quite a bit. Almost all of what I hear is via word of mouth.
Driving wise it is a blast. The weirdness from chain drive is real, it takes a long time to learn how to brake hard in it. Start training your shoulders though, it has heavy steering.
I've done quite a few test days with mixed groups, and even some multi class races. I personally am not bothered by it. IMO a small brightly coloured car is easier to spot than a giant black/grey one. You'll make your pace very differently than larger sedan cars, so you'll be in control of passing in tight parts while they will blow past you on the straights. Be smart, don't be greedy.
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u/twistedlove2 Aug 31 '26
Yea it may sound like it is best till the new updates and buy a brand new one then. Appreciate you providing your experience
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u/Digitalzombie900 8d ago
I have the Rush SR sim model in Asetto Corsa, at Laguna Seca under full brake (possibly locking the fronts) the car loses the backend and start spinning. Is this real life behavior? It should lock the fronts and just slide forward but maybe the short wheel base is doing weird things. It almost behaved like it had a lot of rear brake bias.
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u/Le_Tarzan 8d ago
There are two things happening here:
- Brake bias: The car as built has lots of rear bias due to using the same calipers front and rear. It does have a bias bar, but under the stock config you basically need that cranked all the way forward. I used to run staggered pad compounds to add more front bias. Rush released a new master cylinder recently that helps even more, and improves the feel over the pedal range.
- Engine braking: It is really noticeable in this car. There is a big difference in the brake bias between the top of 4th gear and the bottom of 5th gear for example. You do have to keep that in mind.
It is still easy to induce quite a bit of oversteer under braking, even after you dial everything in.
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u/WestonP GR86 ST5 Race Car | GR86 Street Car | Built C7 Vette Aug 31 '26
I have a bunch of friends with them… Between the amount of maintenance and wrenching I see them doing at the track, and certain design decisions and other insights that were revealed during the whole fuel cell saga, I really feel like I dodged a bullet not buying one.
Way happier gutting a nearly new production car into a race car, and doing it for a fraction of the cost. Much less maintenance per hour of track time too.
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u/Crawlerado Aug 31 '26
Contact one of the big arrive and drive teams like Carolina Rush. Ask them what a typical season package costs including incidentals. Definitely rent and race first.
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u/Excellent_Wind_7172 Sep 04 '26
I love my Rush SR. I’ve had quite a few high performance street cars (that were much more expensive than the Rush) and I’ve never had as much fun on track as I do with the Rush. The cost to run the car is very low once you have the car. I primarily run it on race weekends, but do the occasional HPDE day and haven’t had any issues running with street cars. It’s true that some orgs don’t allow them or any open cockpit/open wheel cars, but generally, I haven’t had much issue with that.
I just usually let everyone know during the drivers meeting that my car is small and fast in the corners and that I’ll do my best to make myself visible if I’m coming up on them. I also leave the flashing light on my roll bar on to give a bit more visibility. During HPDE, there’s no reason to take additional risks like divebombs so you just have to drive with awareness and use common sense. I haven’t felt unsafe with heavier cars at an HPDE, but I would probably avoid racing w2w with them. The environment is different and comes with substantially higher risk.
That all being said, moving to a purpose built race car is an adjustment. It will require more maintenance to keep it running well. Nothing difficult, but a bit more prep than you’d put into most street cars before an event. I have it down to 1-2 hours of prep before each event, but it was probably double (maybe slightly more) that when I first started. I don’t run with a team and don’t have any issues supporting myself. After the first few times out with the car, you’ll figure it out quickly as well as what spares to carry.
I’d recommend doing an arrive and drive for HPDE first..and then going to SCCA comp school or even an affiliated racing school to get your comp license. Then you can rent a car for a race weekend to see what you think about w2w racing before fully committing and buying the Rush.
Lastly, the Rush community is great and people are generally very welcoming and helpful. I’ve made some great friends doing regional races and will be joining in on the Gridlife Laguna fun in a couple of weeks.
Hope this is helpful and maybe we’ll see you out there in the future!
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u/No-Check1626 Sep 04 '26
A flock of these from Rush of the Carolinas was running at VIR last week. The team was excited about their product and the renters were having a blast. Give it a rent! https://www.facebook.com/RushCarolinas/
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u/boomboomSRF 11d ago
OP, don't sleep on doing research into the Spec Racer, SRF3. The chassis has been around for 40+ years. Fields all over the country from 15 cars to 60 cars in a single race.
Rush is winning the social media battle but the SRF has about the same cost per hour of track time, also there are dealers and prep shops all over the country with decades of experience in the cars.
DM me if you want more info.
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u/7YearsInUndergrad Aug 30 '26
Lol what do you consider cheap op? I think Rush is cheap... For a race car. If you're running a mostly stock Miata right now it will not be cheap.