ralt rt 41 vs swift 14 a

[Dee]

Which would you rather drive, which is faster ?

Thoughts

[reidhazelton]

I've never driven either, but the RT41 is on my all-time favorites list. To me, the last of the true Atlantics before everything went spec for the most part. For me it's the sexiest Atlantic around. Everyone seems to say if the RT41 would have had the money and time put into development that the 014 received through the years, it would have been the dominant car.

Two names come to mind who should be able to give first hand info would be Kevin Firlein and Jason Byers.

[JByers]

Dave - I was fortunate enough to be able to race an RT41 for 4 years and a 014 for 2 years. I spent a lot of time and money trying to beat the Swift driver with the Ralt which I did on occasion. To make the Ralt dominant like Reid says it would require upgrading the wheels to 14" and the installation of a proper sequential gearbox. More money than I wanted to spend plus I felt the swift had better safety aspect to it, so I sold the Ralt and bought an 014.

To sum up your questions:

• The Ralt has a slight advantage on top end speed
• The swift has much better breaking capabilities.
• The swift handles better with the radials compared to the Ralt on the bias-ply tires.
• The Hoosier 13" radials do not work well.
• I was 2 seconds a lap quicker at Road America with the Swift

Jason Byers

[Paddy O'Brien]

Interesting comments. The Ralt 41 is my personal lustmobile too. Why is turning the H-pattern shift Staffs gearbox into a sequential an advantage? I had a Swift DB4 with the same gearbox and it was easy to do 5th to 2nd downshifts much quicker than rowing thru all of the gears like the Swift 014(original shift lever)which I did a few races in. For a right foot brake heal-toe guy the Ralt is the only choice! In club trim, shouldn't a Ralt have more downforce than the 014? So the real difference is tires.

[JByers]

Paddy - For me the big problem with the gearbox was being able to get 1st gear reliably - my hips are a little to wide to keep from becoming an obstructions no matter what I did to the shifter. Regarding heal/toe to keep the rpm's up to skip gears in the downshift is not one of by better skills so I would row down through the gears in the Ralt too. The BIGGEST difference in performance between the two are the rotor sizes.

[Dee]

I started this thread to see what people thought ! in reality I ve been racing an rt 41 for a few years I share the drive with John Morton. I wonder why you even get down to 1 st gear, for us its just a pit gear. sometimes we use 1 st at turn 11 at laguna seca thats it.

[teamwisconsin]

With an Atlantic you should be using every darn gear available to you; stack that thing with really tight gaps and run it like a two stroke!

[Lotus7]

With an Atlantic you should be using every darn gear available to you; stack that thing with really tight gaps and run it like a two stroke!

+1

in any class with non-spec gears, why on earth would you not use every ratio available ???

have someone push you thru the paddock/pits if need be :-)

[Paddy O'Brien]

1st gear is very hard to get to with a staffs gearbox, it is to the left of the 2-3 leg of the H, with reverse on the same plane and there is a gate to go thru. Most guys used the staffs as a four speed and I did too as I got tired of coasting into T5 at Road America in neutral trying to find first gear. I never did find a low enough 2nd gear and would chug out of T5 at RA with the big Weber carbs loading up.

[Dee]

Thank You Paddy !

[bill gillespie]

I always used first gear at Road Atlanta and Road America with the Staffs box...DB4, RT40, and RT41..,,,,helps to rotate your right thigh a bit to the left when going to 1st.....ymmv
Bill

[Stan Clayton]

The BIGGEST difference in performance between the two are the rotor sizes.

Yep. I prepped our RT-41 for Rennie from 1997-2009, and still have all the data acquisition files, then prepped first a Swift 008 and then an 014 with comprehensive Motec DA. With similar engines the two cars were very comparable except under braking, where the Swift's 15" wheels and bigger rotors made a marked difference. They simply had more braking authority. Period. Dot. End of conversation.

That said, the Ralt is quite a bit lighter than either Swift, and will be as quick or quicker than a Swift on most club circuits. Not RA, Daytona, Miller, Fontana, etc., but the tighter and more technical the course, the better the Ralt is. Have fun!

[RussMcB]

Ignorant question: Could you put big wheels and brakes on the Ralt?

[Stan Clayton]

Ignorant question: Could you put big wheels and brakes on the Ralt?

Yes, the wheels bolt right up, and with adapters the brakes can be used. That said, the Ralt's suspension geometry will be compromised with the bigger package, as it was designed for 13" radials. I know plenty of folks have played around with it (including us), but I don't know of anyone happy with the results.

[Purple Frog]

Those cars were from an era when the race promoters wanted the fans to be able to "see" the drivers, thus not any modern head surround systems. You can actually see the tops of the drivers' shoulders. I'm sure talented composite guys like the Claytons could remedy that.

[Stan Clayton]

Those cars were from an era when the race promoters wanted the fans to be able to "see" the drivers, thus not any modern head surround systems. You can actually see the tops of the drivers' shoulders. I'm sure talented composite guys like the Claytons could remedy that.

LOL...yeah, I suppose we could in fact. But speaking of which, not many folks realize that the Swift 008 and 014 were both made with low coamings like the Ralt RT-40 and -41, with the head surround post-bonded into place.