Karting Thread

[opendriver]

Drove these karts for 6 years and had a blast, even if they were on dirt:

Quite a lot of fun, but to financial issues, we had to stop.

Ive just stated to get back into karting, albeit "arive and drive" at our local indoor karting place. But nothing beats going 120 on dirt sideways though

 

[lbsf1]

Drove these karts for 6 years and had a blast, even if they were on dirt:

Quite a lot of fun, but to financial issues, we had to stop.

Ive just stated to get back into karting, albeit "arive and drive" at our local indoor karting place. But nothing beats going 120 on dirt sideways though

Wow.
those look fast. How can you see with that massive wing. They race on ovals right.

 

[opendriver]

Wow.
those look fast. How can you see with that massive wing. They race on ovals right.

Its not that hard to see, but enough room to see whats around you. yes they do race on ovals, although some of the track are more D shaped if anything. These cars run CR500's or their 4 stroke counterparts most of the time. Id really like to know what would happen if you put one of those motors on a regular shifter cart. I have a rough estimate of 100hp , but that was about 10 years ago, so im guessing things have advanced since then.

 

[lbsf1]

Crikey 100bhp.
Then most bhp i have ever seen on a shifter kart was about 60. 100bhp would make it fly, if anyone every makes one and needs a test driver give me a call one of them would be amazing.

 

[opendriver]

This is on one of the smallest tracks, indoor:



Once you start getting into the bigger tracks, things tend to get a bit more interesting.

 

[ExigeEvan]

This is on one of the smallest tracks, indoor:

*snip*

Once you start getting into the bigger tracks, things tend to get a bit more interesting.

I remember watching them on "And they walked away" videos as a kid. Those things would barrel role like hell once you got up on someone elses wheel. I swear every other clip was of those guys at some points.

 

[lbsf1]

I love the way that they flick it in and wait for it to drift.

 

[Vince_Fiero]

This is on one of the smallest tracks, indoor:

youtube IWPv6GnbtoQ

Once you start getting into the bigger tracks, things tend to get a bit more interesting.

I got dizzy from watching it, do not believe I would enjoy it somehow.

 

[opendriver]

I got dizzy from watching it, do not believe I would enjoy it somehow.

A lot of people say that. But once they get into the car and get going, they really dont notice they are driving around in circles. All they want to do is pull wheelies and have fun. Besides, that not the smallest track ive been on. Some of the really small track are just circles, with the straights being about 100ft long. Ill try and find some good video for the bigger tracks

 

[lbsf1]

27/3/10 karting race blackbushe (My 3rd race)

Weather (varied)
Temperature 10-12degree's c
Heat length: 12 laps
Final lenght: 15 laps

We arived at the track at 7.30am. Signed on passed scrutineering. The practise started at 10.00. I was racing in minimax, our class was 3rd out. The track was damp however we gambled on going out on slicks as it was only a practise. The session went well and we managed to get heat into tyres. So as we went into the first session we were on slicks again.
I started 18th (I 'm a novice so i start near the back) out of 19 and got up to about 14th however crashed on the chicane after about 5 laps this bought me down to 16th and that is where i ended the first heat.
Inbetween the first heat and the second there was a heavy shower so the track was soaking wet. For this heat i started 16th. On the first lap nearly everyone except me span off. This got me up to 5th and over the rest of the race i made it up to 3rd.
The track had nearly completely dried before the final so we started on slicks again. I started the final in 8th and after 2 false starts got up to 5th. I stayed in 5th however was begin closely chased by about 8 other karts. On lap 10 one tried to overtake me however in the process tapped my on the side and got me out of line for the next corner. As a result of this I hit a cone on the side of the track (which was filled with sand) This bent my axle so i had to retire from the race. So i finished 2nd to last (infront of another non finisher)


Overall even though I didn't get a good result. It was good because i improved my driving in the wet.


Luke

 

[Blake]

Why would they fill a cone with sand? That just seems unnecessarily dangerous...

Sounds like you did well in the second heat though, nice work. 👍

I've done my final race on P plates now, so for my next race I won't be starting from the back (woo). Also my tyres were absolutely ruined last weekend (after 6 race meetings and 6 practice days!) so I'll buy my first new set for my next race.

Next race is in a couple of weeks at Grafton:

 

[Louie_Schumii]

About new tyres...does anyone know why the practice of running a new set of tyres at a low pace for 2-3 laps and then left to "cure" overnight isn't done in higher levels of motorsport like in karting?

 

[lbsf1]

I have heard of people saying that tyres don't work as well for the first couple of laps when they are new. So top teams would probably use them for a 5min practise session before racing on them. However I'm not completely sure.

The difference probably would only be 0.2 seconds a lap though.

 

[Louie_Schumii]

The difference probably would only be 0.2 seconds a lap though.

Which is worth a few million quids to find in F1...but its probably down to what the tyre manufacturer recommends?

 

[ExigeEvan]

I don't know about the "settling" overnight, but pretty much all tyres need to be scrubbed briefly before they are ready for full use. Even car and motorbike road tyres.

 

[Blake]

I'm thinking about getting my helmet painted in a few months. I had a play in Photoshop yesterday and came up with this:

I'm happy with it so I think I'll go with something like that.

About new tyres...does anyone know why the practice of running a new set of tyres at a low pace for 2-3 laps and then left to "cure" overnight isn't done in higher levels of motorsport like in karting?

Well putting a lap or two on the tyres will remove the protective coating from the tyre.

I don't know about leaving them overnight, but my first thought would be that this process could prolong the usable life of the tyre before it starts to give up grip. Every time you go through a 'heat cycle' (i.e. cold -> hot -> cold) the rubber gets harder, so doing a small cycle without putting big load through the tyre would likely make it a bit harder without actually wearing the tread.

I wouldn't think that would be necessary in motorsports where you use multiple sets of tyres in a weekend.

 

[lbsf1]

I have had a hunt around to answer that question. The answer is that they rub the tyres down with something like sandpaper before they use them first.

Blake nice helmet design. If you don't mind suggestions I think it might look slightly better if there was a circle/elipse on top aswell so it doesn't look plain on the top. Apart from that, I don't think there are many ways you could improve it.

 

[Blake]

I have had a hunt around to answer that question. The answer is that they rub the tyres down with something like sandpaper before they use them first.

So it's just to get rid of the protective coating?

Any idea about leaving them overnight?

 

[lbsf1]

At Blackbushe people bring them down still in the plastic coating you buy them in and then race on them that day so I don't you need to leave them overnight to improve the pace.

 

[adam46]

Im thinking of stepping up from karting to the Ginetta Juniors for 2012, is it a good idea??

 

[Blake]

Grafton this weekend. 7 hours of driving each way, but should be worth it.

At Blackbushe people bring them down still in the plastic coating you buy them in and then race on them that day so I don't you need to leave them overnight to improve the pace.

I've never heard of people leaving them overnight, so that's why I'm wondering. It's not standard practice in any form of motorsport so far as I know.

Im thinking of stepping up from karting to the Ginetta Juniors for 2012, is it a good idea??

Depends, how much money do you have?

 

[Louie_Schumii]

Finally decided to do some digging on the tyre run-in issue. I got it off a book I found in the local library a while back. The series of books seem to be relatively old and its from the U.S. of A. (website was designed back in 2002) - http://kartbooks.com/book3.htm

I quote from the book

Tire Break In

All the manufacturers I spoke with recommended new tires be run in. They indicated it was very important. The accepted procedure is to run the tires the day before a race for 10 to 12 laps pushing them just enough to get them up to operating temperature. They should then be allowed to cool completely. Stone cold, as one representative stated it. Overnight should be sufficient. This will allow the rubber to cure correctly. Proper curing is important for longer life.

So it is mainly about prolonging the life of the tire, not about performance. Unless you consider getting rid of the protective coating a way to improve the performance of the tires

Speaking of karting books, I found this one quite tedious to get through. They use unfamiliar jargon in it quite a bit which was a bit of a pain when I first toyed with the idea of going racing. Its worth a quick skim from time to time but I wouldn't pay for it

 

[lbsf1]

Im thinking of stepping up from karting to the Ginetta Juniors for 2012, is it a good idea??

Going up to ginetta would be quite expensive. The only reason I would see for doing it is if you are realisticly aiming to get a career out of it. However even then for the same money as ginetta you could run in a european karting championship which would probably get more attention from scouts.


Last time I raced my grandad videoed heat 2 I have put it on youtube.

 

[Blake]

Nice video lbsf1. Good driving in the wet. 👍

I had an interesting weekend at Grafton. Drove for 6.5 hours to get there on Friday and did a couple of quick sessions on Friday afternoon netting myself a 26.94 before heading to the motel.

First practice session on Saturday morning I was one of the quickest on track, if not the quickest, and I'd caught up to someone and they spun entering a really quick corner and I had nowhere to go except into the side of them at a pretty substantial speed. I damaged my front bar a bit and bent his kart up quite a bit, but I was able to go straight out in the next session.

In the afternoon I put my new tyres on just to do a few laps and we also put a friend's on-board camera on, so I'll put the video on YouTube when I can.

By the end of the day my best lap time was a 26.64 and I was feeling pretty good about prospects for Sunday.

On Sunday I drew grid position 3 for the first heat and 4 for the second heat. In the first heat I stuffed up the start and finished 3rd and in the second heat I finished 2nd.

That gave me a starting position of 2nd for the pre-final. I got a good start but the guy in 3rd still got a jump on me and I finished 3rd in the pre-final. My times were good though and I reeled off a bunch of quick laps towards the end with a 26.53 on the final lap, my best time of the weekend.

For the final I was starting out of 3rd and the starter gave us the signal that we'd have one more warm-up lap, but to our surprise the green light was on. The guy on pole didn't see, so the karts on the left side got a much better start. The guy behind me was obviously very impatient as into turn 1 the guy on pole was still slow and I was stuck behind him, and the guy behind drove up over my rear wheel, took out my radiator and airbox, drove over my leg and foot, and then over the front of my kart. Was a really big shame as I'm certain I could have at least finished on the podium.

Ah well, I take solace in the fact that it wasn't my fault and I was pretty quick all weekend. Now to work out how much it will cost me to fix!

 

[lbsf1]

Nice video lbsf1. Good driving in the wet. 👍

I had an interesting weekend at Grafton. Drove for 6.5 hours to get there on Friday and did a couple of quick sessions on Friday afternoon netting myself a 26.94 before heading to the motel.

First practice session on Saturday morning I was one of the quickest on track, if not the quickest, and I'd caught up to someone and they spun entering a really quick corner and I had nowhere to go except into the side of them at a pretty substantial speed. I damaged my front bar a bit and bent his kart up quite a bit, but I was able to go straight out in the next session.

In the afternoon I put my new tyres on just to do a few laps and we also put a friend's on-board camera on, so I'll put the video on YouTube when I can.

By the end of the day my best lap time was a 26.64 and I was feeling pretty good about prospects for Sunday.

On Sunday I drew grid position 3 for the first heat and 4 for the second heat. In the first heat I stuffed up the start and finished 3rd and in the second heat I finished 2nd.

That gave me a starting position of 2nd for the pre-final. I got a good start but the guy in 3rd still got a jump on me and I finished 3rd in the pre-final. My times were good though and I reeled off a bunch of quick laps towards the end with a 26.53 on the final lap, my best time of the weekend.

For the final I was starting out of 3rd and the starter gave us the signal that we'd have one more warm-up lap, but to our surprise the green light was on. The guy on pole didn't see, so the karts on the left side got a much better start. The guy behind me was obviously very impatient as into turn 1 the guy on pole was still slow and I was stuck behind him, and the guy behind drove up over my rear wheel, took out my radiator and airbox, drove over my leg and foot, and then over the front of my kart. Was a really big shame as I'm certain I could have at least finished on the podium.

Ah well, I take solace in the fact that it wasn't my fault and I was pretty quick all weekend. Now to work out how much it will cost me to fix!

Wow you did really well in all those heats, bad luck about the crash. its worse for you than it was for me because you were in the running for something and were taken out. Good luck for next time though. If next time is like this then all it would take is the front two to knock each other off and you would win.
Well done once again for the heats you did really well.

 

[lbsf1]

Racing again this weekend at blackbushe.
Due to be a dry day so will post my results too.

 

[Blake]

Good luck dude.

We're racing this weekend too but weather is supposed to be wet on Sunday... I hope it's dry, I think I'd get a better result in the dry as I haven't done lots of wet running.

We had practice today, had a hell of a time. In the morning I couldn't get a clean lap because of all of the traffic. Towards the middle of the day my engine kept dying because of a problem in the fuel system. Took us a few sessions to figure out what the problem was, by which time I'd dragged me kart the entire length of the circuit twice after it died in the worst spot. Twice. Then once we resolved that my rear wheel came loose!

Ah well, we got in 1 clean session after that so I feel reasonably good for tomorrow. As long as it's dry.

 

[adam46]

Depends, how much money do you have?

£42,000 From like swimming and running to build funds, so would that be enough?

PS: Out of action at the mo, broken foot and ankle.

 

[lbsf1]

£42,000 From like swimming and running to build funds, so would that be enough?

PS: Out of action at the mo, broken foot and ankle.

If I were you I would race at the top of karting rather that probably the bottom of car racing. Do you have sponsorship who would help get you competitive. What class do you do in karting and in what championship. If you have allready raced at the top of national level or competivally europeanly that Maybe doing ginneta would be good. However if not that I would suggeset continuing in karting and trying to get to near the top of that.

However £42,000 would be only enough for 1 year of top karting racing.
Have you looked into the cost of ginneta.

Hope whatever you choose is right for you.


Raced Today

Place: Blackbushe
Weather: Dry
Temp: 20degrees celcius
Competitors: 14 (8 novice)
Class: Minimax


We put some other slicks on for this race, (They were used and quite hard however better tread than the ones we had on before)
On the practise we went well.
For the first heat we started in 9th out of 14 and stayed aroud there for a bit chasing a person just ahead of me however then 2 other novices overtook me. I caught them up and overtook them (abit reclessly) however on the last lap the lap counter on the pit straights said I had one lap left however the person ahead of me who I was right behind thought it was the end of the race, they still went quite fast and I was right behind her. Over on corner round the back I was flat out however she braked stightly, Since I was really close behind I had no time to react and hit here off. I then finished the race. When I got back to the pits I got shouted at by her dad since he also thought (wrongly) that the race had ended and that I hit here off because I couldn't stand being beated by a girl. I had to speak to the clerk of the course about it, in the end nothing happened about it. I finished that heat. In about 8th or 9th. (the timing sheets are in the car and I can't be arsed to get them because my feet ache I will edit this later when I get them out of the car)

In the second heat I started 9th again and at the start as we crossed the line all the front runners waved their hands to signal a false start so I let the person I overtook in the start back to their grid position however then we didn't restart and just carried on so I lost that place. I'm now in 11th . Into the chicane a couple of laps later I ran wide and lost 3 places so now I'm last in 14th. 2 people crash out before the end so I got up to 12th and than 2 more got disqualified for greasing the clutch so I got into 10th. (i think it was 10th anyway)

I started in 12th for the 3rd heat. I managed to get past 4 people in a chicane crash. Apart from that It was pretty ineventfull. I finished 8th (About).

Before the final we had clutch problems and managed to change it for our spare with only minutes to spare before the final. In the final I started 7th. From the start I got overtaken by a faster novice. I kept up with him and he then span out (nothing to do with me) I was now the fastest novice. A person in a birel chassis was 1 second behind me I kept on pushing and managed to keep the gap at that. 2 people span out ahead of me. I finished the race 5th and the fasted novice. I was apsolutely shatter by the end it was a 18lap race and my arms and neck were killing. I finished first of the 8novices and got a trophy.

Overall a good day.

 

[Dotini]

You may be interested to know I won a kart race yesterday. It was at Bremerton, Washington, USA.

I was driving a CR80 Honda powered lay-down style full body chassis (with downforce). The circuit is laid out over a disused airport and is well over a mile. My kart will go up to 110 mph, but for this circuit I was geared shorter. There were 12 karts in my class, and it was very closely fought. I have been racing since 1968.

Respectfully,
Dotini