Kart Racing - I may have fallen in love
 

So I went out to the kart-racing yesterday. I had so much fun out there I have now considered picking up a kart this summer and participating in those events also.

We used Roy's (Guy with the Jetta that came to last meet) 100cc kart and just railed it around the course. Nice part was the track was almost completly empty minus a few other karts. On Roy's last run, unfortunatly the piston blew in the engine, so we had to end our day of racing, but got to stay and watch some other karts race.

I drove home with Colin with the biggest grins on our faces. So now I am keeping my eye out for a 80cc or 125cc shifter karts. :twisted:

Go for it!

Karts are awesome - go get one, climb up the ladder and become the next F1 star. :wink:

Karts are great, Nice job Art, I'm glad you had a good time.. I think that is the best way to get into competitive racing hands down. Like Autin said, many of the worlds best drivers started in Karts.
SWEET!!!!!!!!

Nothing like 3 latteral G's!! :lol: I've heard they corner so hard guys break ribs on bumpy courses. :shock: Karts = teh cool.

Yeah for sure that is a great thing to get in to I have always wanted to get in to that maybe I will join you. :wink:

First corner I was very nervous, since I have never riden in a fast kart before, but once you start going, you realize that they can take those turns at very high speeds. Best part was the little drifts that you would have to pull out of due to taking the corner at such high speeds.

My hands got really sore from hanging on so hard after the first few laps. Sad part of the day was when I was passed by a 13-year old class champion in his kart. Yea, he is class champ and all, but still sucks to be passed by a little kid... :cry:

No crashes for the three of us, but my one of my clients also went out in their brand new kart and had some minor off-track experiences. Only happened when his wife drove.... :lol:

Yes you should!

Yup, karts are a lot of work to muscle around... they can beat the shit out of you too, especially if you don't fit the seat quite right.

LOL....Roy is smaller the Colin or I, so yea, the seat was a little smaller. Its basically like driving a car with no power steering. My arms are a little sore today.

I start with kart in 89 then do auto-x then switch back to kart. Last year I do 2 auto-x and 3 kart. Both of them are fun.

Pro and Con

Pro Kast is real racing with other kart. Nothing beat the rush that 10 kart go to the first turn together and want to be in the front but only one come out in the front Kart you can race 3 heats + 2 practices more track time. Downside is you have to have a kart and lot of practice if you need to be upfront.

Pro Auto-x is you can use your daily drive and have everything done in half a day. But you race with time and yourself (one on the track) and only 4-6 runs less than 10 min of track time.

Hay do both like me :D

Hi there zpeed, welcome to the board!

Welcome zpeed. I plan on doing both. My ultimate goal is to have a car dedicated to track and a kart for track racing along with a quick daily driver. Now I just need to trade in my WRx for something faster, find a 1987 rx-7 turbo II for the track, and a nice 125cc shifter kart for the kart racing. :twisted:

Not to rain on your parade, but your WRX (or another one w/ a 5-speed :P) would be cheaper to build for the track than a Turbo-II unless you plan on dropping a Chevy 350 in the RX-7. Them rotors are expensive, especially in high horsepower race trim!! A turbo EJ20 will put out more power for cheaper in the long run.

Damn you. You burst my bubble. I actually love the look of the rx7- turbo II though. I wasn't planned on a engine drop, just using the stocker. Guess I should research more about the car first hand.

I do want a track dedicated vehicle though, incase of a break-down or down-time with parts I still have my daily driver. If I get the 2005 Legacy turbo, I don't think I will autox it or even mod it much. That might be different if I end up with a STi. No clue yet till I get to test-drive the legacy.

STi 8) = Auto-x
Legacy = daily driver :P

Hopefully you will listen to yourself and auto-x this season..... :P

maybe next year or will see 8)
I did find that are cars come with a 6yr/60K mile powertrain warrinty so I might wait even longer for the mods I want atleast tell enough R/D is out there

5yr/60k.

whatever its more then the 3/36 i thought it was :P

As long as there's no "B" on the rear window. :x

How well does Kart racing apply to say skills at auto-x and full on track racing?

Karts are very good at teaching for all motorsports, especially road racing. Many of the wrolds best drivers (esp. F1 and CART/IRL) all came up in Karts. Hell, some people even believe that Kart racing it the epitome of racing itself!

I really wanted to get into karting until I heard about the maintenance...

I think a bottom end rebuild is mandetory every 6 races in some classes, and 10 hours or so in F125. And unless you have the time and know how to do it, that can get costly fast.

Otherwise, as Scott said, it is the gateway to many forms of racing from Nascar to F1...

Hmm.. I wonder if Id even fit on one of those little things.

Dean, shifter karts are heavier in maintenance, the one Roy has doesn't take much to keep running. Of course now he has a bigger issue, but he was planning on rebuilding the engine for this season anyways. Im really starting to think about getting one for myself also, they are way too much fun!!!!

Beside you practice time. The longest non driving time is cleaning. For my 80 cc shifter maintenance is pretty low. I just put air in the tire and gas and I run for a year. I'm a low budget racer so I rebuild my top end once a year (piston, ring, rod, bearing). I'll be pretty fast in the begining of the year and slow down by the end of the year.

Now I need some advice what to do with my brother STI!! Do we have a FAQ for newbie?

STi stock is in A-stock, but I didn't get a chance to look at the allowable mods to stay in stock for SCCA.

Matt: do you know off the top of your head?
You can change:
- wheels (same size/width as stock)
- tires (same as stock, 140 wear rating for street tire?)
- some shock aborbers allowed
- air filter
- front sway bar
- change fluids i.e. Mobil 1, Shockproof
- brake pads
- what else?

Welcome to the board!

As far as a FAQ... until recently, you could prolly just sit down for an evening and read *the whole board*. It looks like we're actually growing big enough to need one!

for now, here's a FAQ:

Where can I get technical Subaru info? Try searching on www.nasioc.com or www.i-club.com, or post in the Technical Chat forum and someone will probably be able to point you in the right direction.

When/where are the Reno Meets? Lately, every Thursday eveing at 7pm at the South Meadows Flowing Tide.

Why is this FAQ so short? Because I'm writing it just now, and I'm lazy.

:)

FRONT sway bar! Can't change the rear... that would actually be useful. :lol:

Ditto on what Scott said...However, after much discussion with Steve and Kevin last night, I think I'm going to stick with my stock swaybar. Just changing the front one will potentially make the car plow late in a turn, even though turn in will improve. I'm still undecided.

As far as stock class for the STI, there is not a lot to be done, it's very competitive as is.

Matt, how does your STi handle on the auto-x course, anyway? I'm assuming it doesn't understeer quite as bad as a stock WRX?

do you think my grounding kit and oil catch can will be to much to run in the stock class (after my first run maybe they will see it nothing to be afraid of as long as its only on my car) it will be my first year racing so I dont believe I will be that competitive to the others in the class. If it makes a difference I can always leave the speakers in the back as added wieght :lol: :?:

Brake pads is about all that is left I think... Roll bar/cage if you want, and harnesses are OK also.

Updated earlier list

Your mods would bump you out of stock class. Sorry (I'm sure that's not the answer you're looking for.) The problem is not so much with other competitors in your class - cause many times you can make a gentlemen's agreement on some of these things -- but it would be a problem with some drivers who are in the hunt for pax points and who might suspect you are gaining an advantage based on non-allowable mods. There are not many people who get like this, but it only takes 1.
With that in mind - I'd suggest just running in the class that allows these mods, not sure if that's ESP or something else -- since you'll run on your street tires anyway, you'll be in the grouped 'street tire" class.

I'm really interested in how the oil catch can's effect classing. It's not a performance mod, it's just to help keep oil outta the breather system... would that fall under "comfort and convience" or does it put me into SU or Modified because it's not explicitly listed in any other class. :roll:

I am almost certain catch cans fall under the "stuff that can't possibly make you faster" rule, and would be allowed, like turbo timers and chrome dipsticks.

+8hp. +10 if it's APC. :P