As above
There's a trophy for the top three drivers, ideally I'd like to be one of them.

Any tips from experienced Go Karters would be appreciated

 

racing lines as in any motorpsport makes a huge difference

 

Keep it as smooth as possible, no sliding etc as the automatic clutch means the engine will struggle and you lose a lot of time that way!

 

these may sound silly but...

1) dont crash... better to take a corner slower and be sure of goin thru it than go in a bit faster... crash... then have to speed up all over again

2) dont go sideways... normal karts dont have the power to retain any speed when doin this... best doin it without the arse end hanging out

3) cheat

 

try not to use your brakes as they take ages to gain speed again.

 

Major advantage is to weigh about 8 stone wet thru. Im only 13st and last time i went i got hammered coming out of a corner and down a straight by a guy who litterally was about 4ft tall and 8st If they are just 'normal' karts and your quite big and are pitched against an equally good but light driver then you really have no hope of winning...

 

weight as litle as me,

keep to your lines (even if soeone behind you)

find your limit on practise laps, go over your limits in practise to gte as much speed as you can in practise, dont worry of crashing or spinning in practise...

you know why??? cos it practise...lol


when i go, i see a corner and think,,,mmm how FAST can i get around it, then try...lol it 99% normally works, and i then try faster each lap...


dont be scared to drive fast

 

dont break unless you have to, it will make the cart spin, ease off coming into the corner to about 1/2 throttle and allow the excess grip the cart has to do the breaking for you

 

one tip!!


DONT BRAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Don't slide the Kart round the bends. It looks dead cool but slows you right down. Follow the racing line and brake before the corner so you can feed the power in as you hit the apex.

Make the most of any practice/warm up time you may get. Try to find out where any slippy spots are. I crashed heavily into a tire wall karting as I tried to overtake round the outside of someone and the kart just slid and put me head on with the tire wall. Still finished 3rd though

 

Pansy indoor karting has nothing in common with karting at all.

From experience, it helps if you:

1. weigh fook all!

2. don't drive it like a normal kart and attempt to slide, as you will bog the underpowered lawnmower engines down

3. smooth and consistent, and apex the corners well, and you should be fine.....

 

PON the Karting legend

Still bottled a trip to SupaKarts with Clint though eh PON

 

I agree with the don't breaking - use the kart in front for braking purposes this helps to keep your speed up and puts him out as well.

Remember to choke the carb coming out of tight bends (put your hand over the inlet) helps on pick up out of bends (well it works on racing karts - probably won't do much on a rental job though).

At the start, hold the steering wheel and jump up and down in the seat (not joking it works - you should get a better start).

Finally, as above, if possible cheat!

 

Try and nudge your fellow racers into the tyre walls

Happened to me once. Was winning and my mate clipped my rear wheel and put me into a tyre wall when i was going flat out. got properly wedged under them

 

Hurts when you hit them walls don't it

 

Hurts more when you hit another kart at 80mph + and end up out the kart and about 50 metres from where you took off.

Long spell in hospital for that one

 

Ive done a fair bit of karting before, nothing serious but ive been to a lot of places. and i must say that the lawnmower ones are crap
The only real kart to drive is a 'prokart' you will litterally shit your pants when you drive one as the acceleration anchors you back in the seat and unlike the lawnmower kart you cannot take a bend at full speed!,if you do attempt this you are likey to end up in the gravel or upsidedown as i found out in Cyprus (near Larnaca airport) when me and my mate went on the prokarts there

 

ouch

 

Try a 2 stroke racing kart - 30 bhp and weighs about 65 kilos!

 

If you think a Pro-kart is fast, then you haven't been in a real kart!

 

Beat you to it Rich

 

And imagine the humiliation of having both arms in plaster, eh PON?



Imagine taking a shit!!!



Neil.

 

Since go-karts don't have diffs, surely there is no benefit in leaning "in" the corner, as it loads the inside wheel and hinders cornering.

That's a rule I learnt the hard way driving a quad bike - not sure it applies to karts though ?

 

You did Tim, but most 2 strokes push about between 19 and 25 bhp

 

Quads you lean inside, but support your weight on the outside food peg.

But since karts don't have suspension it might be worth to not move your weight at all or a bit out of the corner ? not sure though :s We managed to turn a pedal gokart over with leaning out the corner, lol

 

As everyone above! Smooth driving on the racing line.
Keep it moving. Leave the spinning to the others.
If yr coming into a corner with loads of other karts, try to get the inside line before the corner and push the others out wide.
If you are racing with a bunch of people who haven't raced before - or very much then you can usually bully your way up the inside.
Experienced karters tend to be a bit smarter than that.
If yr stuck behind someone, follow them for a lap or two and work out where they're likely to go so you can decide where you're gonna nail them!

Finally - blag a go in something like a rotax 2 stroke. You'll shit yr pants!!

 

Came 4th out of 13 , so I'm quite happy with that

Well want too do it again, maybe we should have a Passionford Karting day?

 

hows your back now? i always find my back is totaly fucked after as the seats dont give enough support.

and its a nightmare when people r watchin as im too much of a showoff and drift it everywhere and thats not a fast way to go...

 

My fitness is fine , but I have a small burn on my side where the engine was getting hot and making the seat hot.

Is only the second time I have been karting and I love it

Want to do it in England some place in the near future , preferably an outdoor circuit if possible With higher power karts and a bigger track

Will have to remember that when I fly home tomorrow that I don't get my car out of it's lock up and that I am not in a go kart anymore

 

Better still, see if you can get hold of a twin engined Rotax - now they really are quick!

The vankel engined 250 cc karts (putting out around 50 bhp) are also crazy - way toooo much power, and they sound a bit like a Ducatti!

 

All good fun!

Don't you just love getting in your road car afterwards though? The steering feels really light and seems to take ages spinning the steering wheel for minimal change of direction