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Post by racing4gold on Oct 5, 2014 23:08:30 GMT -8
Hello, I'm Trevor and I'm really interested into start karting on a competitive level. I currently race in the league at k1 speed. I'm ready for a more exciting experience.
Age: 23
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190
What class should I start in and what kind of kart should I get. I'm totally new to this and can use all the help I can. Thank you.
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Post by benchracer on Oct 6, 2014 3:04:31 GMT -8
It all comes down to location. You have to check your area depending on how far your willing to haul your karts and gear and see what classes are running. Then you must spec your kart to that clubs rules and regulations and pass there tech inspect, pay your fee's and race. Follow the money rotax, parilla, and some 4 stroke classes seem to be the norm. Once in awhile a KT100 class pops up and 125 moto seems to be creeping back in. There's lots of good deals out there right now. Buy used don't break the bank on new.
Parilla vs Rotax= Think of them like Ford and Chevy there really close in performance and it depends who your talking to. Things may have changed but i know the Rotax engines were sealed engines and if you cracked a case open or tried to rebuild it yourself you void the warranty. So you have to send it in for engine work and pay someone for labor and service.... kinda like a built in tax on the racer. I think they claim like 50 hours or so between major overhauls. The parilla's are buy your engine and do with it what you want...They claim anywhere from 40 hours to 70 hours on the bottom end and have a charging circuit to recharge the battery while the engine is running...Rotax does not. Both these guys have new versions of there flag ship engines out now. The parilla is the X30 or something and i forget what Roatx was doing. Roatx seems to be a bit more dialed in out of the box. But does that justify the extra service cost ? Both are still in the 3,000 to 3,500 dollar range for a new engine of either or i think.
Club kart go tag. Rotax or parilla and buy used and try to buy one as healthy as possible. There's 2 parilla tags on here for sale me and another guy. Mine i think you will have to buy the digital ignition and new plastic rear bumper to pass tech. But the chassis and engine are both super fresh and clean. The other one was racing with sdka so you should be tech ready with that one. How much life does it have left in it... i couldn't tell you. With clutch karts speed is achieved by tuning the chassis to coarse conditions.
If chassis tuning isn't your thing get a 80 shifter or 125 shifter. If your looking to race you will be hard pressed to find a 80 shifter class because there to cool for school lol. 80 shifters are tag killers and all the money is in tag at this point. 80 shifters carry the same straight speed and twice the speed in the corners than tag with less hp. With almost zero chassis tuning. 125 moto is game over for everything else. The 250 4 strokes don't even have anything on them yet and most likely never will. I think even sdka runs some 125 shifter races you will have to check. You can get yourself into a bad spot in a 125 shifter so maybe not they way to go at first.
All said and done it depends on who you talk to about all this. run the numbers in your head before you buy anything. find out what it will cost you real world to race. You might not like what you see lol.
Maybe some local racers will chime but it's been pretty dead here so good luck man.
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Post by racing4gold on Oct 6, 2014 7:21:42 GMT -8
So my best bet is probably TaG Senior for me then, huh? I know nothing about tuning or anything along working on karts. I would love to learn, which is why I'm asking these questions. Thank you for the advice.
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Post by benchracer on Oct 6, 2014 16:17:44 GMT -8
As far as class and engine size. My wife has driven everything i have ever had and has no issues other than me freaking out because i don't want her going that fast. You will get whip lash if you don't wear a neck brace.Been there done that.Go as big as you can but maybe hold off the 125 shifter for now..But there are some good deals out there. The honda CR karts go forever... you drive them hard and put em away wet. The tag karts are the Ducati motorcycles of the karting world. Highest priced, highest cost of ownership, parts are hard to come by sometimes and pretty much all mail order at this point. And have the shortest lifespan.But the sport is infested with these things for some reason. What ever class you pick just make sure your fast enough not to get lapped an all is good. If your running last who cares it just means you have more people to pass.
plan out a weekend or week day and go rent a 4 stroke kart at apex. And maybe there will be some people running practice laps with some 2 smokers. Weekends seem to be the best for practice karters so you can check out there karts.
Bottom line is buy a kart in a class that has the biggest participation in your area ....Think nothing else!
The chassis tuning is pretty basic, Caster,camber,toe,frame angle, and seat positon. There is no one correct setting for a given track or driver. Youtube has really good videos up that will walk you right through it. It's not rocket science but some people like to treat as so. Advise is good but you must learn it for yourself and understand what changes do what. The goal is to try to manipulate a flat bicycle frame to twist and bend the way you want it to. You have to hit the track and put laps down.
Realistically your looking at speeds between 40 and 60mph. They go faster but in most cases you don't have the track to do it. It feels like light speed.
Tag senior yea why not ? My wife could rock tag senior
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Post by pac823 on Nov 3, 2014 17:54:06 GMT -8
Looking to get back into karting after being out for many years. I last raced in LA area with LAKC and ran a can class Kart. Looking at the new classes, like what I see with the TAG Masters (yup, the years are there!). Appreciate any advise and interested in anyone selling a competitive kart. Do not expect, or looking to win another club championship, just feel the need to have the butterflies back!
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