Because I'm bored, I thought I'd post something controversial. My elder son is nearing his 13th birthday. He's occasionally raced go-karts since he was eight. He's driven stick-shift vehicles around in the driveway--a 2000-ish Ford pickup and my RX-7. He currently has a little 5HP go-kart, but doesn't drive it anymore because it's really too small. My wife and I are considering a larger kart, like a Hammerhead, but they start at near $2000. Not that that's necessarily a problem. But I noticed in the GRM classifieds a Formula Vee 1200 for $2k. To me, that's a much better investment than a Chinese-made kart, and I'm familiar with ACVW's, having owned an early 70's Super Beetle. I realize that it's a race car, not a kart, but somehow I feel that it makes more sense. We've got a couple hundred feet of paved driveway to run on. Tell me if I'm crazy or a flat-out genius. 
You're probably crazy, but in a way that I fully support.
Sorry, but I have nothing useful to add to the discussion, but I'm interested in seeing where it goes!
Who are you going to run it with and what are you looking to get out of it?
Vee's in auto-x are classed with F500's which decimate them in that environment, so it wont be competitive.
However, if you are looking at road racing or hillclimb... might be a good way to go.
I see no problem with this logic.
I missed the ad in the classifieds tough...
In reply to Apexcarver:
May not be competitive, but it sounds like a pretty cheap way to get some hardcore experience for The Boy. And I'm sure he'll have a blast doing it!
Yeah, competitive is the least of my worries. In fact, slower would be better in this case.
You only have a few hundred feet of driveway?!?! That's not even enough for a small kart! Do you live in or near the country? I'm not seeing how he could turn around, nor enjoy it. I'd say build a kart. Doesn't take much. You can even scavenge from the one he's outgrown. Chop the frame, extend with square tube and weld it. Then Extend the cables and such. And for with bigger tires. You can really wake up those HF clone engines with minimal mods. All I did it remove the limited from my genuine Honda 3hp and it came alive. 3hp with a straight pipe, high flow intake and a DIY port job (or an aftermarket head which costs 20$!) and that little engine will scream. May not sound like much, but when you look at it in percentages, these motors respond well to tuning.
My 14 year old has been racing karts competitively since he was 6. I looked into Vee's a couple of years ago and was surprised (even with the super expensive engine rebuilds and carbs worth their weight in palladium) that it was still less expensive than racing karts at the national level.
I think it would be an awesome alternative if you have the space to run it. I think that would be the hardest thing to find. At 13, no track would let him run. Even for testing. However, once he turned 15, you could get him on a track. I would guess autocross would be 16 before he can run.
Cool part is, VW engine parts (if you go with a 1600) are still crazy cheap. It won't be as fast or corner as well or stop as well as a kart, but sometimes that's a good thing to learn the limits.
Of course, you could also just find a cheap beater to let him play with.....
-Rob
Is he going to be competing anywhere with it or just romping around? Any chance you have an independent autocross or rallycross group that will let people short for their age run in a car?
1988RedT2 wrote:
Yeah, competitive is the least of my worries. In fact, slower would be better in this case.
I certainly understand and agree, was trying to be informative if you were looking at this in an investment sense. F500 FM cars can run from $2k to $6k entry level depending. (figure minimum $6k for a competitive car, which may or may not include spares)
I didnt mean it to sound dismissive, rather so that OP was informed what else is out there and what he would be running with. Never know how someone is geared as far as competitive-ness.
The other draw-back is if you are looking to teach manual-trans driving, the FM is a CVT car (snowmobile drivetrain)
The Vee is a good bet for a knockabout racecar though.
Try looking for a rotax or even a shifter kart. There are also 85cc Shifters as well.
I misread the title as: Formula Vee as alternative to golf cart?
How cool would that be!
I know why I read it that way. I live on the 18th fairway of a country club. One unique thing about this club is they have two pole barns that are golf cart parking spots and electric plug for private owned golf carts. So, aside from the locals who live close enough to keep their carts at home, there are many different carts. My neighbor's looks like an Escalade. There is also Cobraesque and Mustangesque versions. Naturally, a Formula V as a golf cart would be awesome.
I have a second alterier motive. The club has full length cart paths. This means there is one, continuous, blacktop paved path snaking through the whole course. It's an ideal racing cart track!
I've been here 4 years now. I'm not a member, I'm not a golfer but I have a good relationship with the head grounds keeper.
It's not much of a dare.
If someone would show up here with two carts...the race is one.
This place gets such little play that anything other than real prime time leaves you with little to no one to bother.
20 years ago I had an old formula Vee that I used for autocrossing. I put a pretty stock 1600 in it and ran on some Yokohama 008Rs on 7" rims. It was great fun , cheap, and easy to work on. The only real weakness with it was that it would trash the bearing on one connecting rod occasionally. It was always the front right cylinder for some reason. An Accusump would have cured it I suspect.
I never understood why some cars get classed like they do. Why would the V get classed with the F500s which are so dominating the class?
mad_machine wrote:
I never understood why some cars get classed like they do. Why would the V get classed with the F500s which are so dominating the class?
Whats the alternative?
They dont want to add more classes (supposedly, CAM, HC, and STP notwithstanding) Plus I doubt they would have enough national participation to justify it.
Checking, they should probably be moved to CM (FM PAx is 0.926 vs CM 0.916), but they have a strong following and dont want the balance upset by the Vee's. FM I think was envisioned as a "rest of" class for slower formulas and the 500's can punch above their weight class.
If you go back to 2002 though FM PAX is 0.897 vs CM at 0.919, so the Vee's were in a better place back then, the FM class has just developed and become faster as they are a bit more free to mod.
I have no idea where a full-build Solo-vee would fall speed-wise though and I dont think anyone has been trying. I think until someone gives it their all there is not any reason that they would change things.
