Streetwiseguy said:
I'm trying to remember the polite term used for the class of 4 stroke karts for old, fat guys like me. Its much more polite than "Old, Fat Class", but we all know what it means.
Loads of fun, anyway. Teaches you lines, and conservation of momentum really well. Also teaches you about the importance of fresh tires, unless the club has budget rules.
If L0206 is popular a the track, you'll usually see three classes: Junior (11-15), Senior Light (15+) and Senior Heavy (15+). Obviously, different minimum weight requirements, but usually different carb specs (I think it's the carb slide on an L0206) to keep the lap times about even between the classes.
Sometimes, new tires are worse. The low HP classes can have difficulty overcoming the grip of a new tire, especially on a 100 degree day. But yeah, most clubs try to keep the L0206 costs as low as possible.
-Rob
Tom1200
UltraDork
4/28/22 7:06 p.m.
Rob's advice is spot on.
I always bring up L0206 (or similar) karts because in most places they have a decent number of entires and the cost is really low.
As for shifter karts; if people only knew how truly fast they are they would never ever start with one. I've watched experienced car racers getting passed by 10-12 years olds in TAG karts. The Formula Atlantic is a very valid comparison. I've driven both shifter karts & a Formula Super Vee (almost as fast as an Atlantic) and the level of focus on both is well beyond most production cars.
If we had a local kart track I'd still have a practice kart.
I am in San Antonio and have a kart I would be willing to sell. I bought it from the estate of a friend that passed away to help clear out the garage. It was a 125 shifter but was converted to a hot rod predator (connecting rod, piston, cam, and upped rev limit if I remember correctly). This was done so my friend could drive with his grand kids and not have to deal with the 2 stroke. I do also have all of the 2 stroke components to convert it back to a shifter as well. Also have a fresh set of slicks still in the plastic packaging.
johndej said:
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
For arrive and drive rentals there you're looking at:
That looks like one heck of a deal!
I'm very lean at 210 lbs. since the driver makes up such a large percentage of the total weight of a cart, even with Schumacher skills I couldn't be competitive with someone who was, say, 170 lbs.
In reply to A 401 CJ :
FWIW - once you transition into "owner karts" where you're bringing your own out to race, the classes have a minimum weight and the kart & driver are weighed at the end of each session. I'm ~180# and last race running a full tank of fuel (~15#) and 5# of lead I was just over the 350# weight for the class (LO206 senior locally). The next class up (LO206 Heavy) is #390 minimum weight so at 210# you should still need 15# of lead + the full fuel load to meet the minimum.
BTW, thanks for asking this question. I hadn't looked at the DKC site in years. Turns out a racing picture of my kid is on their front page.
-Rob
In reply to A 401 CJ :
Exactly! At my local kart track for league racing they put weight on the fast guys.
I quit running the big outdoor track as I was heavy and would just get swatted off the track by 90# hotdogs.
Just got back from renting a kart at DKC. I had a blast. The $30 rental turned out to be about $42 with tax and insurance. Not as fast as I wanted to be but I guess it's like anything else. I need more seat time. Going faster in a kart is harder than it looks. The slow karts are plenty fast. I could only imagine what the shifter karts would be like. I will be back for more!
I was inspired by watching the Formula 1 channel and seeing how just about everybody racing Formula 1 today started out driving karts. You can learn a lot driving karts and it is cheap fun.
