Karting

For more karting info, go to Bob's 4 cycle-NOT all 4 cycle, and Vintage Karting, both great informative websites for all things karting..c

1986, was doing HSDE at Road Atlanta. Set of good performance street tires, $600. Returned to karting same year. Went to get a set of kart racing tires. Asked a vendor how much kart tires were. He said $120.

I said I needed a set of 4.

Bender replied" Son, that IS for a set of 4". c

Love this thread. Just moved to a rental house without a garage. Will not work to autocross and stuff but I think karting might work.

The relative size of the kart and its sundries is certainly appealing. I don't have a ton of extra space either.

And I noticed nocones posted his kt100 for sale on the classifieds here- unfortunately I can't do anything about that until tax time. I've seen a bunch of used TAG karts for sale, but none of them under the 2k price barrier.

So what kind of budget are we looking at for a season of racing excluding travel? That is, how much are entry fees, how often do you have to buy new tires, does the engine need to be rebuilt after every race, etc?

I've checked out Bob's four cycle site too, and it is extremely helpful. The folks there are willing to help in any way- much akin to the generous help offered here so far!

What is the difference between the kt100 and clone/gx200 classes. An old kart guy once told me that I should race what is regionally popular. If not there would be little competition. Any thoughts?

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

I was afraid I had worn out my welcome here. Guess not.l BTW, you can bring a kart inside the house if your sig other allows. I was a bachelor for 20 years so that was never a problem.

The KT 100 is a Yamaha 100cc two stroke. The clones started out as $89 Harbor Freight 6.5hp OHV engines.

In their basic version, we disconnect the governor and low oil sensor. Put a header on them and a high flow air filter, and reject the carb. To a.38 fixed jet. Add better valve springsGet about 9 hp out of a stocker, turn them 6300 and run them for years. You can add a cam and go from there. Some tracks even run them true stock with orig. air filter, muffler, and put a $100 claim on them.

The Yamaha is a step up.

Then Rotaxes and shifters.

Some carve out a dirt track on someone's property and go racing wit their buddies. Our asphalt track in Barnesville is open 7 days a week. Arrive and have fun.

Pre registration for a race is $45. You can rent a transponder for $15, or lease one for a year for $100. Maybe 2 sets of tires a season of 14 races at $210 a set. We use spec fuel. I have seen entry level clone karts for under $1000.

We have a lot of people come from auto racing back to karts, all ages, from 5 to 82. Really.

Kind Sir,

You did not wear out your welcome here. I thought if anything we chased you away with questions!

No kidding, so you don't have to rebuild them after every race? My uncle used to race snowmobiles- I know those engines are larger displacement, but he told me to expect a rebuild after every race. He knows his junk.

Chipperb wrote: In reply to Fueled by Caffeine: I was afraid I had worn out my welcome here. Guess not.l BTW, you can bring a kart inside the house if your sig other allows. I was a bachelor for 20 years so that was never a problem. The KT 100 is a Yamaha 100cc two stroke. The clones started out as $89 Harbor Freight 6.5hp OHV engines. In their basic version, we disconnect the governor and low oil sensor. Put a header on them and a high flow air filter, and reject the carb. To a.38 fixed jet. Add better valve springsGet about 9 hp out of a stocker, turn them 6300 and run them for years. You can add a cam and go from there. Some tracks even run them true stock with orig. air filter, muffler, and put a $100 claim on them. The Yamaha is a step up. Then Rotaxes and shifters. Some carve out a dirt track on someone's property and go racing wit their buddies. Our asphalt track in Barnesville is open 7 days a week. Arrive and have fun. Pre registration for a race is $45. You can rent a transponder for $15, or lease one for a year for $100. Maybe 2 sets of tires a season of 14 races at $210 a set. We use spec fuel. I have seen entry level clone karts for under $1000. We have a lot of people come from auto racing back to karts, all ages, from 5 to 82. Really.

Karts Are awesome. I'm glad I just moved to seattle where there R a few tracks.

You can carry a kart in the trunk of a mazda and enough spares in the backseat to strike fear in the hearts of lawnmower drivers. Cubic dollars just move you closer to the front, If you have the talent.

There's always more time in the driver than the tires, and more time in the tires than the chassis, and more time in the chassis than the engine.

Never hesitate to buy new tires if you think it'll help.

Never hesitate to watch onboard footage or ask spectators about your lines and where you're gaining and losing.

Never hesitate to try a chassis tuning change.

Never screw up a working engine package during a race weekend. Clutches, carburetors, ignitions can all be rebuilt at the track - but the difference between "OK" and "sharp" is way smaller than "OK" and "not working right".

Yekshemesh!!!! I am excite by this thread!!!

paranoid_android74 wrote: The relative size of the kart and its sundries is certainly appealing. I don't have a ton of extra space either. And I noticed nocones posted his kt100 for sale on the classifieds here- unfortunately I can't do anything about that until tax time. I've seen a bunch of used TAG karts for sale, but none of them under the 2k price barrier. So what kind of budget are we looking at for a season of racing excluding travel? That is, how much are entry fees, how often do you have to buy new tires, does the engine need to be rebuilt after every race, etc? I've checked out Bob's four cycle site too, and it is extremely helpful. The folks there are willing to help in any way- much akin to the generous help offered here so far!

Keep in mind I am a local club racer and in it for fun. I realize Ross Brawn is probably not scouting 45 year olds at kart tracks for F1. I'm fortunate to have a supporting spouse and a good job, so spending isn't necessarily a problem, but as others have mentioned - karting is like anything else. If you want to throw money at it, there are ways to do so. I try to be sensible about it. I realize spending more may not move me up the grid. Track time is where my gains are coming from at the moment.

For my TaG Leopard, I think I spent about $1,000 for a "good" engine rebuild and new clutch at the beginning of the year. That got me through the season. I bought four sets of tires for the year, at approx. $200 per set. I spent probably $200 in racing fuel and oil, and approximately $500 in miscellaneous parts that broke, fell off, or crashed out. Each race day, fees were $60.

So all in - I'm probably between $3,000-$3,500 for the year. For this amount, I got smiles and grins, aches and pains, great stories, awesome Go Pro videos, new friendships, lost 20 pounds, and took home a few plastic trophies. Can't wait until spring to do it all again.

In reply to paranoid_android74:

The "clone" engines are 6.5hp Chinese copies of Honda engines of the same size. While not as as fast as the Yamahas and Rotax's, they are chea,p and affordable.

I admitted to only changing oil once this year in my 14 race season. I finished second in points, after mentoring my competition into first place! Such is karting.

And this is the second season on my engine! Only thing I did is change out a set of valve springs at $8 each. The stock valve springs compress and limit revs. The $8 x2 aftermarket valve springs are the same spec 12lb valve springs but made of better metal.

Our clones are spec engines that we do tech on each race.can be after market valve springs but still max 12 lbs. Carb is 6.5 go-no go bore. Cams can be aftermarket but have to have original spec lift. We have required aftermarket alum flywheels because we were throwing the magnets out of the stock flywheels. Flywheels have to be the same weight as the stock, so this is a safety improvement and not a performance improvement.We retain recoil starters, no electric starters, to keep them cheap.Pump 87 octane gas obtained day of the race at one particular gas station. We check the fuel with a sniffer. We get 10hp out of the stockers and turn them 6300 rpms at season.

A good stock local engine, builder prepared, runs about $600.You can go to a modded class, and even an unlimited class. There is a 40 hp alky clone for sale now for $2500

We run on a 1/4 mile paved road race course with elevation changes 65 miles south of Atlanta. Our track record for a pro driven shifter is 21.3 seconds set years ago. Our stock heavy clone class lap the track in 25.5 secs, and that is a stocker.

A good step up is the Yamaha 100cc class. Then Rotax and shifters. Karting is true formula racing. We tech engines after each race, have spec tires and have weight rules for the different classes. Karting is where most pros start their career and return to sharpen their skills. Shumacher returned to a pro kart race in Begas a few years back, and finished 7th. In a Rotax class! And this is for a 7 time F1 world champ.

Karts are basic-no suspension, no gearboxes except for the shifters/super karts. We all have temp/ramp gauges with memory. Set up is done with adjustable castor, camber, tire pressure, gearing and moving the wheels in and out front and back. Our gears are split, so it takes minutes to chage gear ratios in the pits. Gears used run $5 each.

And yes, you can put a kart in the back of a car and a few tools and spares too. What you don't have will be lent to you at the track.

There are sprint races and enduros. Karts run on most of the big car tracks in the US including VIR, Road Atlanta, Barber, and the new Atlanta MotorsportsPark in Dawsonville, ga.

AMP even has an arrive and drive program with 12 hp 2stroke on their big dedicated kart track, for $110 for a two race/two practice day! Anyone near Atlanta can always get laps in on one of my karts. I have a spec loaner kart just for that reason.

Clone class is a momentum class, kinna like speck Miata.

Karting, best bang for the buck in Motorsports! c

I got into karting due to lack of space and lack of money to maintain a dedicated race car. I found a rolling chassis for $250 and then later bought a complete clone kart with spares for $600. There were enough spares to finish the assembly of the rolling chassis. I bought a new HF 212cc Predator for $100 using the 20% off coupon. I then spent another $300 on a utility trailer. So for under $1400 I have 2 race ready karts, a trailer to haul them and a few necessary spares like extra carb, chains, and sprockets. The karts live in my storage shed with the lawnmower and the trailer fits under the deck. They will be autox karts until I can find a suitable track locally for my son and I. Its not unusual for a clone kart to take FTD or be in the top 5 at our events.

In reply to Box_of_Rocks:

I am keeping my day job, and realized early I would not ever make it to being a pro racer, as much as I wanted to be. I am a true Walter Mitty character

At 67, I will stick with karts.

Am building a 13 ft pickle fork hydro with a Yamato 30hp just to play with on the lake.

Am a local club racer, moved up to pres of our Georgia Sprint Karting Association for 2014.

I never go to the track planning to finish second, but when I do, that's ok.

Chipperb wrote: In reply to Box_of_Rocks: I am keeping my day job, and realized early I would not ever make it to being a pro racer, as much as I wanted to be. I am a true Walter Mitty character At 67, I will stick with karts. Am building a 13 ft pickle fork hydro with a Yamato 30hp just to play with on the lake. Am a local club racer, moved up to pres of our Georgia Sprint Karting Association for 2014. I never go to the track planning to finish second, but when I do, that's ok.

Yeah, I was just trying to set context. There's always that guy out there who traded a bag of Cheetos and a broken chain saw for a complete running kart, and did the engine rebuild himself with a #2 phillips screwdriver and a box of Kleenex.

I think if you were incredibly lucky and incredibly knowledgeable, you could probably have a kart ready to go for well under $1,000 and run it for a season for about the same.

But most beginners (myself included) will make mistakes, need the assistance of professionals, or just not have the time or desire to do some of the work. So I consider my costs pretty average.

And then on the other side of the coin, there will be guys and gals who run new tires every race, replace their chassis multiple times a year, insist that you need a garbage pail full for axles for tuning, spin their Leopard to 17K necessitating rebuilds monthly, and show up with a motorhome that cost more than my house.

That describes the kind of racing I want to do to a T.

Go fast, learn from mistakes and most of all have fun! I'm competitive against myself by nature. But I wouldn't be expecting a podium finish every race.

My biggest challenge is financing the whole thing- especially big purchases. But I don't think the other stuff would be too hard for me to find the funds.

I'm starting to grow fond of the clone engine idea. Is there a good presence of clone racers in SE MI?

Box_of_Rocks wrote:

paranoid_android74 wrote: The relative size of the kart and its sundries is certainly appealing. I don't have a ton of extra space either. And I noticed nocones posted his kt100 for sale on the classifieds here- unfortunately I can't do anything about that until tax time. I've seen a bunch of used TAG karts for sale, but none of them under the 2k price barrier. So what kind of budget are we looking at for a season of racing excluding travel? That is, how much are entry fees, how often do you have to buy new tires, does the engine need to be rebuilt after every race, etc? I've checked out Bob's four cycle site too, and it is extremely helpful. The folks there are willing to help in any way- much akin to the generous help offered here so far!

Keep in mind I am a local club racer and in it for fun. I realize Ross Brawn is probably not scouting 45 year olds at kart tracks for F1. I'm fortunate to have a supporting spouse and a good job, so spending isn't necessarily a problem, but as others have mentioned - karting is like anything else. If you want to throw money at it, there are ways to do so. I try to be sensible about it. I realize spending more may not move me up the grid. Track time is where my gains are coming from at the moment. For my TaG Leopard, I think I spent about $1,000 for a "good" engine rebuild and new clutch at the beginning of the year. That got me through the season. I bought four sets of tires for the year, at approx. $200 per set. I spent probably $200 in racing fuel and oil, and approximately $500 in miscellaneous parts that broke, fell off, or crashed out. Each race day, fees were $60. So all in - I'm probably between $3,000-$3,500 for the year. For this amount, I got smiles and grins, aches and pains, great stories, awesome Go Pro videos, new friendships, lost 20 pounds, and took home a few plastic trophies. Can't wait until spring to do it all again.

paranoid_android74 wrote: That describes the kind of racing I want to do to a T. Go fast, learn from mistakes and most of all have fun! I'm competitive against myself by nature. But I wouldn't be expecting a podium finish every race. My biggest challenge is financing the whole thing- especially big purchases. But I don't think the other stuff would be too hard for me to find the funds. I'm starting to grow fond of the clone engine idea. Is there a good presence of clone racers in SE MI?

Senior Clone Light has a pretty good turn out at ELKT. Senior Clone Heavy is a bit sparse.

In reply to Box_of_Rocks:

We clone medium -350lbs total-and clone heavy -375-a WKA class-World Karting Association at our track. We are considering combining the two

We also had a Sportsman class for newbys. Three wins and you had to move out to a regular class.

Clones saved the karting sport when I returned in 2008, economy tanked, but we continue to draw 50 karts per event for 14 events.

We hit 119 for a night race and 250 for a WKA regional. c

When I raced the reed lights would bolt on some lead, change a sprocket and run reed heavy. Or the fat brother would race heavy

Being that much of the best advice I have ever heard in racing is get thee to the track and find out who runs what and where you want to compete....

Anybody know of groups/tracks to check out in the NoVa, DC, Baltimore area?

Starting to consider this as an alternative to national level autocrossing goals and want to do a bit more research over the next year.

In reply to Apexcarver: Bobs 4cycle Forum is a good start. Has a track listing section. I know VIR and Summit Point have kart races, but they tend to be Enduro racing, lots of drafting and lots of speed..c

Apexcarver wrote: Being that much of the best advice I have ever heard in racing is get thee to the track and find out who runs what and where you want to compete.... Anybody know of groups/tracks to check out in the NoVa, DC, Baltimore area? Starting to consider this as an alternative to national level autocrossing goals and want to do a bit more research over the next year.

http://www.woodbridgekartclub.com/

In reply to Box_of_Rocks:

You are so right about costs. The $1000 kart is NOT a winning kart.

I bought a decent kart complete for about $1400 in 2008. Decent but I would get lapped. Turned 30 second laps on a track that the fast clones turn in 25.5. Then picked up a newer chassis/set up Fuel for my truck. Pick up some parts off Bobs like final gears, $5 vs $12 for new, on set of tires, one set of valve springs. I do let the local full time kart shop do some of my work.

But even state of the art new chassis and everything ready to race for $3600 is still a good deal in motorsports on a local level, eh?

In reply to Chipperb: is there an edit button?

Started with a $1400 kart in 2008. Turned 30 second laps vs 25.5 for the front running heavy clones. But an updated chassis complete for $ 2200 turned 28 second laps. Found chassis bent, sold whole kart for $2000.

Bought state of the art new chassis complete with gauges, builders prepared engine, $3600. Dropped to 27 second laps, dipped into the 26s with a 26.8 best.

Moved to the Sportsman class, several wins, second in points this year. Track 70 miles from home, leave am, return pm. Complete meal at track $5.50. Truck gas. Pick up some used spares.

$3600 for a complete state of the art race machine still not bad, eh?