Karting

[Ric]

Following on from a few conversations I've had in other topic areas I decided to create a karting thread so me (an any other karters) can help members who are thinking of getting themselves or their kids involved. so if you've got any questions about the sport don't hesitate to ask!

Its a great sport depending on what class you run and how competitive you want to be its costs between $5K and $60K / year. The guys that spend $60K are the best in the country and a lot of their budget goes on transporting karts and flying to state/national rounds in the best class (CIK Starts of Karting). Most who have budgets over $25K are sponsored. I race in the second fastest Club Class - Clubman light. It costs me somewhere between $5K and 10K per year.

A rough Idea of costs (for adults):

Blueprinted Engine: $2,000
New Arrow Kart: $3,700
Laptimer/dashboard/tuning lights: $1,000
MG Red Tyres: $250 - these last 3 - 4 race meets
Nose Cone:$80 - will last a season
Fuel: 98 Octane 5L per meet +
2 stroke race oil: $27 for 1L (mix 20:1)
Entry Fees: $75
Licence: $300 - 1 year
Club membership: $70 1 year
Arai Sk-5 Helmet: $650
Sparco Race suit: $700
Rib protector: $250
Neck Brace: $270
Sparco Boots: $110
Gloves: $40
Set of Magnesium rims: $440

The worst damage bill from 1 race has been $350

Race Day:

Arrive at the track between 6:00am and 7:00am
Set up Marquee and kart
Register at race office between 7:00 and 8:00
Scruitineering: 7:30 - 8:30
Drivers meeting: 8:30
Carby session (used to warm up/get your eye in/tune the carby) 8:45 - 9:30
Heat 1: 6 - 8 laps 9:30*
Heat 2: 6 - 8 laps 11:30*
Pre final: 10 - 12 Laps 2:30*
Final: 12 - 14 Laps 4:30*
Presentation 6:00pm
Pack up out of the track by 7:00pm

*The Grid for the heats are computer drawn. Pre final grid is from you accumulative total of the 2 heats the final grid is the result of the pre final. Points are awarded for the results of the final and starting position for Pre final.

There is a canteen at most tracks that do burgers, bacon and egg rolls for Breakfast.

All starts are rolling usually close enough to be rubbing nose cones and side pods.

Classes:

• Midgets: 7 - 9/10 yrs
• Rookies: 9/10 - 12/13 yrs
• Juniors: 13 - 16/17/18 yrs
• National/jays: Slowest adult class - but also cheapest lap times about 5 seconds off clubman - top speed 85Km/h 100CC Yamaha J (KT100J)
• Clubman: Great class (my class) Competitive racing, affordable. only 0.5 of a second slower than Rotax) Top Speed around 100Km/h 100CC Yamaha (KT100S)
• Tag Restricted: Not a well populated class laptimes and top speeds somewhere between Clubman and Rotax 125CC
• Rotax. Would probably not advise this class
  Rotax: The premium club level. 125CC class top speed 105 - 110km/h . water cooled engine. Only downside is its a bit more expensive than clubman due to radiators etc also there is more to get broken due to more parts - probably wouldn't advise a newby to start in this class its very fast, hard racing with experienced drivers.

It is a great sport for the motorsport inclined. The karts are very twitchy so your catching slides and power sliding pretty much constantly. It vastly improves your driving skills because of the close nature of the racing. nearly everyone is very friendly. There is lots of families with sons/daughters & mothers/fathers all racing together (with F*kin massive trailers to haul up to 6 karts). There is a good sense of community with everyone helping each other out and chatting pre race on the grid etc. The biggest meet I've been to had 280 entrants if you add crews and parents to that there can be upwards of 450 people at club meets. Can't recommend this enough!

For those interested located in Sydney: Come out and have a look at Eastern creek racing visit http://www.northshorekartclub.org to see race dates. Newcastle has a great track at Cameron Park visit http://www.nkrc.com.au/ for race dates. Wollongong http://www.wkrc.com.au. Lithgow: http://www.cdkc.com.au/

For interstate contact your local AKA (Australian Karting Association)
NSW: http://www.akansw.com.au
QLD: http://www.akaqld.asn.au
VIC: http://www.vka.asn.au
SA: http://www.kartingsa.com.au
WA: http://www.kartingwa.com.au/
Tas & NT see national Website: http://www.karting.net.au


Anyone with Sales inquiries in Sydney - I recommend you contact Stones Kart Sport at http://www.stoneskartsport.com.au/ (FYI i have no commercial interest in this shop - they're just awesome!)

I hope someone finds this educational

[smythie]

Nice post. Years ago a housemate got into superkarts. He bought himself a 100cc kart(centrifugal clutch)/trailer package - bottom of the line category in superkarts. Can't remember number of times we had that thing stripped down. Some of the budgets in the paddock were quite high and that was mainly due to factory kit parts.

Still, I'd love to have a go in the 80cc gearbox class. Those things flew but sufficiently slow for a luddite like me to be able to drive them

[Posseltperformance]

Yeah the new CIK style of karting that had its first race last weekend in Newcastle (CIK stars of Karting) runs multiple categories but the premier category in both the competition and Australia is KZ2 shifter karts.

Some facts:
Power 42+ horsepower
unrestricted 125CC
6 speed gearbox
Minimum weight 175 KG
Power to weight ratio: 240HP(or 178KW) /tonne
Top Speed: 200Km/h +

Now they Fly!

Smythie you'd be able to fang about in a clubman or Jay

[cpitts]

Sounds excellent!
$5K per year doesn't sound too bad really for something like this. An I can easily understand the entire day aspect of it.

You mention oil for the petrol.... is it all 2 stroke or can you do 4 stroke in the midget classes? Just a lot easier to service, that's all! Tuning carby's sux (no pun intended).

What mods are allowed? Is it massively controlled at each category or can you push the limits a bit with some smarts to gain a little bit of an advantage? Or is it all controled dietting an the smallest person wins due to massive weight advantage?

[RAN94A]

hey possel,

Great post mate!!!! really informative.. ive actually been thinking hard recently about taking up go karting properly..
(always been keen on it since i was tiny.. and last year i came third in the corporate games for it out of about 300 other blokes so i musnt be too terrible) plus my dad used to race em a long time ago too.


Im just currently undecided about whether to go for clubman or national level....
and could you possibly explain the difference between clubman light and clubman heavy for example; is it just different weight classes or is one more/less competitive than the other??

To put it in perspective im interested in being competitive and rather than standing no hope of getting on the podium in clubman be more up the top end of national.

[smythie]

You mention oil for the petrol.... is it all 2 stroke or can you do 4 stroke in the midget classes? Just a lot easier to service, that's all! Tuning carby's sux (no pun intended).

depends how the relative engines are tuned. A 2 stroke is easier to pull down and put together than a 4 stroke - it doesn't have the complicated top end of the 4 stroke.

[teK--]

Great post Ryan, thanks for putting it together.

I was chatting to some friends about the exact same thing as we just drove Karts on the Phillip Island track on the weekend. It's something I'd like to get into when I have some spare money. Until then my daily driver will have to double as the occasional weekend track car.

I am of the firm opinion that in the long run it is more cost effective to race karts though. (compared to cars).

[Posseltperformance]

Great post Ryan, thanks for putting it together.

I was chatting to some friends about the exact same thing as we just drove Karts on the Phillip Island track on the weekend. It's something I'd like to get into when I have some spare money. Until then my daily driver will have to double as the occasional weekend track car.

I am of the firm opinion that in the long run it is more cost effective to race karts though. (compared to cars).

Absolutely Tek, the entry fees for things like aussie race cars and formula fords are around $2K tyres are way more expensive and don't even go near damage bills. + the complexity of a car makes it very difficult to do anything yourself. Some drivers pay crews $300 a day for karting. But most have just their dads/wives (my fiancee crews for me and loves the attention she gets from all my mates ) Learning to set up a kart will give you so much knowledge you can transfer to cars. All F1 drivers and most v8 drivers learnt their setup skills from karting.

I firmly believe the racing is better in karts than cars due to lower parts expenditure. Most races you rub side pods and have friendly contact in a hard racing environment. You will never get that on a track day and after the first lap in most classes of car racing the field spreads enough that there is minimal door-to-door racing.

cpitts wrote:
You mention oil for the petrol.... is it all 2 stroke or can you do 4 stroke in the midget classes? Just a lot easier to service, that's all! Tuning carby's sux (no pun intended).
depends how the relative engines are tuned. A 2 stroke is easier to pull down and put together than a 4 stroke - it doesn't have the complicated top end of the 4 stroke.

Most drivers don't do their own engines. Top end rebuilds are only $350 and full rebuilds $700 + Blueprinting $1000.

hey possel,

Great post mate!!!! really informative.. ive actually been thinking hard recently about taking up go karting properly..
(always been keen on it since i was tiny.. and last year i came third in the corporate games for it out of about 300 other blokes so i musnt be too terrible) plus my dad used to race em a long time ago too.


Im just currently undecided about whether to go for clubman or national level....
and could you possibly explain the difference between clubman light and clubman heavy for example; is it just different weight classes or is one more/less competitive than the other??

To put it in perspective im interested in being competitive and rather than standing no hope of getting on the podium in clubman be more up the top end of national.

Clubman and national are similar in many respects. They run similar engines starting procedures are the same etc.

Main differences are Speed and handling:

Speed is as per the first post but HP is - National: 12HP Clubman: 18HP
Handling: They are very different beasts in this respect.
National Karts have less grip and less HP as a result they are not even remotely forgiving. If you get it wrong you end up bogging the engine down and loosing spots. The main driving tip for Nationals is you have to be smooth (accelerating, braking and turning) and drive with control and finesse. The budget is lower for nationals though - for example you get more km's out of a set of tyres. National is just as competitive as Clubman its just a different driving style. Lots of good drivers come out of Juniors into national then work their way up the classes to Clubman then onto Rotax. + I know some top 10 state drivers who race regularly in Nationals because of the smaller budget
Clubman Karts Have 50% more power and generate more grip so in someways they are more forgiving. As a driver you can just grab it by the scruff of the neck and throw it around.

I race clubman consistently in top 8 (of a field of 20) and I am by no means brilliant. I find the racing enjoyable but hey, go which ever class you like the sound of

Some people believe that if you get a Jay (National Kart) you'll get sick of the slower nature of the racing and want a clubman eventually. I'm not sure how true this is though.

As for lights v.s heavies. There is a substantial speed difference between the two, however, it is only weight that effects this.
Here is a rough guide of how heavy the drivers are in each:

Lights: 60 - 75Kg
Heavies: 75 - 95Kg
Super heavies: +95kg
There is also an over 40's class that runs in the heavies weight range.

Classes have a minimum weight for driver and kart. For lights its 140kg and the categories go up in 20kg increments. If you weigh less than the minimum you strap lead onto the kart to meet the minimum weight. This is in someways beneficial as you can move the weight around to suit the handling but it makes it a b*itch to lift If you're tall and close to meeting the heavy - I'd advise doing this as being tall you have a higher centre of gravity and are less aerodynamic and the guys in the heavier class are more likely to be of a similar build.

Sounds excellent!
$5K per year doesn't sound too bad really for something like this. An I can easily understand the entire day aspect of it.

You mention oil for the petrol.... is it all 2 stroke or can you do 4 stroke in the midget classes? Just a lot easier to service, that's all! Tuning carby's sux (no pun intended).

What mods are allowed? Is it massively controlled at each category or can you push the limits a bit with some smarts to gain a little bit of an advantage? Or is it all controled dietting an the smallest person wins due to massive weight advantage?

I Believe the midgets run pull start 4 strokes but all other classes run 2 strokes as you get far more power / cc from a 2 stroke. Tuning Carbys are done on the go in the yamaha classes while Rotax and TAG are tuned prior to the race. I actually find it handy. I fixed up dads whipper snipper so it runs sweet thanks to knowledge acquired from karting.

As for restrictions it is heavily controlled. You buy engines stock then take them to a shop and have them tweak them to the limits of the rules (bigger bores etc). There is Not too much you can do with Chassis and things like fuel additives and tyre treatments are of course banned.

HOWEVER: Setup is absolutely crucial. The main setups you can change is:
Track - front wheels can be moved in an out as can the rear
Tyre Pressure - depends on the heat of the day and how grippy the track is
Hubs - you can run front hubs or not, + there are 3 lengths of hub you can run at the rear
Axle - Most low budget guys only carry 1 axle as they're $220ish each but I think there is 6 variations of hardness
wheel alignment - castor/camber: most people carry a laser wheel alignment system
Chassis - There is a chassis clamp which stiffens the kart up which is adjustable (but most aussie tracks you take it off completely)
Sprocket - change the amount of teeth (essentially gearing) to give you more drive or higher top speed.
Spark plug - Different tips give different performance

It takes a lot of know how to get the setup right. so don't be fooled, there is plenty to play with.

[teK--]

Ryan are you aware if there is any legislation preventing casual drivers (no license or own kart) to drive 2 stroke karts? I tried them in Thailand and would have to say it is the most exhilarating drive ever! The top speed was probably only around 80 or 90kph but it was more the acceleration which was absolutely phenomenal.

[Posseltperformance]

Hehehe I know Tek, the most amazing thing is acceleration and how they stick to the road around corners. My understanding of 2 stroke rules are: On an AKA approved track you need an AKA licence to drive them - I am yet to find a hire track that hires two strokes (probably because most rookies will spend all day in tyre walls/gravel traps and damage the karts.

However, there is a track on Wilberforce rd, Windsor (west Sydney) called the butterfly Farm (http://www.indy800.com.au/). This track lets non AKA drivers drive 2 stroke karts for $50/day but I believe you need to supply your own kart (or find a friend). I'm unaware of what type of karts they hire though, they could possibly be 2 strokes. Give them a call if you're interested.

[Hotwire]

One thing I've always wondered - at 6'4" and 95kg - would I EVER have a hope in hell of getting a Kart to suit my size, and would I have a hope in hell of being somewhat competitive? thinking 100cc National Seniors here.....

[teK--]

Hehehe I know Tek, the most amazing thing is acceleration and how they stick to the road around corners. My understanding of 2 stroke rules are: On an AKA approved track you need an AKA licence to drive them - I am yet to find a hire track that hires two strokes (probably because most rookies will spend all day in tyre walls/gravel traps and damage the karts.

However, there is a track on Wilberforce rd, Windsor (west Sydney) called the butterfly Farm (http://www.indy800.com.au/). This track lets non AKA drivers drive 2 stroke karts for $50/day but I believe you need to supply your own kart (or find a friend). I'm unaware of what type of karts they hire though, they could possibly be 2 strokes. Give them a call if you're interested.

Yeah I see the dilemma, which is why a few tracks here have two classes of karts (both 4 stroke), and you can only drive the faster class if you have had a history of good behaviour and setting good lap times. Trouble is that I don't go back to the same track time after time I get bored. My lap times are good but not record setting either.

I did hear of a track in regional Victoria where you can hire 2 strokes; I'll keep lookin and post up the details if I find it

[Posseltperformance]

Meh lap times in a hire 4 stroke mean nothing. There are so many variables - Tyre condition, chassis condition, track condition, engine condition/power output. A good lap time in a 4 stroke doesn't make you a good driver and vica versa.

Keep us posted on any 2 stroke hire in Vic.

[teK--]

My thoughts exactly. The amount of times I was overtaken on the straights when already revving out is frustrating as I am only a 60kg driver too.

At least at Phillip Island they get everyone to swap karts in between heats which is better than other tracks that keep you in the same kart the whole time.

[Posseltperformance]

One thing I've always wondered - at 6'4" and 95kg - would I EVER have a hope in hell of getting a Kart to suit my size, and would I have a hope in hell of being somewhat competitive? thinking 100cc National Seniors here.....

Yeah hotwire definitely. I'm 6'2" and fit in a kart comfortably. You just need to mount the seat a bit lower and further back
+ the steering column is adjustable.

For heavy blokes you can't go past Rotax Heavy - you'd be about 5 kgs overweight but thats okay. I race in Lights 8.5kg overweight and am still competitive (I weigh 75 - 76 kgs). the heavier categories tend to have more blokes over the minimum weight so its a much more even playing field. I know a bunch of guys similar in stature to yourself who race at the front of the heavies

don't worry there's hope for you yet