Recently went kart racing and thought that it might be fun to get a shifter kart to take to the track. Seems there are a fair amount on ebay that range from 80-125 cc and a price variance from a grand to 7k. I dont really know what to look for when shopping and also looking for any other kind of input regarding the subject.
What else is out there beside the shifter karts? I would really prefer getting something decent out of the shoot. I take it the TAg karts are auto transmissions? I like the idea of the shifter karts, but as I said need to be steered in the right direction by those in the know.
There are 100cc 2 cycle auto tranny carts that are still freakishly fast, but a little easier to handle. I forget what the official class is, but that might be a good starting point. Several of my friends race them and have a blast.
I've raced the kt-100 class on sprint tracks and 125cc shifters on full size road courses. Racing a 125 on a sprint track can get pretty crazy. It's like a mix between motocross and road racing, full contact and it get's real aggressive on the track. If you have a local track go and watch some races first to get a idea of what you would be getting yourself into. I have 3 karts right now, a 2006 Paul Tracy kart with a yfz-450cc electric start, a 2005 Mba Las Vegas with a crf-450, and a 02 Kali kart with a 1998 Ducati 748 lol. The 125's are good for about 115-120mph but the most you will see on a sprint track is 80-90.
I've been playing with a TAG kart for a few months and I would advise that you stay away from the shifter karts unless you really want to spend some money on karting. The TAG (Touch And Go) are all electic start and have a centrifugal clutch with one speed only. In my opinion not having to shift gears really allows you to concentrate on your racing lines and they are still pretty fast, mine hits 70 mph on our local track on the front straight and I've logged well over 2 g's in some turns. I'll also say that an inexperienced driver on a shifter kart doesn't have a chance against someone with moderate skills on a TAG. If you do shifters and plan to have someone else maintain it for you be prepared to spend between 500 and 1000 dollars to race for a weekend, those things are really no different than a real race car.
I ran a 125 shifter for a while in drag racing off season . It was a ton of fun. You drive a shifter completely different than a TAG or a kart with an auto trans.
Auto karts run on momentum ... so they typically will slow early and gradual for turns then accelerate out of them even before the apex ....
where a shifter witht he big brakes and transmission ... can go fast into the turns, brake hard then dowshift and accelerate fast right out of the apex .
Its definetly different driveing either kart ... I prefer shifters myself because I think they are more fun, especially if your just going out to have fun and not looking to be real competitive. They can get moderately expesive though, so dont underestimate the cost involved.
Some of the nicer kart brands to mention are Birel , CRG , Tonykart , ect ... i only did it for a while for recreation, im sure theres someone on here that can give you more info.
thanks guys, I really need all the info I can get. Turns out there is a 6/10 of a mile kart track about an hour from me and I am going to see if it is something I can go watch this week. I'm night looking to be in a racing circuit, but more or less just go on practice days etc. I didn't realize they were that expensive to maintane....racing the viper is starting to sound cheaper lol.
I have a 99 Birel with a 125cc Honda and its a blast. I feel like I can throw my street car around after I am in one. Its the cheapest way to go racing I think.
One of my buddies is racing a TAG cart this season and he was doing frame resonance testing down in the one lab today. Pretty cool process. He has 100 or so pieces of tape with numbers on them all over the frame. He has the numbers referenced in a computer and then a small vibration detector on the rear bumper bar. He taps a hammer at each individual number. The computer takes all of these read outs and makes a map that shows the chassis's reaction to shock input at all points. Its pretty nifty.
I spent 12 years running IKF , WKA and TKC kart races , mostly in a direct drive 100cc sprint kart,(Swiss Hutless/Parilla TT75). kart racing is the best bang for the buck in all of racing. Start with a 100cc sprint kart and move up from there. go to your local track and buy a used kart set up for that track , if that is where you will be racing. TAG,(touch and go) karts are the best way to start these days.........
I've also thought of getting into them, till I went to a couple of races.........you'll go through a couple sets of tires a day, limited track time, KT100 and an auto shift 2 speed might be the best way to get into it, but I figure I spend the same amount of money doing a track day in my porsche 911.
Like others have said, it's attractive, but just as much money as taking a real car out to the track for the day.
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