Any Kart racers ?? Looking for info .

[Quad18star]

Anyone into go kart racing ?? This weekend theres a big event happening here in town , and there's supposed to be a few hundred racers showing up .

My only experience with karting has been at the local track where you pay a few bucks to go out and race your friends ... I've never taken the time to go out and watch professionally organized racing . I'm guna go check it out and see what it's like , cause I'd like to take up a new hobby !!!!

I'm looking for some advice on karts ... what's good , what's junk . What size motor should I get ? I don't want something that'll bore me to death ... I want something with enough speed .

I'm a total noob to this kind of thing , so any advice would help .

[ECATV Raptor]

Check this website out, www.dacosaspeedway.com/html/complete_ops.htm They have everything you need. I bought a complete engine from them. Shane James engines. They are not cheap. But i geuss atvs arent any cheaper.

[gibson400ex]

we actually had a customer bring in a 125cc shifter cart

the thing flat out hauled

cr 125 motor, with a special rear sprocket, his son is to young and it makes it go slower

[j_cyrus3]

Originally posted by Quad18star
Anyone into go kart racing ?? This weekend theres a big event happening here in town , and there's supposed to be a few hundred racers showing up .

My only experience with karting has been at the local track where you pay a few bucks to go out and race your friends ... I've never taken the time to go out and watch professionally organized racing . I'm guna go check it out and see what it's like , cause I'd like to take up a new hobby !!!!

I'm looking for some advice on karts ... what's good , what's junk . What size motor should I get ? I don't want something that'll bore me to death ... I want something with enough speed .

I'm a total noob to this kind of thing , so any advice would help .


My buddy is really really into this stuff...Like, goes to every one here around TN, spends a couple grand on tires every big race...He loves it. I hear all the local racers talk about Jerry Welch motors, they talk about how good he is with building them. Just google some stuff, see what you can dig up, and go to the race and see how you like it.

[87250rxrider]

my dad raced karts for many years, and i did some as well. there are many different classes to compete in, and the class determines the engine displacement size. depending on the size of the track near you they may or may not allow 125cc shifter karts. if they do allow these, than that would be a good class if you are competitive and are a speed junky. 125cc shifter karts will do well over 100mph on a good straight away. there are different karts for different tracks, some are even adjustable to suite different types of tracks. they have karts for ovals, or karts for road courses, karts for dirt, and karts for pavement. your best bet is to go to the race and look at what the competition is running. good luck, and welcome to a new money pit.

[MX450]

My friend races a little bit, hes got a cr125 shifter kart, the thing is freakin awsome!

Anyways, i dont know too much about it, but pm Jrspawn, i know he was into and had one for sale, or he might jump on here and respond.

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by 87250rxrider
my dad raced karts for many years, and i did some as well. there are many different classes to compete in, and the class determines the engine displacement size. depending on the size of the track near you they may or may not allow 125cc shifter karts. if they do allow these, than that would be a good class if you are competitive and are a speed junky. 125cc shifter karts will do well over 100mph on a good straight away. there are different karts for different tracks, some are even adjustable to suite different types of tracks. they have karts for ovals, or karts for road courses, karts for dirt, and karts for pavement. your best bet is to go to the race and look at what the competition is running. good luck, and welcome to a new money pit.

Thanks for the info , and thanks to everyone else that posted so far also .

I plan on checking out the action this weekend and hopefully get some insight as to what the best setup is for the tracks that are run in the area .

I was looking on a few websites and they have some karts listed for $1200 , and then you get some that are $4500 .... and other than the motors , I don't see anything different except company names ( I'm sure theres a huge difference though) .

Anyone know if First Karts are any good ??? Some guy in town has one with only afew races on it and it has a KT100 engine . Anyone know about this engine ?What kind of speeds can these produce ? I'm not even sure if it's a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke .

[jrspawn]

Hey, ive had a good bit of exp. with karts and they are a blast. BUT, make sure you go with a kart you are comfotable with and dont just jump to a shifter. The KT100 would be a great kart to start or to even stay with. The kt100 is a yamaha 2 stroke engine that was designed for karting, great engine, been around forever, cheap parts, and good reliabilty. They are an automatic design which can either be a syntripical(spelling?) clutch or direct drive. The most important thing dealing with the kart itself is chasis setup, it is crucial. Many of the better chasis have full chasis tunability, including caster/camber/toe, ride height, tire pres. stiffening chasis in front/rear, and balancing the kart. To have an equal weight on the kart helps ALOT.

I had bought the national winning kart setup peltier used and boy was it a handfull. It was a full CTS chasis with a CKT CR125 engine putting well over 50hp, yes that much HP. It was the craziest thing i have ever driven. with the onboard data system, myrhon 3 gold which records RPM,MPH, Engine temp, head temp, lap times, map out coarse, axle rpm shift points, throttle poistion, brake position, and monitor clutch slippage, you have alot of info to help tuning. It wasnt a problem at all to stap the pedal and bang a couple gears and look down to see youve hit over 100 in what felt like a blink of an eye. I actually took to our local drag strip as a joke but ending up having a blast there, got alot of attention that night whil i was smoking the drag quads:D To describe how it handled, well ill put it this way, as hard as i wanted to push the thing, it would take it, its crazy the g force you will pull in a hard turn with it. Im still dealing with a separated rib though because of that.

But like i said the shifter is NOT a beginner machine, there is alot going on while driving them with having to shift and monitor in info/shift times. I would recommend starting with a kt100 machine or what they call a TAG kart. If you have anymore questions about karting just let me know and ill see if i can help. Its a fun sport thats addicting, going over 120mph a half inch off the ground, well it gets the adrenelin flowing:D

Thank you
Justin

[jrspawn]

And if your seriously looking to buy a kart let me know, i have ALOT of connections dealing with used karts and whole packages, i can get you a good deal on everything you need to get started.

Thank you
Justin

[jrspawn]

Ill also see if i can get some pics of my latest sifter kart prodject. I figured i would try something a little different from the 125 two strokers, my 450 4stroke shifter setup:D i wanted to build something that will bark:D I figured the good ol YZ450 with a TC pipe on a kart chasis, yeah that got my name all over it:D

Justin

[1fst400]

I used to race Karts. I had a 17 hp brigs on my champ car knock off class. ( roll cage and wing) I got it going about 80 mph.


they raced 80cc shifter karts and they would get going 80mph easily. A 125 cc dirtbike enigne WILL go 120 with ease. And if you have a half deicent chassis you can whip that kart around doing 100 and break the tires free going 50 when you romp it.

what im saying is that anything more than possibly a 250 cc 2 smoke is just to much freaking power, yes it is possible.


Soon Im getting a used set up just to mess around on. probly a 125 on a out dated chassis that has nice features. like 4 wheel brakes, adjustible caster and camber and such.

[jrspawn]

Yeah, thats another thing with the built shifters, being able to blow the tires away while going over 50 is a crazy feeling. The first night i had mine, we took it to a huge fresh paved parking lot. I was getting it a little over 100mph in there, then i realized i could smoke the tires while doing around 50, it was fun until my first spinout in it. I had broke the tires loose in a higher gear and turned the wheel just barely, i did an instant 180 and was goiong backwards, luckily i got stopped pretty quick. That was a fun ride though.

Justin

[Quad18star]

Thanks for the info Justin .

Are First Karts any good ?? A guy here in town has a 2002 First Kart chassis with a KT100 engine in it . It also has an RLV pipe , Dunlop tires , Alfano pro computer thing ( new in '05) .

I checked the Kart out yesturday , and it was in decent shape .... a few wheel marks from rubbing but that was about all that I noticed .

What kind of MPH could I expect out of this KT100 engine with proper gearing??

Thanks again .

[catfishing]

Originally posted by Quad18star
Thanks for the info Justin .

Are First Karts any good ?? A guy here in town has a 2002 First Kart chassis with a KT100 engine in it . It also has an RLV pipe , Dunlop tires , Alfano pro computer thing ( new in '05) .

I checked the Kart out yesturday , and it was in decent shape .... a few wheel marks from rubbing but that was about all that I noticed .

What kind of MPH could I expect out of this KT100 engine with proper gearing??

Thanks again .

I also raced karts,but i never left the dirt tracks. One thing to remember its not the MPH that wins the race. Its the handling of the kart. If you cant get it to turn no matter how much HP you have you will never place in the top 10.

[MX450]

Originally posted by jrspawn
Hey, ive had a good bit of exp. with karts and they are a blast. BUT, make sure you go with a kart you are comfotable with and dont just jump to a shifter. The KT100 would be a great kart to start or to even stay with. The kt100 is a yamaha 2 stroke engine that was designed for karting, great engine, been around forever, cheap parts, and good reliabilty. They are an automatic design which can either be a syntripical(spelling?) clutch or direct drive. The most important thing dealing with the kart itself is chasis setup, it is crucial. Many of the better chasis have full chasis tunability, including caster/camber/toe, ride height, tire pres. stiffening chasis in front/rear, and balancing the kart. To have an equal weight on the kart helps ALOT.

I had bought the national winning kart setup peltier used and boy was it a handfull. It was a full CTS chasis with a CKT CR125 engine putting well over 50hp, yes that much HP. It was the craziest thing i have ever driven. with the onboard data system, myrhon 3 gold which records RPM,MPH, Engine temp, head temp, lap times, map out coarse, axle rpm shift points, throttle poistion, brake position, and monitor clutch slippage, you have alot of info to help tuning. It wasnt a problem at all to stap the pedal and bang a couple gears and look down to see youve hit over 100 in what felt like a blink of an eye. I actually took to our local drag strip as a joke but ending up having a blast there, got alot of attention that night whil i was smoking the drag quads:D To describe how it handled, well ill put it this way, as hard as i wanted to push the thing, it would take it, its crazy the g force you will pull in a hard turn with it. Im still dealing with a separated rib though because of that.

But like i said the shifter is NOT a beginner machine, there is alot going on while driving them with having to shift and monitor in info/shift times. I would recommend starting with a kt100 machine or what they call a TAG kart. If you have anymore questions about karting just let me know and ill see if i can help. Its a fun sport thats addicting, going over 120mph a half inch off the ground, well it gets the adrenelin flowing:D

Thank you
Justin

Told ya Jrspawn knew about them:cool:

[Quad18star]

Are CRG chassis any good?? I found one on ebay from a guy that lives not too far from me .

He said he bought it 6 months ago . It's a CR 125 shifter kart . The ebay number is 330021889068 . He'd sell it for the same price in Canadian dollars .

He sent me other pictures , and it seems to be in really good condition .I never noticed on the First Kart if it had brakes up front , but this CRG kart does .

[jrspawn]

Hey, CRG is a pretty good company, but like many others, they are Mass produced in which some of the craftsmanship and detail like the hand built CTS chasis have, arent there, BUT to the average racer, you wouldnt tell the difference between them probably. I could find you Alot better deal than that if your really wanting to get into it. Again if your really wanting to start racing, i wouldnt recomend the shifter, but if you really want one just to play with and go from there, they are fun. First kart is a decent kart. The karts with front brakes are shifter chasis. ALL shifter karts must have front brake setups on them. Sometimes you will see a TAG or KT100 kart with front brakes, in which they just took the shifter chasis and put they're engine on it. You have to very carefull though of changing things and what you buy if you intend to race. The classes and rules are VERY VERY detailed and strict, thats one of the things that detered me from pursuing the racing circuit more. Im not sure what the canadian dollar is compaired to the us dollar, but i could find you a shifter setup for a god bit lower than that one, you dont need something brand new and fancy as can eb to get started really, but you dont want a pile of junk either:D

Thank you
Justin

[1fst400]

gettin a older kart is realy the way to go if you ask me. You can get a nicer product that is just a little out dated. one lap or 1000 laps on a track pretty much does the same thing to a chassis. Unless it has been ran into the wall, anything prety much stays nice other than it gets old and dirty.

[trick450r]

a friend of mine has a shifter kart chassis with a KTM 360 motor lol...insane

[BigFish]

The cheapest way to go, and prolly the most fun is to buld a 5hp briggs. Good times right there. U'd be surprised what u can get a lil briggs to do. We race a lil dirt track down here.

[Quad18star]

Alright , so I made it out to the first part of the races today .... and WOW these suckers are fast . Today they ran the 2 cycle classes ... 125 shifter , Rotax , etc . I can't believe the speeds these things fly at .

Justin , you're right ..... 125 shifter ... totally not for me as a beginner ... I'd hurt myself in a hurry .

I had the chance to talk to a few guys and see what some of the guys were running . Most told me to get into a 4cycle , since there's more competition ( 4cycles run tomorrow ... Sunday) . I'm hoping to make it out to watch again .

I seen guys running everything from Sodi karts , First Kart , Birels and Tony Karts . I guess the Tony Karts are some of the top line karts since they seem to have the highest price tag .

Everyone told me to buy used , but no one told me which Kart would be the best for me . I liked the looks of the First Kart and some of the features it had , but it was a 2 stroke engine . The Tony Karts looked amazing , but at $4500 for just the chassis , it's too expensive for me .

There weren't many for sale ... only 3 karts . :ermm:

[1fst400]

if I could help ya I would, I never got into the open karts.

check www.sugarhillspeedway.com ( track I raced at) look in the clasifide section. I doubt you would want to travel to buy one of them. But you could look at the brand of some of the karts for sale and get a idear of how much stuff should sell for.

[jrspawn]

Hey, i also have a full PT Kart shifter rolling chasis. Just slap an engine on and your good. Since its the shifter chasis it has the front breaks, full tuneable chasis, big 50mm axle setup, all linkages, and tons more. Throw a KT100 orTAG engine on it, have the good handling and ALOT better/safer breaking system to play with and get used to karting and decide what to do from there. Im selling the complete rolling chasis for only 1300. Just let me know if your looking for something like that.

Thank you
Justin

[FourFiftyFour]

around here, the kids race the go karts and when they get up to 13 years old they have to race sprint cars... i know some about sprint cars, but not the actual "karting" go karts.. I have a little quarter midget for sale.

Either way its a really cool sport to get into.. Im going to start racing sprint cars a lot more when I cant race quad as much

[AZblaster44]

If you want to get into 4-strokes check out www.4cycle.com my dad goes on there alot. We used ot be really big into karting untill I started racing mx. We run Biggs' and techumseh's and have a couple kt100 motors sitting around as well. IMO the 4-stroke motors will be easier for a beginner. Great power, no mixing oil and ALOT of fun:D

[popo]

Greg, I thought Paul Tracy "The thrill from West Hill" has a line of carts.

Would your ankle be able to take the abuse?

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by popo
Greg, I thought Paul Tracy "The thrill from West Hill" has a line of carts.

Would your ankle be able to take the abuse?

Ya he's hot his own line of Karts . I priced them out , and they're quite expensive for a new kart .... almost $8000 , I haven't been able to find a used one yet. I want to buy used , to start out with and see how I like it .

I'm not sure if my ankle could take the abuse , but there's only one way to find out . :devil: The pain is something I'm gunna have forever , so I'll have to deal with it ... I don't want it to stop me from doing what I want . If I let pain tell me what sport I could do , the only thing I'd be able to do would be lawn bowling . :ermm:

[Quad18star]

Justin .... what kind of deals can you find me on a complete kart ... motor and all .

I'm not gunna go shifter .... I would prefer a 4stroke instead of a 2stroke since most guys in the area are running the 4cycles

Something in good shape , with a good motor and a fair price .

I've been looking at the Sodi karts , the PT Karts , Energy karts , CRGs , and frankly , I'm confusing myself to death trying to figure out which is a good kart .

I've searched the web and haven't been able to find any good answers . Your help would be appreciated .

Thanks.

[jabbahoo]

You and me both are in the same ballpark. Exept I want won to play around the house. But I'm clueless on which kind of kart to buy. i'm still trying to learn more and more about them. I would be more into the shifter karts thou.

[j_cyrus3]

ever figure out what kart you are going to buy?