Discussion
I am starting to be interested in karting.
I am travelling a lot for work and when home I want to spend time with family.
Thus a nice sport car is ou of the game till when I am not more stable (it would sit in the garage most of the time)
Wanted to find some funny driving stuff without big investment and thought Karting might be an option
When just to try in an indoor track and like it so now I am going to try the twin engined kart in an outdoor circuit.
I was also tempted then to try the 2 stroke engined Club100 karts
Would be interested to hear about people with experience.
Is it worth buying one or just rent when I want to and where I want to?
If I am to buy one which one should I buy?
Thanks
I am travelling a lot for work and when home I want to spend time with family.
Thus a nice sport car is ou of the game till when I am not more stable (it would sit in the garage most of the time)
Wanted to find some funny driving stuff without big investment and thought Karting might be an option
When just to try in an indoor track and like it so now I am going to try the twin engined kart in an outdoor circuit.
I was also tempted then to try the 2 stroke engined Club100 karts
Would be interested to hear about people with experience.
Is it worth buying one or just rent when I want to and where I want to?
If I am to buy one which one should I buy?
Thanks
I did it for a few years when my two sons were quite young.
We were very fortunate in that there's a big outdoor track only about 2 miles away from our house.
TBH even though we only did it for 'fun' rather than competitively and the track was so close it all became a bit of a pain. I found it quite time-consuming and not even that cheap a hobby. If one were to get into proper racing the costs and time involved can mount up massively!
When we were doing it I decided to stick with 4-stroke engines just to keep maintenance time and costs down. We ran both Honda engined karts and then latterly a 4-stroke TKM. Even then there was quite a bit of work involved fixing stuff, breakdowns etc.
I recently sold off all of our karting stuff but my abiding memory of it all was that whilst it was quite fun when out on the track all the rest of the hassle just outweighed that for me.
Just my thoughts...for thousands of other people it's their passion.
We were very fortunate in that there's a big outdoor track only about 2 miles away from our house.
TBH even though we only did it for 'fun' rather than competitively and the track was so close it all became a bit of a pain. I found it quite time-consuming and not even that cheap a hobby. If one were to get into proper racing the costs and time involved can mount up massively!
When we were doing it I decided to stick with 4-stroke engines just to keep maintenance time and costs down. We ran both Honda engined karts and then latterly a 4-stroke TKM. Even then there was quite a bit of work involved fixing stuff, breakdowns etc.
I recently sold off all of our karting stuff but my abiding memory of it all was that whilst it was quite fun when out on the track all the rest of the hassle just outweighed that for me.
Just my thoughts...for thousands of other people it's their passion.
Have a look at Covkart sport. There's an event around once a month, across the year, spread over England, costs around £60 per event. You get some practice sessions and usually around 2 races, lasting about 10-15 minutes each. A very good standard of drivers.
I think the full summer championship starts in a couple of weeks too.
I think the full summer championship starts in a couple of weeks too.
5RedLights said:
Have a look at Covkart sport. There's an event around once a month, across the year, spread over England, costs around £60 per event. You get some practice sessions and usually around 2 races, lasting about 10-15 minutes each. A very good standard of drivers.
I think the full summer championship starts in a couple of weeks too.
On the face of it, that sounds good value, but travelling hundreds of miles for a few practice sessions and two 15 minute races? Really?I think the full summer championship starts in a couple of weeks too.
You'll probably end up spending weekends away in a caravan either with the family or without when they get bored of standing out in the cold watching you.
My cousin did it for ages when he was younger, took over the whole family's life every weekend. Weeknights were spent with the kart on stands tuning and rebuilding something.
Or were you not thinking that type of karting?
My cousin did it for ages when he was younger, took over the whole family's life every weekend. Weeknights were spent with the kart on stands tuning and rebuilding something.
Or were you not thinking that type of karting?
Thanks for all the feedback
I am not really great in DIY so I guess buying one is not an option then
Also ending up taking the family with me for the week-end looking at me would defy what I mentioned initially (ie often travelling for work, want to spend quality time with wife and young daughter and have some fun from time to time)
I am not really great in DIY so I guess buying one is not an option then
Also ending up taking the family with me for the week-end looking at me would defy what I mentioned initially (ie often travelling for work, want to spend quality time with wife and young daughter and have some fun from time to time)
Edited by Riccardino on Thursday 20th March 11:29
It's a dreadful photo, but here's mine, a Sodi Kart 125 gearbox
I would suggest going to a few races and speaking to some of the teams on the grid and arranging an arrive and drive package with them for 3 or 4 races - yes you'll spend a little more than if you ran it yourself out the back of an estate car, but you won't be tied in to anything and can make an informed decision.
One thing i will say is that NO ONE does it half assed in 'proper' karting, if you turn up for the craic and don't take it seriously, you will just spend the whole race getting lapped and noone enjoys that.
Also, don't think that karting is in any way budget, there are some classes cheaper than others, but you will certainly want to get your head around a few thousand per year and not hundreds, even in the lower classes. to give you an idea, everyone in every class that i have ever seen (including the likes of minimax - 8 year olds) has a brand new set of tyres per race. There is a possibility that the lawnmower engined classes make do without, but come on, who wants to pootle around with a couple of leafblowers behind each shoulder???
Nothing makes you feel poorer than seeing people in your class turn up in pop out sided bespoke transporters, fit a works engine that they lease by the weekend from the factory @ £3k, chuck 6 sets of tyres on it per practise day, have fully branded mechanics constantly fiddling with it... (there are people in my class who spend £250k/annum)
That said, there is nothing, and i mean nothing on 4 wheels to come anywhere close to the thrill and purity of a proper kart on full chat, i'm addicted!!!
ETA: you will only be able to do practise days until you get your ARKS test (£400) but even then you will need proper clothing - about £600
Just something else to think about, but ask the team if they have any overalls and helmets that you can borrow until you decide that you really do like it.
I would suggest going to a few races and speaking to some of the teams on the grid and arranging an arrive and drive package with them for 3 or 4 races - yes you'll spend a little more than if you ran it yourself out the back of an estate car, but you won't be tied in to anything and can make an informed decision.
One thing i will say is that NO ONE does it half assed in 'proper' karting, if you turn up for the craic and don't take it seriously, you will just spend the whole race getting lapped and noone enjoys that.
Also, don't think that karting is in any way budget, there are some classes cheaper than others, but you will certainly want to get your head around a few thousand per year and not hundreds, even in the lower classes. to give you an idea, everyone in every class that i have ever seen (including the likes of minimax - 8 year olds) has a brand new set of tyres per race. There is a possibility that the lawnmower engined classes make do without, but come on, who wants to pootle around with a couple of leafblowers behind each shoulder???
Nothing makes you feel poorer than seeing people in your class turn up in pop out sided bespoke transporters, fit a works engine that they lease by the weekend from the factory @ £3k, chuck 6 sets of tyres on it per practise day, have fully branded mechanics constantly fiddling with it... (there are people in my class who spend £250k/annum)
That said, there is nothing, and i mean nothing on 4 wheels to come anywhere close to the thrill and purity of a proper kart on full chat, i'm addicted!!!
ETA: you will only be able to do practise days until you get your ARKS test (£400) but even then you will need proper clothing - about £600
Just something else to think about, but ask the team if they have any overalls and helmets that you can borrow until you decide that you really do like it.
Edited by Greg_D on Thursday 20th March 12:00
I suppose i am sort of in the same situation......
Im too old to start racing professionally, and not rich enough to start racing in events, so i go karting when i can.
What i do is go every so often to the arrive and drive championships, like the ones held on Sat mornings for half day sessions.
Its a good laugh, sometimes the standard is good, other times its bad. Either way, you get a good laugh giong round as fast as you can and you get to overtake folk, instead of being lapped by professionals, and 8 year olds.
But for £60 - £100 a session, i think its worth it.
Im too old to start racing professionally, and not rich enough to start racing in events, so i go karting when i can.
What i do is go every so often to the arrive and drive championships, like the ones held on Sat mornings for half day sessions.
Its a good laugh, sometimes the standard is good, other times its bad. Either way, you get a good laugh giong round as fast as you can and you get to overtake folk, instead of being lapped by professionals, and 8 year olds.
But for £60 - £100 a session, i think its worth it.
Tyre Smoke said:
5RedLights said:
Have a look at Covkart sport. There's an event around once a month, across the year, spread over England, costs around £60 per event. You get some practice sessions and usually around 2 races, lasting about 10-15 minutes each. A very good standard of drivers.
I think the full summer championship starts in a couple of weeks too.
On the face of it, that sounds good value, but travelling hundreds of miles for a few practice sessions and two 15 minute races? Really?I think the full summer championship starts in a couple of weeks too.
The other option is longer/endurance karting, but this can be around £100+ an event.
Also, OP, reading through your post again, it seems like time is an issue rather than money, as you were considering buying a kart.
May I suggest that you can (sort of) get a sports car, and suggest a MX5 MK1 or Toyota MR2 MK2 for weekend fun? Both of these can be had for around £500-£1000. You're also going to lose alot less time going for a weekend morning hoon for 30 mins/1hr than going karting for half a day/a full day. You'd probably have time to sneak in a track day somewhere too.
Edited by 5RedLights on Thursday 20th March 15:15
5RedLights said:
Also, OP, reading through your post again, it seems like time is an issue rather than money, as you were considering buying a kart.
May I suggest that you can (sort of) get a sports car, and suggest a MX5 MK1 or Toyota MR2 MK2 for weekend fun? Both of these can be had for around £500-£1000. You're also going to lose alot less time going for a weekend morning hoon for 30 mins/1hr than going karting for half a day/a full day. You'd probably have time to sneak in a track day somewhere too.
It is more about time and a temporary solution.May I suggest that you can (sort of) get a sports car, and suggest a MX5 MK1 or Toyota MR2 MK2 for weekend fun? Both of these can be had for around £500-£1000. You're also going to lose alot less time going for a weekend morning hoon for 30 mins/1hr than going karting for half a day/a full day. You'd probably have time to sneak in a track day somewhere too.
As soon as I will be more stable I will be buying a sport car or a good GT (Aston, F-Type Coupe etc) but wanted to find something that does not require a lot of time but still provides fun.
Got excited with Track days after the Jaguar Racing Heart experience with the F-Type but got scared by some insurance issues seen on the track day session (was looking various option liek caterham etc) and also by the consequences of crash there.
That is why I looked at karts
Just want to find a way to have some motor fun when I have some time. It is very therapeutic as well as when you drive and focus your attention on that you just forget everything else and sometimes you really need to be able to do it
I'm in my second season of BUKC, in which we use the Club 100 karts. C100 claims to be the fastest arrive and drive series so if you can't be bothered with the hassle of running your own kart you might want to look into this. It's amazing fun but you'll quickly realise you're not the driving god you thought you were!
Riccardino said:
It is more about time and a temporary solution.
As soon as I will be more stable I will be buying a sport car or a good GT (Aston, F-Type Coupe etc) but wanted to find something that does not require a lot of time but still provides fun.
Got excited with Track days after the Jaguar Racing Heart experience with the F-Type but got scared by some insurance issues seen on the track day session (was looking various option liek caterham etc) and also by the consequences of crash there.
That is why I looked at karts
Just want to find a way to have some motor fun when I have some time. It is very therapeutic as well as when you drive and focus your attention on that you just forget everything else and sometimes you really need to be able to do it
Ha! Apologies, my error, thinking in a very different budget! As soon as I will be more stable I will be buying a sport car or a good GT (Aston, F-Type Coupe etc) but wanted to find something that does not require a lot of time but still provides fun.
Got excited with Track days after the Jaguar Racing Heart experience with the F-Type but got scared by some insurance issues seen on the track day session (was looking various option liek caterham etc) and also by the consequences of crash there.
That is why I looked at karts
Just want to find a way to have some motor fun when I have some time. It is very therapeutic as well as when you drive and focus your attention on that you just forget everything else and sometimes you really need to be able to do it
If you are concerned about track insurance and claims from other drivers, look at hill climbs/sprints. Execellent fun, plenty throughout the country during the year, and only yourself to worry about. You can just get a cheap hot hatch or something and then sell it later. It doesn't need any modifying to enter, other than some tape and a timing stick thingy taped to the front.
For karts, have a look at some endurance events, something like Daytona Max. If you are stuck for time and can't attend several events, better to try and get the most kart time per event that you can.
Not as "glam" as karting but certainly cheaper and as much fun - until you've caned a Westwood Lawnbug around at 40+mph you've not lived
http://www.blmra.co.uk/
http://www.blmra.co.uk/
A mate bought an old rotax max Tony Kart for about £350 then all the bits for a few hundred more. It was epic. Raced it locally and buzzed around in it for a year at local tracks. Good club racing scene for rotax, very cheap to run compared to a trackday toy and easy to work on.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
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