Buying Karts instead of trackday cars for a bit of fun?

[Pierscoe1]

Hi all...

in need of some PH knowledge here...

me and a couple of mates are considering getting some karts rather than going down the trackday-car route... just for a bit of light-hearted fun - no proper racing etc.

But... we don't know much about them aside from having been to plenty of the typical corporate activity day type things...

Is arrive-and-drive type karting with your own kart a viable alternative to trackdays? do you get to have a good play?

what sort of kart should we be looking at?

any tips/info/general discussion appreciated..

thanks...

[Get Karter]

Pierscoe1 said:

Hi all...

in need of some PH knowledge here...

me and a couple of mates are considering getting some karts rather than going down the trackday-car route... just for a bit of light-hearted fun - no proper racing etc.

But... we don't know much about them aside from having been to plenty of the typical corporate activity day type things...

Is arrive-and-drive type karting with your own kart a viable alternative to trackdays? do you get to have a good play?

what sort of kart should we be looking at?

any tips/info/general discussion appreciated..

thanks...

4 stroke karts need less maintenance (read: engine rebuilds) than 2 stroke.

What karting events are available will depend on what circuits you are considering using. Some will be only 2 stroke, serious stuff.

Prokarts are the most common form of 4 stroke karting, and most hire-karts are based on this.
They can be used for endurance racing, as unlike 2strokes, they wouldn't require an engine rebuild halfway through the race!

Endurance karting is probably more relaxed (and closer to track-days) than sprint racing, as you have hours of track time, so a little mistake won't necessarily mean you finish last

2 stroke karting is a lot faster though....

[Pierscoe1]

all good to know. Thanks

is there no "non-competitive" karting that can be done? is it basically just racing or hire-days?

[nickg123]

Pierscoe1 said:

all good to know. Thanks

is there no "non-competitive" karting that can be done? is it basically just racing or hire-days?

A lot of Hire places will let you bring your own karts and use the track for a fee, probably best to find some local ones and just give them a call to see what the deal is?? A lot of the time they're un-used so they're often glad to take your money :-)

[andye30m3]

I used to have a rotax Max, 125cc 2 stroke, not sure if i'd bother with a pro kart good fun to race but the performance could get a little boring after a while if just practising

I'd expect you can pick up an older 2nd had rotax for around £1500 and they are very good fun. I think but may well be corrected that thy require engine rebuilds around 80 hours which isn't cheap, It's been a few years but I seam to remember a rebuild being in the region of £600-700.

other expenses are chains & sprockets need replacing regularly and tyres are expensive if buying new, many race teams sell for a fraction of there new price after one meeting.

I used to pay £40 a day to use it at my local kart circuit (lydd)

[intrepid44]

andye30m3 said:

I used to have a rotax Max, 125cc 2 stroke, not sure if i'd bother with a pro kart good fun to race but the performance could get a little boring after a while if just practising

I'd expect you can pick up an older 2nd had rotax for around £1500 and they are very good fun. I think but may well be corrected that thy require engine rebuilds around 80 hours which isn't cheap, It's been a few years but I seam to remember a rebuild being in the region of £600-700.

other expenses are chains & sprockets need replacing regularly and tyres are expensive if buying new, many race teams sell for a fraction of there new price after one meeting.

I used to pay £40 a day to use it at my local kart circuit (lydd)

Rotax Maxs have a recomended rebuild of 50hrs, but realistically it's more like 25hrs if you want to remain competitve that is.

Judging from where you live Whilton Mill may be the closest circuit, so you could try giving them a visit and see what they recomend.

I started out with possibly the wrong kart, an old Formula A kart, but it was very fast, very fun, just couldn't race it. So with that in mind I would say either a TKM or a Rotax Max are probably your best options, maybe even a Biland (not all 4 strokes are slow).

[graememac]

I used to test at Whilton mill on wednedays which is pretty close to you. it was about £35 and an open pitlane most of the time. You'll have to go along way to get a similar buzz in a car compared to a 2 stroke kart. just beware, you will want to race after a few test sessions!

Edited by graememac on Thursday 8th July 21:17

[trophies]

Most circuits have a few days each month set aside for practice, where like a track day you pay your fee (£35-£60 dpending on circuit) and can do what you want. Some circuits will run sessions, cadets 20 mins, juniors 20 mins, seniors 20 mins. On other circuits its a free for all, which I think is a bit dangerous, but thats just me. For these days usually you don't need a licence, Usually you only need a licence the day before a race day.

A couple of things to check are: If you buy an old 100cc check the circuit will let you on. I think the noise is glorious, but due to noice limits some times they have to be silenced or ar not allowed. Pro kart are great, very low upkeep, but they are a bit slow.... but if you are racing a friend and you both have prokarts who cares! tkm and rotax max are good options. Slightly more up keep, but cheap to run still and great to drive!

Last thing is, while you are happy to do a few practice days for now, the bug will bite and i'm sure you will want to race - So maybe consider buying a race legal kart, so you dont have to buy again to race. That way you can do all your novice races on an older kart, then when your fast, buy a better kart.

Have fun!

[Lefty 200 Drams]

Buy a field and a couple of bangers. Much more fun

[Scott330ci]

We bought one for my dad last week for his 50th.

A friend of mine has one so we thought it would be a laugh for the odd weekend here and there. Its a 4 stroke 200cc Honda engine which should be capable of the 55mph mark and on the track we go to (relatively short) this is plenty fast enough.

We have spent around £500 inc. Kart now getting it to a nearly newish standard but he went away last night so I have to wait 2 weeks for its first outing. Should keep up busy.

http://www.thrashed-racing.co.uk/TilburyTrack.html

£30 for the day per kart as many people as you like.

Edited by Scott330ci on Thursday 8th July 12:56

[trophies]

Aaaahhhhh Tilbury where it all started for me 18 years ago.... You'll have fun there, bit of a kart breaker, but great fun!

[DangerousMike]

the good part is that a decent 2-stroke kart will give you way, way, way more of a thrill than any trackday car. You'd have to be driving a single seater (and a quickish one at that) to get anywhere near the same kind of 'apparent performance' as you will get from a rotax or a TKM kart, I'd say.

[slipstream 1985]

[quote=andye30m3]I used to have a rotax Max, 125cc 2 stroke, not sure if i'd bother with a pro kart good fun to race but the performance could get a little boring after a while if just practising

I'd expect you can pick up an older 2nd had rotax for around £1500 and they are very good fun. I think but may well be corrected that thy require engine rebuilds around 80 hours which isn't cheap, It's been a few years but I seam to remember a rebuild being in the region of £600-700.

other expenses are chains & sprockets need replacing regularly and tyres are expensive if buying new, many race teams sell for a fraction of there new price after one meeting.

I used to pay £40 a day to use it at my local kart circuit (lydd) [/quote


aww lydd was/is a fanastic track

[Pierscoe1]

wow, thanks for all the comments everyone! Much appreciated!

I think first port of call is checking with local circuits to see whgat we can drive where and under what restrictions etc.

Think we'll probably go for the twin-gx160 type karts, as don't fancy having to rebuild engines on a regular basis, and the maintenance/parts etc for the hondas seem very reasonable. Also, should be able to get 3 well-matched ones rather than things in different states of tune etc...

Scott330Ci - any more info about yours would be great, as that sounds like just the ticket!
(where did you buy from, what you've had to do to the kart to get it up to scratch etc.... any info)

[anonymous-user]

i am looking at doing the same thing but have gone for a rotax max as i have driven prokarts and they just dont generate the same level of thrill. previsouly i had a direct drive 100c whic hwas hilarious fun. prokarts are really heavy at the back and well planted so they tend to understeer and they are very hard to unstick. you can get a good rotax package for £1500 or thereabouts and they are welcome everywhere. try somewhere like daytona but i will bet that after an hour in their prokarts you will weant to go faster...

[patmahe]

Alternatively you could just spend your 1500 quid on the odd decent, arrive and drive style events. That way at least if you get bored you can always try something else and not have the bother of selling your kart.

[Scott330ci]

Pierscoe1 said:

Scott330Ci - any more info about yours would be great, as that sounds like just the ticket!
(where did you buy from, what you've had to do to the kart to get it up to scratch etc.... any info)

Hi Mate

We purchased ours on Ebay for £300. It had been sat in a garden under covering but the majority of anything rubber had perished. They engine is in good nick - worst comes to the worst you can buy a Honda Clone for £100 and pay £25 to de-restrict it. They should be good for about 6000rpm - around 55mph.

I have cleaned it, painted the floor tray, cleaned the plastics up. We needed a new seat as they are a bit personal which was £25. The only things we "needed" was a brake cylinder - £35 and a caliper. They seals were gone, I stripped the pistons and we was going to replace the seals for £9 but the bleed screw thread has stripped so we are just going to pick up a new one.

We have bought other bits but they weren't really required. These are obviously one off bits, we shouldn't need another caliper or cylinder again.

There are plenty about. We didn't opt for a 2 stroke, as fast as they are we just wanted a bit of cheap fun. I can't be arsed with sodding around with it all the time. We used a friends one in 30oC heat last week and had it running for 6-7 hours with no problems. The rotax spent most of their time there on the kart stands!

Total spend £420 quid and its done.

Edited by Scott330ci on Friday 9th July 09:55

Edited by Scott330ci on Friday 9th July 09:57

[anonymous-user]

patmahe said:

Alternatively you could just spend your 1500 quid on the odd decent, arrive and drive style events. That way at least if you get bored you can always try something else and not have the bother of selling your kart.

something like a rotax will always sell quickly as demand is high and if you keep it in good condition, noramlly for not much more than the price you paid for it. it takes a while to get bored of 30 bhp from a 125cc screaming at 12000 rpm next to you and your backside an inch off the ground...

[nut and bolt]

HI ALL
ive just brought my son a kart,ex theme park kart.its got a honda gx160 4 stroke engine,and is quite a heavy lump,i will be looking to upgrade him soon,once he gets the feel for it,but i got him this one to start him off
do any of you know anywhere in the east midlands,i can take him without getting into troble by the law..on waste land etc .ive asked about at some of the local tracks,but most say they will only let you on with a pro kart..hes not wanting to race it....not that its really quick lol,25-30mph hes just after an afternoons ,light hearted fun....so he can learn.......can you help,hes driving me mad lol

[superkartracer]

Pierscoe1 said:

any tips/info/general discussion appreciated..

thanks...

Get yourself a gearbox kart, ICC spec for lots of fast fun, just kidding.

I'd say start with a prokart, the rotax will be too fast if you've never been karting and dangerous at the wrong track.

Prokart, cheap to run and great fun.