just bought a shifter-kart

Congrats, it gets better when you race against others. Ran a 250 & 125 gearbox in the WKA & IKF for a few years. They are quite a ride and there are few better ways to improve your driving. You gonna sprint or roadrace it ?

[This message has been edited by Tom Larkins (edited 14 November 2002).]
 
its like a mini 1 seater racing cart in a small track

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the art of chasing down my friend's white 3000gt at com. ave


NSXCA # 1690 "Sabrina"
 
The kart has a six speed sequential gearbox, will sprint to 60 mph in under 5 seconds, can corner at over 2Gs and will top out at 122 mph. It's a huge rush!

I keep it and drive it at the new kart track at Infineon (Sears Point) Raceway. I got a sweet deal on it from a Brazilian racer who couln't get a sponsor here and is heading back home.

I don't have any plans yet to race, just to hone my driving skills. Oh yeah, and to have fun too.
 
i thought the specs were more like 3gs and 0-100 in under 6sec.
shifter karts are the closest thing to F1 that the mere mortal can get. actually, over 85% of all professional racers start in karting. i had a sprint kart (CRG chassis, running yamaha kt-100) most incredible fun you can imagine. used to race at oakland park raceway in ny. marco andretti practiced and raced there. great kid. very humble. you could really tell they were breeding him to follow in the footsteps of his dad/grandfather. he had an entire crew watching, timing, tuning, etc. had a huge beautiful mobile home to lug him and his stuff around and some sweet gear.
 
Ken,

Cool,

My first chance to drive a Kart was at NSXPO this year. Very slow compared to what you are talking about, but a real blast anyway!!

I have a track not too far from me, about 45 minutes, maybe I need to go up there and attend their school.

LarryB
 
I bought the kart to take the place of the NSX on the track. I don't want to beat on the NSX like that too much anymore. Especially now that the odo has turned past 100K!
 
Chops,
I run a topkart hpv100 4-pipe and love it, it truely is the cheapest way to hone your skills and get the feel of a F1 race car. I went to the Jim Hall Racing school and they are top notch ppl. Lot of racers still Kart to hone their skill during off racing season and many ppl use Karting as a platform to get into Car racing. I just got back from buttonwillow track event with my nsx and it was a blast. Chops, you need to take your nsx out to sears point.
 
Originally posted by cpmoran:
anyone know were I can cart in south east virginia. I love F1 and can only imagine how much fun those carts must be.. Thanx

VIR has built a kart track and will be having a school soon...
 
It was pretty funny to return from an afternoon with KRC at Willow Springs (Nov 14), hop on NSX Prime, and see your
"just bought a shifter-kart" post.

fd057e9a.jpg


<A HREF="http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291090383">ImageStation album featuring 35mm stills</a>
<A HREF="http://new.imagestation.com/us/PC/DAlbum.jsp?id=309398">ImageStation album featuring IP55 video frame grabs</a>

I'm not thinking about buying one, but I forgot how much fun they are. This was only my second outing in a 125c.c. shifter-kart...my first was back in 1999 (in my pre-NSX days). All I can say is I have much to learn.

Enjoy yours! Do you have any pics yet?

Oh, and when I got back to the office after karting, I noticed my NSX crossed another milestone:

179151-9.jpeg



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--akira3D
'00 Acura NSX-T (red/black), '97 Honda Civic HX (black), '01 Lexus IS300 (black/black)
"Reality is better than the dream..."

akira3d.com/nsx

[This message has been edited by akira3d (edited 21 November 2002).]
 
I did just the opposite. I sold my shifter and bought the NSX for track. I broke my leg bad racing motocross and thought shifter kart racing would be just as fun. I really got into it, Paul Leary motor, DRACK, 50mm axle, the whole 9 yards. At first it was a blast just driving the thing (So Cal tracks). But then you start racing and things change. Karts don't resond to conventional race vehicle dynamic theories due to their nature(solid axle, frame flex, etc). It quickly became apparent that the slightest little chassis adjustment could mean the difference between winning and last place. And I'm not talking about the many "typical" adjustmants like tires, track, caster, camber, torsion bar(s)and corner weights that are all well documented but which still have differing "expert" opinions on what they do, when they do it, and particulary WHY they do what they do. That's frustrating enough. What I'm talking about could be as simple as loosening up the seat bolts, adding or taking off a seat strut, changing the stiffness of the rear axle, moving the axle up or down on it's frame mounts, moving or reclining the seat a half inch, loosening or tightening the rear bumper, etc, etc. You can chase your tail forever. Now, my background is automotive engineering and I thought I understood the physics behind all these tweeks, but the output never matched my predictions. In fact, many did just the opposite! There's just something strange about karts and how they handle that goes against all logic. It's an art, not a science. And as such, the people who have painfully either figured it out by luck or trial and error DON'T want to share their knowledge. Very frustrating. I guess I don't blame them. This, and the fact that most of the time you're racing against teenagers with no fear and visions of becoming the next Indy car or F1 champ just created a negative environment.
With my NSX I can make a specific chassis adjustment and it responds accordingly. I'm not constantly chasing my tail and I can concentrate on my driving. I'm driving with mature adults (for the most part) who use good judgement since they need their cars to get home after the event. Most of us just want to have fun which makes for a much more relaxing atmosphere. When I feel like banging bars, I'll race my MXer, It's a lot cheaper (unless you count the medical bills). Good luck on your karting experience, hope it will be better than mine. Mark
 
Mark, Ditto on the young kids, some are darn right nuts. After 2 years in sprints I was out of there and went on to road racing. The kids that go to road racing for some higher speeds often wake up a bit when your backside is 2" off the pavement and your site lines change completely. Quite a difference when you spin @ 60 mph in a sit-up sprinter in comparison to 100mph spin in a laydown kart. I've seen more than a few white faces and parental lectures.
 
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