Indoor Kart'n.....

[moparmaniac07]

I went to one near Stroudsburg, PA, I don't remember the name. It was a slick track, carts probably only got up to 20, but with a large group it's even more fun. When you know everyone on the track, it makes the bragging rights of winning that much better.

[Monster]

I remember the good ole days when you could slam your buddy into the tires, but now if you even look at somebody else cross-eyed, they black flag you !!

[A/Fuel]

I remember the good ole days when you could slam your buddy into the tires, but now if you even look at somebody else cross-eyed, they black flag you !!

I figure that if you have to wear a helmet and neck collar they should be prepared for a little carnage.

[dieselgeek]

When I worked at Spectre in SoCal it was an "Every Other Thursday Night" event, we'd hit the various indoor cart tracks. The electric ones were surprisingly quick and fun! Of course, half the staff at Spectre are hardcore SCCA / NASA racers so I was nowhere near running in front. haha.

[oldsman496]

All of the indoor tracks around here have shuttered. Used to be one just a mile from my house and my boy and i went there allot. It had guards all around the cars and a spring loaded guardrail. It was a polished concrete "B" shaped track. the owners were really easy going about rough driving. The boy and i only got booted once in about 3 yrs they were open...but they closed up yrs ago and I can't find any other indoor tracks within 25 miles of me...I really used to be an addict of Malibu Grand Prix... 50 second club license...held the local track record on and off for 12 yrs till they closed... I loved that place. They had a Lead Foot Special in the late 80's that was a dollar a lap. I blew over $400 one week, before I realized I had a problem. seriously... i loved that place. They are all closed now. New hotel got built right behind the Miamisburg malibu... only took about a yr for them to threaten to sue for business loss due to the noise...So Malibu closed. and a yr or so later the one down in Cincy closed....and a couple after that the one in Columbus closed....sniff , sniff...... i miss 'em.......

[TC]

I have all sorts of trophies from racing here in Seattle.... electric karts are a blast. TC, use your weight to advantage - yes, they can out accelerate you, but you can out corner them.

That's what I did on the big sweeping turns, but I kept sliding out on the hairpins and that is where I lost momentum......

[dieselgeek]

I don't understand how weight would HELP in the corners? I read the Tune To Win book and while I am not race or chassis tuning skilled by any means, Carroll Smith makes it prety clear that weight is your enemy in the cornering situation...?

[shaun callaway]

those were definitely good times Scott LMAO

[dieselgeek]

those were definitely good times Scott LMAO

more fun for you because you can hang with Pilun and Vincent. haha!

[TC]

I don't understand how weight would HELP in the corners? I read the Tune To Win book and while I am not race or chassis tuning skilled by any means, Carroll Smith makes it prety clear that weight is your enemy in the cornering situation...?

Maybe when you have suspension, but on a rigid frame the weight helps the tires dig harder in the turns....I was able to floor it though the straight away and keep it floored all the way through the wide turn at the end of it, until I had to slow down for a hairpin, this is where I would catch everyone.......

[SuperBuickGuy]

Maybe when you have suspension, but on a rigid frame the weight helps the tires dig harder in the turns....I was able to floor it though the straight away and keep it floored all the way through the wide turn at the end of it, until I had to slow down for a hairpin, this is where I would catch everyone.......

yep, you need some weight to promote adhesion.... while Karts don't have a suspension, don't let that make you think that the chassis doesn't flex - it does, under hard braking (especially with the big guys) you lift the inside rear tire like FWD cars on a race track.... the trick is to take advantage of that hard braking by forgetting smooth and steady wins the race - it's just the opposite - you turn as hard as you can without understeer then do a progressingly greater radius coming out of the corner. You win for two reasons 1) you can brake later, and 2) you can start accelerating sooner out of the corner.... and in Karts, it's all about the corner - especially since most of them are run on concete floors.

[dieselgeek]

Maybe when you have suspension, but on a rigid frame the weight helps the tires dig harder in the turns....I was able to floor it though the straight away and keep it floored all the way through the wide turn at the end of it, until I had to slow down for a hairpin, this is where I would catch everyone.......

pretty sure that goes against racecar physics. The weight you use to gain traction is still additional weight that fights the change in direction. there are a number of roadrace guys here who shoudl be able to shed some light on that.

edit: if more weight was better, than why woudl there be a "minimum" weight rule in all the racing kart classes I know of? (which is remarkably few). Also, if that theory was true then it would seem the more weight the better, so why not carry around a few hundred extra pounds of weight? this is an honest question, not trying to get anyones feathers ruffled.

[JeffMcKC]

As a Guy who also has many Karting Dust collectors and Championships as a Kid. Weight does not make a Kart faster EVER.

I ran 100 cc Stock Appearing Light and Heavy and 100cc Open Light and Heavyand won Championships in all. In Enduro Karts in the 1970's when it was very big

[JeffMcKC]

In a Sprint Kart or Sit up, the weight will be to high to help, it will also with limited power, slow it down on accel for the exit of the turns and make it harder to slow down at the entering the turn. Setting a kart up balance is key and keeping momentum up

[SuperBuickGuy]

Let's use drag racing to help understand the concept.... traction is created by the weigh shift to the rear wheels. Without the weight shift, you don't accelerate as quickly because you don't have as much grip. On a Kart track, the same principle applies in reverse, more weight on the front wheels (obviously to the limit of grip) means you turn harder, faster (thus also the need to turn sharp then do a progressively longer radius out of the turn). DG, you'd be right if it was a skateboard, but Karts flex and weight shift like indy carts.

I got my trophies between 10 years ago and 4 years ago (as an adult at 200+ lbs).... and I beat all sorts of people, including kids - and the Karts were all, basically the same.