Getting Started in Karting - My Experiences I recently got started in karting, so my experiences may be helpful to anyone currently interested in getting started. This file should be read with the caveat that I am very new to this sport, so much of this is based on my impressions, and may not be totally accurate. I first became interested in the fall of 1993, so I spent most of the winter of '93 and spring of '94 getting started. One of the first things I realized was that my sponsor (wife) was not going to let me go out and jump in with both feet. I was going to have to balance cost against quality/potential frustration. The first thing I did was go to a race at a local road track. The track (Circleville Raceway Park in Circleville, OH) is a 5/8 mile road track. It's only a couple of years old, and in very good shape. The only other race I had been to was years ago at Mid-Ohio. I quickly realized that the first decision I was going to have to make was whether I wanted to race Briggs or Yamaha. The primary difference, obviously, is the engine. The Briggs class uses a 5hp Briggs & Stratton 4-cycle engine, while the Yamaha class uses a 100cc 2-cylcle engine. What this translated to me was the Briggs was slower. My impression was the the Briggs was much more critical of driving errors because the engine took a long time to get back up to speed. The Yamahas seemed to be able to accelerate quicker, but they were challenging in that they were really fast. I watched both of them to try to get an impression of where I would be more comfortable. One other thing I did while at the track was get the phone number of a local karting shop. The next week I headed out to the kart shop. I met the owner (Steve Hicks at Midwest Karting Performance) and talked to him for a couple of hours. I told him that I had been to the track and was torn between the two classes. I also told him that I wanted to get into a class where I didn't have to be constantly pouring money and time into the engine. I had read in Competitive Karting, by Gary Martin, that the Yamaha was much less maintenance, so I told Steve that I was looking more at the Yamaha, but that I was a little intimidated at their speed. His suggestion was that I get a Yamaha, but use a can muffler instead of a pipe. The difference is that the pipe "tunes" the system to offer peak horsepower. The can knocks the horsepower down about half. This would be like racing with a Briggs, with the option to put a pipe on after I was more comfortable with driving the kart. That sounded reasonable to me, so that's what I decided to do. I also decided that I wanted a new engine and clutch, and new safety equipment. I was willing to buy a used chassis, used support equipment, and make a decision based on availability for other things. Here's where we start talking dollars and cents. Steve had a used chassis that was a year old, and like everything else offered for sale in karting, had only been raced four times. It looked to me to be in good condition, although the tires were pretty worn. We dickered around a little and agreed on $900 for the chassis and he would throw in four new tires. In retrospect I still feel that this was a good deal for both of us. The engine was $580.00, but I spent another couple of hundred having it "blue-printed." So, for engine and chassis I'd spent $1700. If I was willing to buy a used engine and clutch I probably could have found a ready-to-race kart for around this much, but I really didn't want to deal with engine problems right away. There were a few more expensive things to buy. The clutch surprised me at $180. I didn't realize how complicated the clutch was. My experience with centrifugal clutches had been limited to the type found on mini-bikes. I also wanted to have a digitron gauge. This is a digital gauge that measures Cylinder Head Temp, and RPMs. They're around $250 new, but Steve got me in touch with a guy that was selling his used for $180. I bought that. I also at the time thought I needed to own my own starter. The starter is a self-contained unit much like the ones they start Indy cars with. They go for about $180 new, but again Steve knew someone selling one used. I got it for $120. After having been racing a few times now, I realize I didn't need this right up front. There are lots of guys that just roll up to the grid and ask for a start. It's nice to have my own, but it could have waited a little while. Safety equipment was an area where I wanted to make sure I got quality stuff. When you go to buy a helmet, make sure to check that it conforms to Snell 90 specs. My local track has never checked, and I've seen kids driving with the Meijer's $45 special, but I think this is an area where it's STUPID to try to cut costs. I've had to restrain myself from saying something to these kid's parents. I ended up buying a Bell helmet for around $200. You'll also have to wear a neck support (about $30 I think) and gloves. You can get by with wearing a jacket, but I wanted a driving suit. It was a little over $100. I also keep a fire extinguisher in the van. Those are dirt cheap, so it seemed worth the investment. For awhile I put the kart in the back of the van to go to the track. After a few times of doing this and suffering a sore back from it, I decided to get a small trailer. I bought a trailer kit from the hardware store for $170. It had everything but a bed. I just bolted a big piece of plywood to it, and put on some tie-down rings. It works very well. I can push it around and store it in the garage easily, and I can get the kart on and off by myself. Another cost will be to have a trailer hitch installed if you don't a;ready have one. All told, I've probably spent over $3000 to get started. Of this, about $2000 was the minimum required. There are definately cheaper ways to get started, but like I said up front, I wanted to buy new enough stuff to minimize frustration. To summarize, my advice to someone interested in getting started should follow these steps:
Well, that's it. I hope this is a help to someone. |
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