Anyone have experience with karting?

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tricky

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Not the Super Mario kind 🤪

I went to K1 Speedway at Downsview with some friends on the weekend and had an absolute blast. Now I'm wondering about "real" karting (no shade on K1!!)

I did some prelim research, seems like there are quite a few clubs around. Hamilton and Innisfil seem like big hubs. Toronto has a club as well.

I also see there are two main categories based on the engine, Briggs & Stratton (4t) vs. Rotax (2t). My understanding is that B&S is a more approachable, cheaper option and more popular in North America. Rotax is more popular internationally, I think.

So, do any of you have experience??? I'd love to hear about it!
 
Sonnythebull (or whatever his current username is) has a few carts in his garage. I would guess he runs them at goodwood as it's the closest to him but I don't know.

Shifter karts on big tracks look like they'd be fun for a day. I suspect tight tracks and normal karts are more fun though (and a bit safer, 250 km/h in a go kart seems dodgy).

The kart track at mosport looks like fun with lots of elevation, I've never been on it though.
 
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10 or 15 years ago I did a day at the Mosport kart track. The rental org we used is now defunct, I think, but they were 125cc 2T shifter karts. The experience was mind-altering; it's almost indescribable. It would literally snap your head back from the acceleration when you upshifted at full throttle in the power band. You can floor it coming out of the bowl/carousel, but it was so bumpy that I literally could not see - my eyes were vibrating around in my head so badly, and I was still one of the slowest guys on the track. Time and space didn't make sense for a little while after that experience - I recall looking down at the speedo in my car on the way home and seeing that I was doing 120km/hr+ in a 60 zone, and it felt like I was standing still.
 
I just sold a Burrell 40 mil chassis with a 125 pig engine last year.

What are you looking to do?

I think I still have some stuff kicking around
 
I thought the entry level 4T motor was the Honda GX160 6HP, and everyone uses a Jiangdong.
With time and money you can get 12HP out of the Honda, and 18HP out of the Jiandong knock off... using expensive after market parts. (figure that one out????). You can buy almost every part third party and BILLET (everyone seems to be hung up on BILLET parts).

Not go karting, but i was involved in a spec class drag racer with a Briggs motor... a "junior" class for 12yr olds... and i got talking to a father that said he had $22,000 USD into the motor, billet EVERYTHING, custom forged crank... and another $5,000 into the custom billet carb and fuel system... (and his kid was running mid pack) for what is basically a lawn mower engine.
Shifter carts can pull the same "G"s in corners as a F1 car.
 
bitzz said:
I thought the entry level 4T motor was the Honda GX160 6HP, and everyone uses a Jiangdong.
With time and money you can get 12HP out of the Honda, and 18HP out of the Jiandong knock off... using expensive after market parts. (figure that one out????). You can buy almost every part third party and BILLET (everyone seems to be hung up on BILLET parts).

Not go karting, but i was involved in a spec class drag racer with a Briggs motor... a "junior" class for 12yr olds... and i got talking to a father that said he had $22,000 USD into the motor, billet EVERYTHING, custom forged crank... and another $5,000 into the custom billet carb and fuel system... (and his kid was running mid pack) for what is basically a lawn mower engine.
Shifter carts can pull the same "G"s in corners as a F1 car.
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As much as I like to tinker, for stuff like this I would prefer stock motors (or at least well defined upgrades or something like dyno at 12 hp or less). Increasing the motor cost from $1K to $30K did almost nothing to improve the fun, it just increased the cost.

How much power do go karts need before weight drops out as the dominant factor? On crappy 5hp rental carts, regardless of skill, the lightest person wins (assuming they can make it a lap without crashing). Very few tracks requiring lifting in those cars, brakes are only required when stopping.

401 mini indy was fun as the concrete was so slippery you had have some skill to get around as full throttle and hang on didn't work. It appears to be gone now though (edit: apparently not gone, just moved).
 
Mosport/CTMP as others have stated. There's a cart builder in Bowmanville. When it comes to racing "stock" is never unmodified.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
Mosport/CTMP as others have stated. There's a cart builder in Bowmanville. When it comes to racing "stock" is never unmodified.
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Some series come close with crate motors owned by the series. You buy into the pool and they hand you a motor for the weekend that you aren't allowed to monkey with. I am ok with some mods but personally, I would like the racing to be about the drivers/riders not just the size of the wallet. I know not everybody shares that view. Wasn't there a 125 or 250 race bike fleet a few years ago that ran that way? You bought into the pool the motors were sealed by the organizers?
 
There’s also a guy off of 124 toward Guelph that builds carts
 
I raced years ago, my son has been racing since he was 7 (12 now) and my daughter raced this year (also 7). Go with the Briggs, the Hondas are basically dinosaurs now and not used for anything beyond mowing lawns. Rotax is faster, but the maintenance cost is way higher and tire cost increases dramatically as well (softer tires). Do NOT buy a brand new kart, they drop in value faster than Maseratis. Do a season in Arrive and Drive at the closest track that offers it before committing to buying a kart and joining a regional club.
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