Karts for practice?

[Shinrar]

Hey, its me again. I've been thinking, because I've still got a few more months to wait till I can get that car I mentioned a few threads back, maybe there might be something I can do in the meantime. You know, to get my non-existant racing skills to a level where I can feel like I at least know what I'm supposed to be doing, whether or not I'm actually good enough to do it right.

So I was talking to some friends, and one mentioned this Kart Racing thingy that opened up around here last summer. Apparently the suckers get up to like, 40 MPH or something...

Anywho, I was thinking, would that be good practice for Pre-Drift Grip 'racing' Learning? You know, those racing lines and what not cutting apexes and the like. And, if I feel like being a little silly, can you drift a Kart? I'm thinking you can probably Fient or Brake-drift (Is Fient spelled right?), because they don't have clutchs, but what do I know? I've only slide a car once, and that was on accident Oh, and what are the odds of me breaking some sort of rule by doing it? After all, if I eat away their tires I doubt they'll be to happy... (Note: Not sure if it will eat the tires, I'm just guessing it probably will. Then again, I know nothing about Karts soo...)

Oh, and incase you're wondering, I don't plan on slidding it to much if I do. Just a little bit of angle at a time just to get the feel for it... Maybe.

[Dead Roman]

this has been discussed before the search button is your friend. And yes karts are a great way to develope driving skillz. I guarantee mor than half of the worlds open wheel driversF1 indy champ cars) came from go karting. Its one of the most raw forms of driving and in karting, line is everything because generall y the carts have the same HP and tourque.

[Shinrar]

Well, the question was more can you drift a Kart... I didn't find anything when I skimmed search on it, maybe I just used the wrong keywords. *looks again*

[ReavTek]

I goto my local kart place once in awhile. It is easy to drift, and a helluva lot of fun. The karts there go about 65mph. Most karting facilities dont mind drifting, they just dont want you hitting other drivers. I cant tell you how many times I have been bumped while drifting and spun out then T-boned... Try to go at a time when all the jerks are gone.

[flyinsideways]

yo theres a place in texas and they have a special drift track were they put baby powder all around the track and turn you lose...most people just run into you cuz they think its just to make you lose controle but its pretty easy to drift the whole track...i did it and still beat my whole family when they were driving "normal" its fun tho

[Shinrar]

Sounds fun

I think I'm going to go try one day soon maybe... Just curious though...

Is it better to do and beg for forgivness, or ask and be denied? As long as there isn't a rule against it, can they do anything to me other than say stop it and/or make me leave without a refund?

Also, will it do any noticable eatting to the tires or because they're probably cheap ones it won't matter?

[SidewaysGts]

I Def' would encourage this. As mentioend before MANY of the top racers of today grew up as children racing these machines.

Though the charecteristics of the vehicle itself will be much different, the racing "basic" such as lines control etc will all be there.

As for drifting, dependso n the kart, but the higher end ones can def get very sideways.

[Shinrar]

Yippe! Getting excited just thinking about it! Guess I'll just have to find out for myself if I can get it to go sideways, cause I've no idea how to tell if they're high end or low end... Oh well, best way to find out is to try.

Ohh... Maybe I can try to get a job there... Doubt it, but hey, let me dream!

[SidewaysGts]

haha thatd actually be an awesome place to get a job, maybe get some free track time at the end of the day or before the day begins.

To find out if they drift just go wide cut in hard and jump on the gas. Get good and a minor flick motion might be enough. I warn ya now tho unless ur just playing for fun, its not really the fastest way generally (unless its more of a slip angle, but thats much harder and a bit different). You cant really block with it like a real car because theyre so small and there are so many lines you have to chose from.

Either way man have fun and let us know how it turns out

[Shinrar]

Its more of a get used to sliding out and getting around fast for when I plan on drifting.

I mean, my first time sideways was an accident, and it scared me. Before I can do any logical thinking during practice (like notice what I'm doing and what that causes to happen), I need to get that fear gone. After that, then it is more for practice like "If I floor it, this happens, but if I go gently smoothly on the gas just a little, this happens".

By the way... Whats a good rate/seat time for gokarts? I mean, if the place I heard about is overly expensive, it might be worth it to look around for another one.

[ReavTek]

Definetly check for specials. My local indoor kart track has a deal, $35 for an all day pass only on thursdays! Check around, you shouldn't be paying alot for karting.

[SidewaysGts]

My first few times i just coutnersteered too much or not enough (depends on the direction): In my defence my steeringwheel sits facing 10 o clock..

[flyinsideways]

yo what kind of karts do you guys have? we have shitty ones around here the only indoor ones are electric(that i know of) and i havn't seen any that do over MAYBE 25

[Shinrar]

According to the friend I had that went to the ones around here, they reach around 40 or 45 MPH, so I'm going to assume it is probably Gas Powered.

Apparently they skid too, cause one of the friends was saying how when they slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel hard, they heard squeeling. But they were having to much fun for them to notice the details that would have told me if they were oversteering or understeering... oh well.

To bad for me they forgot the name of the place, just remember where, so I have to make it a point to swing by when I'm not working.

[ReavTek]

My local karting place uses gas powered karts that go hella fast. And they are very well maintained. When looking for a kart place go somewhere that is kart exclusive. What I mean by that is dont go somewhere where its an arcade/roller rink/mini golf and karts on the side... Look for a dedicated cart place. Try calling 411 or check the internet or yellow pages.