[Jim Derrig]

A major problem with the “one national organization” idea is that geographically we are freaking huge compared to Europe, and our population density is much lower.  One or two tracks probably are the only place to go for hundreds of miles, and they can, when they want, tell the so-called “national organization” to shove it without losing much if any of their customer base.

If a national org, for example, decides “only MG tires from now on,” it has no way of enforcing this–Bridgestone or Maxxis or whomever can just go the to local track and offer an incentive for using their tires.  What’s the national org going to do other than throw a tantrum?

[Jim Derrig]

Rotax runs pretty high minimum weights, so you might look around to see if any of the local clubs allow you to run at something less.  For example, the IKF (International Karting Federation) and TaG USA weights are about 15-20 pounds less than Rotax Challenge.  You might look for a local track/series that uses those weights.  Since you are first year and (presumably) not looking to qualify for the Rotax nationals or internationals, attending races certified for the Rotax Challenge Series probably isn’t a priority.

The good news about your situation is that if you run a race where they’re using those lower weights,  it’s a heck of a lot easier to lose weight by pulling off ballast than by dieting.

[Jim Derrig]

Just bought one:

X125T Engine Package <p style="color:red">*TRADE IN PROGRAM*</p>

 

[Jim Derrig]

Agree with TJ (as usual).  My background was similar to yours.   If I were you I wouldn’t worry about moving to shifter any time soon.  My skippy instructor said the next step up from a 125 shifter is an Indy car, and he was not exaggerating much.  Will Power–yes that Will Power–showed up at the Supernationals kart race in Vegas last  month racing TaG Masters (the class you’d be in) and finished 3rd.  Didn’t win a single heat.  So I wouldn’t worry too much about TaG being too slow or too easy and needing to get out of it and move to shifter after a year.

Engine selection likely will depend on what is being raced at the track/series you chose to participate at/in.  Both X30 and Rotax are the present “flavor of the month,” and they are roughly similar in terms of performance.  Note:  Rotax just introduced a series of upgrades, so make sure you get the upgraded engine and somebody doesn’t sell you an old one without full disclosure.

 

[Jim Derrig]

To give the original poster a sense of how competitive the top levels of karting are:  Will Power–yes the  current Indy Racing League champion–showed up at the Supernationals race in Vegas last month.  He entered the SLOWEST adult class available.

And finished third.

Showing up at a national level event with little or no experience is a bit like picking up a basketball for the first time and going to the McDonalds All-American game.  Who knows, you might be the next Kobe Bryant, but even he needed some experience before he could play at that level.  Same with karting.

[Jim Derrig]

Stock Honda wins on all counts and by a wide margin.  As a practical matter, DD2 exists solely as a class in the Rotax Challenge series, and a small class at that.  If you want to race that series and make it to a national or international final, then DD2 might be a class where the competition level and numbers give you a better shot at advancing.  Unless that’s your specific goal, run stock honda.

We have a very good (international competitor) DD2 driver show up at our local track on occasion.  He gets put in with the shifters and runs back-to-mid-pack, surrounded by  drivers definitely not at his ability level, purely because the DD2 is markedly slower than the stock Hondas.

[Jim Derrig]

My Skip Barber instructor said the next step up from a shifter is an Indy Car.  So yes, starting in a shifter is a bad idea.  The only people I’ve seen do really well had substantial experience in some other form of racing, e.g., Moto-X or something similar.  The LO206 suggestion is great advice if you can race it in your area.

[Jim Derrig]

Per the chief mechanic for the Praga factory racing team, the proper chain length is anything that results in the engine being between the two short tubes connecting the parellal longitudinal chassis bars in the engine mounting area.  So long as you are between those tubes, chain length will depend on where you want to place the engine for balance purposes (which is driver dependent).

This advice was for a Praga Dragon with an X30, but it should be sound for any chassis/engine combo.

[Jim Derrig]

Yes, thanks.  Hope more people participate next year.  My prediction is that Honda will come in with a very strong motor and the other manufacturers with their “frozen” designs will scream bloody murder.

[Jim Derrig]

Running the new Italian Motors X125 TaG motor in the Pacific NW (SIMA race track and IKF Region 6 Gold Cup).  The latent engineer in me fell in love with the motor even though it is not yet accepted on a national level.

Regarding the TaG fragmentation, I don’t think we can analogize to snowmobiles (or motocross) because those sports have far better spectator and TV appeal.  Because of their scale and relatively low top speed, karts do not make for good TV or spectator attendance.  Therefore, the only only money in karting is from selling product and from entry fees, which is a pretty small kitty. We’re seeing a relatively natural evolution in which competitors are attempting to maximize their slice of the pie in a sport in which there is no common, shareable revenue like TV dollars.

[Jim Derrig]

So you’ve enjoyed an unfair age advantage all of these years and now you’re complaining that the tables have turned and you are stuck with an unfair weight disadvantage?  Boo-hoo-hoo.  Deal with it.  Your competitors have been doing so all the time you’ve been “at the front on a national level.”

If you really love karting you’ll just have to accept the fact the you’re not going to win for a few years.  If what you love is winning using an age advantage, maybe you can switch to baseball and find a little league that will believe you’re 12 years old.

Okay, so the above paragraph is a little strong, but it’s written by a 6’2″ 190 lb. 57-year-old who has to go toe-to-toe with 20-year-olds of the same size and weight.  Life ain’t fair.  Just go as fast as you can and love doing it.

 

[Jim Derrig]

I don’t understand the post above at all.  If the bottom end power and the 12k-14k power band were something people “bitched” about how did fixing these complaints make “the playing filed better equalized”?   They were power issues present in virtually all Rotax motors.  The field now is NOT equal since you HAVE to spend $500 (or whatever the price winds up being) or get clobbered.

I guess the real question will be what upgrades Rotax will require the user to implement for the motor to be legal.

[Jim Derrig]

Find a local track, attend a race a two, and pick a class that seems to be going about the pace you want or a little faster.  As you’ve probably guessed from all the complaining around here, things are fragmented right now on a national scale.  But what they are running or not running in Indiana or Florida should not concern you.  My experience is that if you go to the local track, the options pare WAY down very quickly and picking a class is not hard at all.

[Jim Derrig]

I don’t think the situation is remotely similar.   The X30 has no clear performance advantage over the Leopard, so you can stick with the Leopard and still be competitive without $1000 in upgrades or the cost of an entirely new motor.  By significantly increasing performance, Rotax is forcing its client base to shell out some serious $$ to remain relevant on the track.

[Jim Derrig]

This strikes me as possibly a serious marketing error by Rotax.  SKUSA is specing the X-30 and Italian Motors just introduced the X125.  So now a rotax user is in the position of thinking “since I have to get a new engine eventually, maybe I’ll switch,” whereas if rotax had stayed pat it wouldn’t be putting its client base to that choice and that base would be much more likely to stay pat as well.

 

[Jim Derrig]

Hey Greg, did I win it all?  I sold my TaG kart and am looking for another and with my winnings from this and $8500 I probably can afford a new one.  :)

[Jim Derrig]

Holy crapp!  What happened in TaG Masters?  16 DNF’s and 6 DQ’s?  That’s half the field.

[Jim Derrig]

Q  Ham Ros Bottas

R  Ham Ros Bottas

[Jim Derrig]

More weight does not mean less grip.  It means more grip, but the additional grip is not enough to overcome the additional inertia created by the extra weight.

Aerodynamic downforce does not create additional inertia, so it is “free” additional grip from that point of view.  With aero the penalty is drag, not inertia

Don’t feel bad about the confusion.  For decades this was seriously debated in racing circles, with some contending that more weight helped the car “hug the road” better.  The debate ended around the late 1950’s, with Colin Chapman repeatedly beat heavier, higher powered cars with his lightweight designs.

[Jim Derrig]

double plus to everything TJ said.  He’s a national level driver and knows what he’s talking about.  TaG karts are plenty fast enough.  AJ Almendinger will be at the Supernationals this week and he’s driving TaG, not shifter.

[Jim Derrig]

Q: Ros Ham Bot

R: Ham Ros Ric

[Jim Derrig]

Q:  Ham Ros Ric

R:  Ham Ros Ric

[Jim Derrig]

The frame color of the second one is the old TopKart blue.  Based strictly on that and the bodywork, I’m guessing a 2002 or older TopKart.

The cross member behind the seat should have an ID plate or stamp indicating the manufacturer.

[Jim Derrig]

Mike,

The piston sizes actually are the sizes for the cylinder bore itself–the tolerance is pre-built into the piston supplied.  Thus, you machine the bore to, for example, 54.20 and order the piston that corresponds to that size.  The piston will not actually be 54.20, but will be slightly smaller.  The green piston would be for a bore of 54.20 while red is slightly oversized, bore = 54.201.

[Jim Derrig]

PM me if you want Jason’s contact info.  The newer model SGM on his kart is a monster, and the prettiest ICC motor I’ve ever seen (if you’re into that kind of aesthetics)

 

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