[Tim Koyen]

The standard answer here would be whatever has the best turnout in your area.  Once you move up to Sr., the Leopard will be the way to go for the greatest number of places to race and competitors to race with.

[Tim Koyen]

I’m with Tony.  I usually leave on the counter in the shop for the winter and toss it into the charger every month or so.  I’ve had mine for many years as well.

[Tim Koyen]

The primary strategy of the race is to not break.  In most cases, if you break something, you’ll lose too much time to make it up.

The last time we raced it, which was a few years back, we reinforced nerf bars, had quick change brake pads, fresh tires mounted on hubs so they go on quickly, safety wired everything we could, used double brackets on anything possible, and so on.  Keep the kart together first, worry about going fast later.

One issue with the Rotax is the battery life.  I know there are people out there who used special batteries that would last the entire race, but someone else will have to chime in with that info.

I think 2 sets of tires will last the race.

I think the fuel tanks will hold enough for about 50 laps, so figure your pit stops from there.

Good luck and have fun.

[Tim Koyen]

That would seem a bit odd, and probably not the best.  I could see that acting similarly to a rear bumper with tight bolts.  I think I’d try to spread it a bit, one way or another, so it fits on the bushings easily.

[Tim Koyen]

I always ran all castor, because my builder said it makes the most power, but it doesn’t hurt to mix it 50/50 like Giff said.  Some people run it that way all the time.  Blend is mostly synthetic, so it burns with less carbon build up.  I’ve heard of people racing the castor and practicing with blend to keep the carbon build up down.  Either works.

[Tim Koyen]

Now that the SummerNational is waaaay west, sure would be nice to have the SpringNationals waaaay east…  How about New Castle, IN?!  You’re not going to expect me drive 2000 miles each way 3 times are you?  If so, you’re expecting too much. :)

[Tim Koyen]

Depending on how bad it is, most of them can be straightened.  I’m sure there are places locally that would be able to do it rather than ship it across the country.  Go to the Motorplex in Mooresville and ask them.  They may do it there, otherwise I’m sure they can direct you to someone who can.

[Tim Koyen]

That RV mat is pretty nice.  So nice that I would be afraid to use it.  My driver spends a lot of time off track, so much so that I’m thinking of installing an automated “kart wash”.  I can’t imagine cleaning my kart on that nice mat.  I use the basic blue tarp, which is a bit flimsy on rougher ground.  That, or nothing.

[Tim Koyen]

Shayan,

The Leopard 1 & 2 also applies to the WKA sprint racing series, Manufactures Cup.  In sprint racing, you race both days for a single points championship at the end of the year.

Most any safe kart that meets the dimensional specs will be fine.  There are plenty of great tracks and clubs in the Midwest where folks would be willing to help make sure you’ve got what you need to compete.  Based on your profile, I see that you’re in Northfield, IL, which is a really great location, since there are several tracks within a couple hours as well as kart shops.  The closest shop to you is probably Viking Kart Products in Carol Stream.  Then there is CKT Racing in St. Charles.  A little further is Franklin Kart in New Berlin, WI and JET Karting in South Bend, IN…both of which are top notch.  There is also a nice track at JET Karting.

While the WKA national series is one of the major national series, there are others, as well as regional series.  You might want to give a regional program like the Route 66 Sprint series a visit.  Its a good place to get your feet wet before jumping into a national event.  Route 66 is hosting its last race of 2013 at Mid-State kart club in Springfield, IL this weekend if you’ve got a day to kill.  That regional series is almost as big as a WKA Man Cup race, so you get a good idea of how it all works.

Here are a few useful websites…

http://www.route66kartracing.com

http://www.vikingkartproducts.com

http://www.franklinkart.com

http://www.cktracing.com

http://www.jetkarting.com

http://www.badgerkartclub.com

Best of luck and feel free to email me at tim@kartlift.com or call my shop if you have any more questions. 877-777-8020.  I’m always willing to help new people get involved in karting.

 

[Tim Koyen]

Well there you go.  Learn something new everyday.

[Tim Koyen]

Wow…I thought Florida had a lot of very nice tracks.  Maybe you need to drive a little outside of you home area and see the nicer ones.  Most karters would be thrilled to have so many great tracks in their home state.

[Tim Koyen]

Yeah, I don’t think its just a simple action of plugging things in.  For instance, the 09 uses a rev limiter that the older ones don’t have.  Russell Karting would be the expert on the subject.

[Tim Koyen]

I’m sure you’ll be fine Randy.  With higher weights, I could definitely see the 32 working just fine.

[Tim Koyen]

I kind of lost track of the original purpose of this thread and it seems to have drifted off to who makes what and where, but…

If there were a good Karting Only show in a major US city (with an International airport) where serious industry people could get together to show off their products, meet others, and perhaps make some deals, AND it didn’t cost an arm and a leg, I would be up for something like that.  There is really no need to do it any more often than every other year though.

As it sits, I’m not paying $3-5k for a booth to be a sideshow at a general motorsports show.  I don’t have an aerospace division.

[Tim Koyen]

Although I’m sure there are people running a 32mm in a HPV class, it doesn’t seem optimal.  If its what you have, then I could see it, but if I were buying a chassis for that class, it definitely wouldn’t be 32mm unless the class weight was really high.

[Tim Koyen]

Good job Mike.

As you come to realize the “feel” of the kart and when it’s working and when it’s not, you’ll get a good solid understanding of how to make it fast.  Then you can get some driver coaching or do a school and get much more out of it.

[Tim Koyen]

Eric is right on the mark.

 

And with regards to running slightly different pressures on one side or another to compensate for a track that has substantially more turns one way, that is also very common.  A lot of people will even their tire pressures out right when they come off the track hot, which effectively offsets them to compensate for one side or tire being worked more than the other(s).

 

And just to echo what was said by many, I would NEVER induce a stagger condition by increasing tire pressure.

[Tim Koyen]

I don’t think there is any performance difference between the clutches.  I know some series allow both and they seem to do equally as well.  No idea on the clearance number, and I’m not even sure how to measure that.

[Tim Koyen]

I would really put some more seat time in before going to a driving school.  I think you’d get much more out of it if you had more experience.

[Tim Koyen]

That’s nice David, but it still requires us to go into every forum and do that, which isn’t reasonable.  Is there a way that we could at least have a single button to mark everything in all the forums Read?

[Tim Koyen]

If OTK, then its the 30mm version.  All others, you’ll need to ask an expert on that Make.  Topkart seems to do well in juniors and is well supported in WKA.  I don’t know what their models are, but call MKP/Topkart USA and ask.

[Tim Koyen]

Everyone named so far are good choices.  They all do tons of engines and have a lot of experience wringing the most out of them.  You can’t really expect someone who only does a handful of them each season to be getting the maximum.  You really need someone who does a ton and has tested and tweaked everything to the max.

All that said, driving is far more important at the rookie level. :)

[Tim Koyen]

In sprint karting, most people are pretty much right on the bumper of the guy in front of him, but its easy to get caught up in a wreck that way too.

[Tim Koyen]

The website for the Winter Kart Show is aptly named: winterkartshow.com.  The website is not exactly “comprehensive”, but you get the idea.

The show has a swap portion and a new portion.  Some folks are there to just display, some to sell, and some both.

[Tim Koyen]

Bob…

After being in the karting business for 10 years, I get my share of karting on a daily basis, so I probably wouldn’t just attend a show either way, regardless of where it was.

As a business, I do exhibits where the opportunities, timing, cost, and market fit with my business.  I do the Winter Kart Show, but I also do swap meets and other kart shows that are geared toward 4 cycles, which comprise a chunk of my business.  Although this forum tends to be 2 cycle focused, there are far more racers out there racing ovals and dirt than there are sprint and road racers.  So while Vegas reaches some of the people with the deepest pockets, its attendees are really not very representative of many karting businesses demographic.  Not to mention that costs at venues like that are astronomical.  The last time I checked, PRI was way out of my price budget as well.  I could do multiple smaller shows that would reach my demographic much better, for the same money.  Glitz & glamour doesn’t come cheap.

Now all that being said, I like to have some of my product on display at events that I attend.  I just don’t call it a “show”…I call it a race.  Usually being a series sponsor of some type gives you the opportunity to display or sell at events, but for some series, this cost is very high.

The fact of the matter is, I see the same 300 people at most of the race events.  They know me, I know them.  They know my products.  Some buy from me, some don’t.  Its all good.  We’re still friends.  When I want to market my product, I’m aiming to see people who don’t know me or my products.  For me, that means going to different areas and markets.

Marketing isn’t about just putting your wares in front of a boatload of people.  I could dump it on the side of I-80 and accomplish that.  Marketing is about getting people who are potential customers to take an interest in what you have to offer, and that task is a little different for everyone.

 

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