[Michael Zahorski]

William,

You can check with Tommy at Texas Karts to see if he has anything used for sell. He is the local shop for HCKC.  You can also check the classifieds on HCKC’s website.  Someplace nearby would help save on shipping as well.  My daughter races at HCKC, and I can tell you that everyone out there will be able to help you with whatever you need help with. The LO class typically has a large turnout, so you should always have a great crowd to race with.  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about running at HCKC.

[Michael Zahorski]

Trent,

What races around Texas will you be running? My daughter runs cadet at our club (HCKC) and in the Texas Sprint Race Series.  It’s a 245 lb min weight for that class in those races, which I believe is also SKUSA’s min for that class. We typically come in anywhere from 247-252 in weight after each race. Race ready, our kart weighs around 160 lbs. right now with 10 lbs of ballast added.  We’ve raced with a few kids that have no problem making weight, and have no weight added to their kart, so you’re not alone.

[Michael Zahorski]

Rob,

I’m in San Antonio, and if you’re in Austin, there is Hill Country Kart Club in New Braunfels.  It’s a little closer than the tracks that David mentioned, but those are great tracks as well.  All the people at Hill Country Kart Club are great and willing to help.  Our local kart shop is Texas Karts and is located in San Antonio.

For you, you can easily take the advice of those above.  For your kids, your 5 year old would definitely be in a kid kart, and there isn’t too much to worry from there.  For your 7 year old, your best bet is to get started with a cadet kart (assuming they’ll turn 8 next year).  HCKC offers 2 main classes for cadets, both with a good turnout usually. There is Cadet 1, which is more for the beginner, you can run the LO206 or Micro Swift in that class.  The other class is the Cadet 2, which will primarily run the Mini-Swift in that class. This is the class that my daughter races in.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have more questions about the track and club there.

HCKC has a Facebook page and a website that you can visit.

[Michael Zahorski]

The engine is a Rotax. I know for sure that it is not a Gazelle because our track has been running the Gazelle and it’s what we had on my daughter’s kart.  There should also be an identification tag/stamp on the motor somewhere.

[Michael Zahorski]

Someone brought one out to our track once and ran with the Tag class.  He used the motor and batteries from the Zero Cycle.  The top speed was about equal, maybe a little faster, but where he excelled was in acceleration (of course).  Normally on our back straight you might be able to pass one other kart, he was able to take 3 of us in the first half of the straightaway.  The one problem that he has running with us was heat production.  The batteries produced so much heat when charging between heats.  He had bags of ice on the batteries and motor in between runs to cool them down.  He actually missed one heat since the batteries weren’t charged and were still hot.

[Michael Zahorski]

I took it to our local kart shop, and he put it on a lathe and removed some of the material.  IAME clutches are known to engage a little early on the lower horsepower motors, and typically the clutches should be cut some prior to their first use.

Once we got our clutch cut, the starts were much better and my daughter didn’t bog down and get passed so quickly when the green flag waved.

[Michael Zahorski]

I don’t have any direct experience with the Mini Swift yet, but since you said it is a new motor, could it be the clutch?  Could the clutch be engaging too soon, before the motor hits the torque curve?  I had a similar issue with a Gazelle with a brand new clutch, that it was engaging too soon.  Just something to check if you haven’t already.

[Michael Zahorski]

As a member of Hill Country Kart Club, you get the gate code and can practice for free anytime you want during daylight hours. And the membership fee is relatively inexpensive.

[Michael Zahorski]

Dustin,

I too weigh in around 225 with driver gear and just finished running the Tag Masters at my track.  Like Fletcher, I couldn’t keep up with the Senior drivers, but ran competitively with the other Masters drivers, and occasional junior.  I started with the front brakes on my kart.  I had to remove the front brakes out of need (broke a rotor on one), and once I removed them, I went at least .5 seconds faster in the very next heat.  Front brakes can help, but you have to get them dialed in correctly for your driving style.  I found with me, I was getting the fronts to lock some, which hurt my turn in.  With front brakes it is harder to trail brake into the corner and you need to have all of your braking completed before the turn.

Also, you can always take them off if you don’t like them, but adding them is much harder and costlier. Just my $.02.

[Michael Zahorski]

According to their Facebook page, the MyChron5 should be shipping to distributers this week with hopes of being able to deliver by Christmas. I’ve seen pre-orders on two different sites in the US. eshifterkart.com and fastech-racing.com

[Michael Zahorski]

Make sure you’re fuel pickup is working correctly and not having any bubbles in the line. Make sure the connection to the coil has a good contact, and if all that looks good and you continue with the problem, you could have a bad power pack. I have had a similar experience and switched power packs and the problem went away. Also, make sure all the wires coming out of the power pack are good and aren’t cracked or broken.

[Michael Zahorski]

Matt, not sure if you’ve seen my setup in my trailer yet. Even though I have the RLV kart stands, I take the karts off of them and put the karts on runners. I didn’t want to risk anything happening if a tire on the stands went flat and happened to flip over and caused damage. I put the karts onto solid runners that should be more secure than the kart stands.

[Michael Zahorski]

My daughter’s CRG has them on it and I believe the CRGs are starting to come with it. Even though they are on there, I haven’t adjusted them since I bought it as a one event kart and the kart ran at the SuperNats in Vegas. But they look very easy to adjust and easy to independently adjust camber and caster.

[Michael Zahorski]

I would try a new battery first. When they get weak, the starter won’t fully engage. if a fresh battery doesn’t solve the problem, then look at the gear and make sure it moves smoothly.

[Michael Zahorski]

PM Sent

[Michael Zahorski]

Is this still available? I am interested and in San Antonio as well.

[Michael Zahorski]

I know Eddie Lawson helped setup a 250 superkart for Wayne Rainey a few years back. He strapped in and used motorcycle hand controls.

[Michael Zahorski]

Thanks, all great information!

[Michael Zahorski]

I have an Arai motorcycle helmet that is great, and do recommend, but I think he also asked for inexpensive helmet, which any Arai does cost a few hundred dollars. If you’re looking for a good inexpensive helmet that doesn’t interfere with a neck brace, look into an HJC. They are inexpensive and good quality as well.

[Michael Zahorski]

I’ll admit I am new to the site and karting, which is why I have been looking more than posting. I am just trying to soak in all the good information. I have made a few posts, but there have also been times that I tried to make a post, and after I hit submit, it didn’t publish the post. This left me to having to re-write my post again and I didn’t feel like it. Not sure if that issue is more related to the site, or the computer I was on at the time I wrote the post.

However, I do enjoy reading the posts and I am starting to learn more.

[Michael Zahorski]

I’ve been reading the posts here and understand some of what is being said. I am new to karting, so my comments are going to be based on someone new to the sport of karting. With regards to the number of classes and being different at each track, I can understand why there is so many classes, there are just that many variations. However, what is more difficult to understand is the different rules for the same class depending on which associations rules you use. If you’re running a TaG class, and are legal, you should be legal in all associations without having to make changes to your kart. That to me is the hardest part of it.

As far as the original question of reducing the restrictiveness of the specs at a local track, the local track that I will be running at has what they call a bracket class. It is effectively a run what you brung type of class/catch all. The have an open tire rule and very little tech specs because of the class format. However, because it is a bracket class, after qualifying you are grouped together with other drivers that are turning similar lap times to what you are running. In the Heat races they do have a breakout time that if you go faster than, you are DQ’d, which is an effort to reduce sandbagging. The nice thing about this class as well, is as a beginner, you can run with people that turn similar laps times and hopefully improve in a crowd rather than get discouraged because the experienced good drivers and leaving you behind. If someone wants to spend big money to run fast, they can without the expense of hurting the “slower” budget racer.

[Michael Zahorski]

Austin,

Sounds like we’ll be learning together out there and hanging out keeping out of everyone’s way the first few times out there. I’ll be racing at HCKC as well, and just bought a TaG kart a while back. I have a Parilla Leopard in an Intrepid Cruiser. I went out for my shake down run 2 weeks ago and had a blast, but didn’t walk away without my share of problems either. I’m just about done putting it back together and getting ready to test again.

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