Kart Racing - Show of your karts :)

[marc512]

I set up another topic like this on another forum but got no interest because there wasn't a lot of kart racers on there. Hoping there will be some here and maybe some people might get inspired to start On and Offroad is welcome!!

Now for me to show of mine..
My 2008 Biland SA250 on a 2008 Saxon Predator Chassis

My 2003 100cc ICA Vortex Watercooled engine (bloody fast especially when you have it reving at 22000rpm!!) It is on a 2005 Tony Kart Ex Racer chassis (won the scottish championship with a senior rotax max)

Sorry for lack off images, there is a motorsport show tomorrow at perth icerink, ill have more clean images for yous after tomorrow

My latest restoration project. A 1998 Ital sistem 100cc aircooled engine on a 2003 JHK Chassis
We noticed today the engine seized since the last time we used it. must have been because we left fuel in the engine.

Now my vintage machine
Early 1980 or late 1970`s chassis with a 100cc Aircooled PCR engine. Can still keep up with the new things today!!

The 2 karts on the bottom are my old Junior and Senior TKM karts. The senior 115cc TKM is the 2001 project 1 chassis ( the purple and silver one) And the other kart is a 100cc junior TKM on a 1998 ARC Chassis.
I sold these 2 karts to get my 125cc Senior Rotax Max( the white one in the following pictures )

Those pictures where taken before i sold the engine and bought the 100cc Vortex ICA engine. When i bought the rotax i didnt have the biland at the time. I got the biland for my 18th birthday in 2008

As you can see iv had quite a collection of karts you may think im showing of but ... yes i am. But i know some people cant afford such things which is why i allow anyone to have a go for free on my karts. Not a lot of people do this because you gotta spend £££ to keep them going. But i like it when people come of thinking "OMGOMGOMG THAT WAS AMAZING". Well yeah. Feel free to comment and ask questions

 

[marc512]

markyb -

wasnt expecting someone to be into karting here

Never been keen on pro-karts but i did enter a 6 hour endurance race in one at my local track (ESKC/crail raceway) I thought moving from a rotax to a prokart would suit my budget but speed was in me so my dad got me a biland

There are a few teams at my local track that do the LEMANS 24hours race. I wouldnt mind doing it myself tbh you need a spare driver ?

 

[marc512]

Me to mate.

Fantastic collection you have there mate. TBH - We started off Pro-karting due to the money, however like with everything form of motor racing its still very expensive. In 2003 for the sprint series I was sponsored and the year after raced for Biz.

We were tempted to do the 24 Le-mans this year however decided against it as our local track - Ryehouse, maybe doing something similar this year. It was a fantastic experience. A grid of 45 karts and starting 2nd. I'll never forget my 2 hour stint at 2am in the morning -Fantastic.

You do much racing mate? Shame you live the other side of the country.

When i was in the TKMS i raced every weekend, then when i sold them and got the rotax max, it went down to 2 times a month, then gradually went down to once a month and now im rarely going out. Im just doing NON MSA races in the biland up at boyndie and crail. I was hoping to do some rowrah races but money is very tight

you could come up to crail to do some racing, some people came all the way up from dover to race in our open challenge and they have been coming up for about 3-4 times now. They say its great! Camping is allowed at no extra cost.

 

[marc512]

so how much does it cost each season to go karting?

depends which class. If you race in rotax max competativly people spend around £30k a year as a MINIMUM. Yes...its true.

If you do pro-kart racing like above, you can spend as much as you want. A team at my local track spends £15k a year but they race around europe and thats excluding traveling costs.

If you do non msa races like me, expect about £4-5k a year. excluding things breaking which ALWAYS happens. Even minor stuff like a rounded bolt could set you back quite a bit because half the time the chassis manufacture make a weird size.

The worse part of karting is getting started. A good 2nd hand kart could cost around £2k, a new kart could cost £5k as my friend just bought one.
(This also depends which class, like my old TKM karts, you can pick up a new one for £2000 but there slow )

Really its down to what you want. you cant do a overall cost.

 

[marc512]

Let me edit that for my biland...

This is what im paying. And what i paid to start

Requirements

The Kart :- ~£2000 for complete rolling chassis
Race Suit :- £120-*.*
Helmet :-£100 (blue stamped) ~
Gloves :- £20 ~
Race Boots :-£30 ~
Transponder :- £80~
Wet Suits and other wet equipment :- £100

Kart and driver have to weigh a minimum of 165Kg
Depends on the race director about scruitineering. Only top 3 get seal and tyre softener checks.

Every Month

Race Entry - £40 (£50 if your not a club member at ESKC) £70 every other track in scotland if your a member or non member
Practice - Free in scotland £20 if its MSA
Fuel - ~£5 for my biland lasts all day £55 if you have a 2 stroke (includeing oil)

Every 2/3 Races

Tyres :- Slicks :-£135 Vega SL3 ( i run them to the bare minimum but some people change they every practice/heat and race.
Wets :- £140 Open
Brake Pads :- £25 ( changed every 25 hours of useage

Optional / Spares
**Dependant on chassis

Race Prepared engines :- £1900 (excludeing radiator/battery/exhaust )
Radiator £135
Exhaust £225
Battery £40
Rebuild the engine every 300 hours of engine use £900 Change cambelt every 4 hours £5 change oil every 2 hour . £42 every gallon off oil you use. change oilfilter every 2 hours £15
Stub Axles :- £50 each
Clutches :- £210. If cleaned regulary you dont need to replace anything

Faster you go the more expensive. Faster and more competative your bank starts going into the red.

The KF1 Class (SUPER KF) can spend £70k a year just on british championship.

 

[marc512]

Forgot to say it also depends where you live. In scotland we only have 1 shop and that is a small guy who goes to every race meeting with a van and hes very cheap but reliable.

Track prices vary, tyres vary every year. The tyres i use for my biland costed £85 when i first got the kart, now its £135.

I shouldnt really speak about what iv heard people spend. You can run any class on a budget just you wont be very competative unless your a mega good driver who can drive a kart with a bent axle, off balance wheels, no tools, a engine what has done more than its rebuild time.

 

[marc512]

You racing the Billand in MSA? Just wondering what tracks if you do as the grids are non-existant round here (North West)

Raced most types of 2 stroke kart myself, and im still dying to bag myself a go in a KZ....they look awesome. At the moment I just mechanic. Lack of funds stops me from racing, although I keep saying Ill do the TKM Festival!

nope only non MSA, theer almost non existant where i race aswell. Iv seen a few junior bilands kicking around but no seniors. I just get thrown in with senior rotaxs.

I wouldnt mind a KZ myself by they have bad reliability. My 100cc ICA has been going for about 15 hours and doesn't show any sign of lack of power. I used to race TKMs but it got to slow for me because of my old 100cc PCR engine which i ran for practice. About 2 secs quicker than a senior TKM. So i had to get something a tad faster lol.

 

[marc512]

How does it compare to the senior max's? Only track ive been to in Scotland is Larkhall, was up there with Super 1 TKM a couple of years ago.

15 hours in an ICA without loss of power....?! You running it rich?

Not much difference between a biland and a rotax. the biland has a tonnes of power bottom end which suits my driving style, they come out corners miles quicker than a rotax but along high speed corners and long straights the rotax has a massive advantage. Where the biland looses the rotax makes up. Where the rotax looses the biland makes up.

Im not revving the engine up to 20-22k rpm. As its just a fun kart iv restricted it to 16k at the end of the straight and im running it abit richer on the high end jet. Bottom end is lean as you can get it im never under 9k so i can lean it off to get more power out corners. About 12-13k thats when 2nd jet kicks in and thats when it starts to smoke (running richer).
Another reason i restrict it cause i dont have front brakes...first time out on it i didnt know what sprocket setup to use. So i just went for it and got to about 22450rpm at the straight and couldnt slow down, i took the gearbox track route through the plastic barriers.

 

[marc512]

Ahh cool, yeah 16k isnt really pushing it hard at all.

Nothing like hearing a full grid of them screaming back down the hill coming out of the top hairpin at Rowrah, sounds like a bunch of angry hornets!

most iv head go around a circuit was 3, But iv watched a vintage race before with the old aircooled engines. They still sound mental.

 

[marc512]

That isn't really true, if you are racing Super 1 and racing every weekend and have to have the latest and greatest kit then maybe

I race MSA in Rotax, I spend very little, I'm not at the sharp end but I am still working on my driving

Currently sitting 9th in the championship, always use second hand tyres for races, and often do 2 meeetings on them

There is a lot of hype about you should change your chassis after a few meetings blah blah blah which is why some of these guys spends so much

I reckon I spend about £200 a month max on karting (not including breakages) but you can do it on a shoe string if you are there to have fun

I've just come off my novice plates so will see what my next race has in store for me

I'll get some pics up at some point

Yes you can race on a budget like me. I only buy spare and tyres last me till i see the canvas. But to be competitive you need the money.
Iv spent about £1200 this year but thats my luck, i had to get my biland topend rebuilt. It also works out if i wanted to do the racing every weekend i would be paying £3k a year just on entrance fees and fuel. never mind tyres or spares. And track prices vary quite abit. My local track is £40 but some tracks are up to £80-90. Iv heard some in england its £200 which depends on the event...thats a lot of money just for a days racing and no practice.

 

[marc512]

Yeah racing every weekend will kill your budget, but racing once a month at your local club can be done fairly cheaply

I think a lot of people throw money at motorsport to make up for a lack of skill, while they throw money at things they also develop more skill and it seems that the brand new bits made the difference. Maybe I am wrong

We will see next year, I will be on the same chassis and engine next season I suspect, I'm 6 tenths off the leaders at the moment and I know I can go faster

Maybe I can prove my theory!

a lot of people in my area buy new chassis and have about 10 different engines and countless number of carb setups for each engine. No matter how much money they throw they dont get near the pace. Im about 2-3 tenths of the lap record at my local track and iv never been on new tyres, and my chassis is 2 years old and is slightly twisted. If you can win without money, when you get a few decent sponsors youll do great.