Karting

[virge666]

Anyone here into karting ??

Thinking of going into it on weekends for a laugh

[AndyP]

I've never done it. I could never justify the cost.

[virge666]

I've never done it. I could never justify the cost.

Compared to my motorbike racing habit... It is very very cheap

[jaybam]

Love it. Did it for my bucks night and have been organising a karting night every six months ever since. 24 guys on the track at once with full reverse grid and rolling start makes for chaotic fun lol.

[jaybam]

costs us 100 bucks for the night which includes practice qualifiying and four races with trophies for first second third and last. For a full night out thats not bad value nowadays. Bbq and drinks afterwards and its a five hour outing

[catch22]

Depends if you mean muck around or actual racing (maybe try muck around first, if you like it then get your own kart). Although if you like speed, generally there is no comparison from hire karts to proper ones

Can get expensive, I used to race from 7yo but quit in year 11. new tyres every few races, engine rebuild every 6-10?.
You can probably pick up a second hand kart for around $3-4k, add to that getting license, trailer etc

http://www.karting.net.au/how-to-get-started-in-karting

From memory though, there were 2 associations, AKA (the link above) and CAMS. I think NSW was mostly CAMS, but I'm not sure if thats still the case.
I imagine if you contact someone at one of the clubs they could give you a fair bit of info, and would probably know people that are looking to sell their old kart.

[Veefore]

I did karting for a while. Nobody would call it cheap.
To be competitive is just as expensive as bike racing. In my case it was more. The 100cc karts required teardown and refresh almost every race meeting, tyres and other consumables. I believe that at the top level the newer classes aren't much different.

I ended up doing Formula Vee which only has a top speed of about 160km/h or so at most tracks (except Bathurst where it was nearly 200km/h) but you get to race on real tracks in a real race car. Formula Vee's also corner much faster than almost anything else in racing so the excitement comes from that, rather than just straightline speeds. The left hander at Wanneroo was my favourite corner. Flat out in top gear and hold your breath. It was possible to drive right around the outside of a V8 Supercar as easy as passing traffic on a freeway.

[Virgal_Tracy]

Was doing the racing until recently when the kids have waylaid my chances of getting to the track.There are 2 organisations running karting events at the moment. Australian Karting Association (AKA) or National Karting Alliance (NKA).

AKA is the National body with licensed tracks at Eastern Creek, Wollongong, Newcastle, Lithgow, Canberra and more thoughout the state. They set licencing, classes, karts and engines etc.

NKA was set up to provide a breakaway, affordable alternative. They run monthly meetings at Wollongong on the last Saturday of the month. The other tracks will run their meetings per their schedule for championships and special events.

Cariety of karts and performance depending on how much you want to spend. Direct drive 100cc events, those with clutches and moving to 125cc classes. Classes also determined by combined weight of driver and kart.

Best idea would be to head to Eastern Creek (look up North Shore Kart Club) on one of their days and just talk to people. Contacts from the club would be on their website and they are generally forthcoming with info and advice.

Set up costs can be expensive but in terms of value for money the best form of motorsport I have found. A general race day will see you get 4-5 races of 12-25 laps. 8 - 10 litres of fuel, chain oil, a set of tyres every 4-5 meetings (depending on how competitive you are, more often if really competitive) and any damage caused by the contest for the sheepstations they put up as prizes.

It is really fun at speeds of 110+kmh (130kmh at Goulburn on the main straight of Wakefield Park) and literally 40mm of the ground.