"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
11/05/2015 at 10:57 • Filed to: go karts
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"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
11/05/2015 at 10:57 • Filed to: go karts | 3
| 12 |
Autocross and HPDE seasons are wrapping up in the temperate climes, but that doesn’t mean an end to amateur motorsports. Casual go-karting is a relatively inexpensive, accessible opportunity to get out on track and, particularly, experiment with racing line. Karts don’t drive like cars, but they offer their own set of related skills to hone.
Near my office is Pole Position Raceway, which offers two tracks to run their electric go-karts. In contrast to the nasty lawnmower-engine contraptions I remember as a kid, these carts are clean, performant, and consistent. The racing surface is something like polished concrete, tires are hard rubber slicks (I think?), and top speed is around 45 mph.
Brakes are rear only, and effective in my experience. The weakest point of the mechanics of these carts, to me, is the throttle. Maybe it will improve with more seat time, but to my foot there is only on and off, with maybe-something in between. This makes it hard to feather power in and out as you corner; you’d better be set up right coming in. For the fast corners, I had good results with light dabs on the brake while on the throttle.
I did three 15-lap sessions today, more than I’ve ever done in a single day in the past. The overwhelming feeling today was EXERTION! After 40 minutes driving these things, I was sweaty, sore, and trembling. Granted I’m not in shape. The steering is manual with a super-fast ratio, meaning you are muscling your way around the track the whole time. Core strength is also put to the test as you lean in grip-inducing directions while getting hurled back and forth.
As with track days, I see video as being key to improvement. When I go back and watch the video, I can see things about the track and about my driving that I wasn’t able to pick up on the fly. It’s easy to compare corner entries on different laps, and see how they affect the turn and the exit. I picked up a GoPro specifically for this trip to Pole Position, although I’m looking forward to using it on my backroads drives as well.
Getting back in my Jetta afterwards, it felt like a 70s Cadillac: extremely light steering, remote chassis, and sluggish acceleration. It felt like I should have been flogging it around the ramps back on the NJ Turnpike, and power-sliding every corner. But I’m back to normal now.
Have I mentioned I’m looking for an S2000?
P.S. If anyone knows who the guy was who was coaching me in the video, let me know — he just randomly came over and I didn’t have the presence of mind to get his name.
P.P.S. Sorry for the sketchy audio; this is my first time doing voiceovers.
Van Man, rocks the Man Van
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 11:14 |
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What kind of karts were they? The track near me (going there today!) has OTL Storm Karts.
If you’d like some constructive criticism, you shouldn’t use the brakes. Hear me out: in order to get better lap times, do not use the left pedal. At all. I shaved 1-1.5 seconds off my lap times by doing this. If you absolutely NEED to slow down, just lift of the throttle. Also, make sure to hit each apex. Otherwise you looked good.
Ash78, voting early and often
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 11:17 |
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We just got a new indoor/electric place that does ~50mph, can’t wait to check it out.
Justin Hughes
> Van Man, rocks the Man Van
11/05/2015 at 11:22 |
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I’ve had good luck using a quick dab of brake while staying on the gas, rally style. Many places yell at you for doing this. Ignore them.
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yitznewton
> Van Man, rocks the Man Van
11/05/2015 at 11:26 |
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Thanks! They say they’re Formula EK20 carts. I’ll try the no-brakes rule next time. I find that it’s hard to do fine-tuned throttle lifts though; seems pretty on/off, which is why I tried light brake dabs to shave off small amounts of speed in the fast turns.
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Van Man, rocks the Man Van
> Justin Hughes
11/05/2015 at 11:27 |
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My place says you'll stall if you do that, so I don't risk it.
Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 11:27 |
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I’ve always wanted to go there, just never had the desire to drive to JC. What days do you go?
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yitznewton
> Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
11/05/2015 at 11:31 |
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I go every month or two. I try to nail the member’s special of the month, so the day of the week varies.
ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 11:33 |
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I always talk to the guys that run the track and ask for tips. Shaved a couple seconds off when they told me they only use brakes in one or two corners. But ultimately no braking is likely better. It encourages you to find the best line to carry your momentum and you enjoy it more.
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Justin Hughes
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 11:37 |
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Karting is definitely a viable alternative to racing “real cars.” You get a similar thrill, and though you have to adapt your driving style a bit, many of the same techniques still work.
You seem to enjoy having the track to yourself and time trialing, which is cool. I’ve also had fun in racing leagues. Back when F1 Boston first opened, I drove in a league that the local BMW club organized. Instead of dealing with the random riff-raff off the street, everyone in the league happened to be either an autocrosser, HPDE enthusiast, or BMW CCA club racer, so the quality of the racing was top notch. Everyone drove clean, no one was out to crash anyone out, and if accidents happened there were apologies all around. Racing against the same people each time was fun, too. I had a great friendly rivalry going with the guy who organized the league. We were both just as fast as each other, and any time we got gridded together we knew we were in for a good time whoever came out ahead. It was also a more cost effective way to get that much seat time than arrive-and-drive. I loved having the chance to go wheel-to-wheel with people I’d only swapped times with or given point-bys to before, and I learned a lot by following the faster drivers after they passed me.
I suspect I may be doing more karting this winter, particularly now that both of my fiancee’s boys meet the 54” height requirement to drive at my local track..
uofime-2
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 11:49 |
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I just did this with my car club on Tuesday, its tons of fun.
Make sure you strap yourself in uncomfortably tight, lap belts first then shoulders, yank as hard as you can. You get a lot more fatigue when you’re supporting your body position with your legs and arms because your belts aren’t tight enough.
Similar electric carts, same problems too. Throttle modulation isn’t good so steering with the throttle is difficult to impossible. So I ended up sawing the wheel which is not ideal.
Some people will swear that you shouldn’t use the brakes, just use the regenerative. I do not agree. I let off the accelerator, but not all the way just enough to get off the power but not enough to engage the regenerative brakes then use the real brakes. They will stop you a lot faster and you can control them better and you can trail brake with them. As you saw they will make the car rotate way to much if you aren’t careful. one of the most difficult parts of the track we were on is that once you got going fast there wasn’t much straight to slow down in, so it was always a struggle to pick the best line.
The most fun I had was in the first race fighting through the traffic of some of the people who were new to carting.
I ended up setting the top time on both tracks with my group and was third on the monthly leader board(yes it was the third day of the month). I wasn’t even paying attention to my times and got out of the cart laughing my head off after every race.
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yitznewton
> Justin Hughes
11/05/2015 at 11:49 |
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This place has racing leagues too, which I forgot about until they had started their fall series already. This visit, my goal was to give the GoPro a first crack with nobody else around, so I could really compare different ways of attacking corners, at least after the fact (I didn’t have great awareness at the time). I think I’m in a better position to do some racing after that guy’s tips and the comments I’m getting here. #whynotboth!
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Van Man, rocks the Man Van
> yitznewton
11/05/2015 at 16:22 |
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I'll admit my track is generally a very fast one, so I only need to lift off for about half a second in about one or two corners. A lot of time lifting off will kick the tail out and set you up perfectly for the next corner.